In attracting more than 20 crews on the start line at the Rallye Pays du Gier, one of the legs on the French Rally Cup calendar, the Renault Sport Challenge has showed itself to be a success already, with entrants in the three classes looking to pit their wits against other Challenge crews and those competing in the rally only. On offer for the leading drivers in each class were a series of prizes.

Boris Carminati and Jerome Redon (Renault Clio R.S. R3) got off to a fast start on the Friday evening, taking to the top of the R3/N4 standings and lying fourth in the general classification. Though less favourable conditions saw them lose their lead on Saturday morning, they were back in charge in the afternoon and eventually took the class win and fourth place overall. The other crews driving Renault Sport cars also turned in impressive performances, with Jerome Chavanne and Romain Montvignier (Renault Clio R.S. R3) finishing second and Pascal and Caroline Berard (Renault Clio R.S. R3) third.

In the R2 class Georges and Valerie Gonon (Renault Twingo R.S. R2) took third place in the opening special ahead of Nicolas Crochon/Nicolas Artzner (Renault Twingo R.S. R2) and Jordan Mottard/Thierry Devaux (Renault Twingo R.S. R2). While Jordan Mottard pulled out of the rally before the start of Saturday’s first special, Georges Gonon went fastest in SS3 to move into the lead, only to drop back to second place after SS5. Nicolas Crochon then retired after going off the road, enabling William Pitot and Olivier Brouze (Renault Twingo R.S. R2) to climb up to third. The positions remained unchanged, with Georges Gonon and William Pitot occupying second and third on the R2 podium respectively.

For the competitors in the R1 class of the Renault Sport Challenge, the Rallye Pays du Gier got under way in earnest on Saturday morning, after they were all awarded a standard time in Friday evening’s special on account of the two Aureliens, Lafont and Verdenet (Renault Twingo R.S. R1), both going off. Romain Auvert and Maxime Belivier (Renault Twingo R.S. R1) made a cautious start before posting the fastest time in SS3 to take over at the top of the R1 standings. Maxime Goetz/Nicolas Merulla (Renault Twingo R.S. R1) and Nicolas Renchet/Tom Fitzgerald (Renault Twingo R.S. R1) battled it out for second, with Goetz having the edge before he went off right at the end of the rally, allowing Renchet to finish second behind Romain Auvert in the R1 class. Emilien Sanlaville and Arnaud Cubizolles (Renault Twingo R.S. R1) completed the podium.

Renault Sport Technologies congratulates all the crews who competed in the Rallye Pays du Gier on their performances in their respective categories.

The next round of the Renault Sport Challenge is the Rallye de Grasse Fleurs et Parfum on 4-6 April.

Renault Sport Challenge standings after the Rallye Pays du Gier (1/10)

R3/N4 class
1. Boris Carminati, 25 points
2. Jerome Chavanne, 18
3. Pascal Berard, 15
4. Mickael Reydellet, 12
5. Laurent Lacomy, 8

R2 class
1. Georges Gonon, 18 points
2. William Pitot, 15

R1 class
1. Romain Auvert, 25 points
2. Nicolas Renchet, 18
3. Emilien Sanlaville, 15
4. Theo Chalal, 12
5. Mathieu Tarif, 10