6 May 2013
Renault Sport Trophies go from strength to strength
A bumper field of nearly 30 cars will be competing in round two of the Renault Sport Trophy events in the Limousin, with 21 crews taking part in the Twingo R1 France – 20 of them eligible to score points in the French Junior Rally Championship – and eight in the Twingo R2 France Trophy. There is everything to play for in each category, although Damien Defert and Yann Clairay, the winners in the last round at Le Touquet, will be keen to maintain their momentum.
Twingo R1 France Trophy: Defert eyes more success
Solid and consistent from start to finish at Le Touquet, Damien Defert starts the second of this season’s Twingo R1 Trophy events on top of the standings. Fourth overall in 2012, the points leader will be buoyed by last month’s impressive win in difficult conditions but can expect a tough challenge, with Axel Garcia, Florian Bernardi, Johan Notargiacomo and Gabriel Lieffroy all showing at Le Touquet that they can fight every inch of the way. Meanwhile, Alexis Sirmain, Jean Jouines, Simon Lebiez and Raphael Astier, who all starred at various stages of the season opener, will be looking to slip up a gear in the Limousin, where Laurent Pellier, Jordan Mottard and Valentin Cohen will join the field. All but one of the 21 crews have entered the French Junior Rally Championship, organised as part of the Twingo R1 Trophy.
Twingo R2 France Trophy: Guigou returns
No stranger to the cars in Renault Sport’s rally range, Emmanuel Guigou has chosen to continue his career in France in the Twingo Renaultsport R2 Evo and the Twingo R2 France Trophy. Absent from Le Touquet and a genuine candidate for victory here, his arrival adds even more gloss to a line-up already packed with talent. A last-minute starter in round one, Mathieu Sentis has had the ideal preparation for this event, while Yann Clairay will hope to build on his Le Touquet win and hold off any challenge from Dimitri Audet, who matched him virtually every step of the way in the Pas-de-Calais. Jonathan Fra, Georges Gonon and Nicolas Romiguiere will be pushing for a place on the podium and Pascal Mackerer is set to make his Trophy return.
Serieys’ learning curve continues
Competing outside the Twingo R2 Trophy, Jeremie Serieys is taking part in this year’s French Rally Championship in a Twingo Renaultsport R2 Evo entered by Renault Sport Technologies. Following a tough weekend in Le Touquet, the Herault driver added the Rallye Lyon-Charbonnières to his programme to pick up experience and get to know his car better. His aim in the Limousin is to match the performances of the leading R2 drivers. “I’m not driving in the Twingo R2 Trophy but obviously I’m going to be comparing myself with the drivers who are,” he said. “I hope to keep pace with the leaders, but for now I’m going to focus on not making mistakes. I hope to keep it going and up my performance.”
Entrants
Twingo R2 France Trophy
51. CLAIRAY Yann – ROUX Thomas
52. ROMIGUIERE Nicolas – NEGRE Alexis
53. AUDET Dimitri – OCCHIPINTI Léo
54. FRA Jonathan – LANDAIS Vincent
55. SENTIS Mathieu – VALETTE Gil
56. GONON Georges – GONON Valérie
57. MACKERER Pascal – RISSER Hubert
58. GUIGOU Emmanuel – MARTY David
Twingo R1 France Trophy
80. DEFERT Damien – DIOTTIN Florent
81. GARCIA Axel – POMARES Fabien
82. BERNARDI Florian – CASTEX Xavier
83. LIEFFROY Gabriel – EHRHARDT Laurine
84. NOTARGIACOMO Johan – DELON Marine
85. LEBIEZ Simon – LEBIEZ Julie
86. ASTIER Raphael – SUCHET Valentin
87. DHAISNE Antoine – FLAJOLET Marine
88. ABELLANEDA Anthony – MANZO Benoit
89. JOUINES Jean – GUIEU Christopher
90. FOHRER Thibaut – MANCINI Sarah
91. SIRMAIN Alexis – GAFFARD Benjamin
92. LUKES Nelson – BARBERA Loïc
93. FOLB Terry – POUJOL Sebastien
94. PITOT William – ESTIVAL Alexis
95. GOETZ Maxime – JANSSENS Fabien
96. FLORET Olivier – GROULIER Vincent
97. PELLIER Laurent – DEWAELE Alexandre
98. COHEN Valentin – CORNEBISE Jérôme
99. MOTTARD Jordan – BARACCANI Enzo
100. MARAR Taymoor – GOBE Arno (non Junior)