Romain Salinas made a late dash for the line to steal victory from Georges Gonon in the 55th Critérium des Cévennes. Salinas’ second win of the season takes him clear at the top of the Twingo R2 France Trophy standings ahead of Laurent Clutier, who was in sparkling form in the first nine specials before crashing out, leaving him with much to do at the Rallye du Var if he is to take the title.

Though in command in the 2012 Twingo R2 France Trophy standings going into the event and under no obligation to win, Laurent Clutier was holding nothing back as the action got under way, the Montpellier man showcasing the full potential of the Twingo R2 Evo on the twisting roads of the Cevennes.

He seized the lead in the rally’s opening special, with Romain Salinas, Laurent Wilkin, Anthony Balester, Georges Gonon, Yohann Trivino, Guillaume Sirot and Jonathan Fra, who suffered a puncture, behind him.

Sirot, Wilkin and Salinas – on two occasions – were the next to struggle with punctures, though there were no such problems for the flying Laurent Clutier. Meanwhile, Yohann Trivino and Laurent Wilkin went off the road and out of the rally in SS2 and SS3 respectively.

By Friday afternoon the leader had built up nearly a three-minute cushion over Georges Gonon, with Anthony Balester in third and Romain Salinas, Jonathan Fra and Guillaume Sirot behind him.

Laurent Clutier kept the pace up on the night-time second loop. Seventh in the rally overall at the end of leg one, he held a lead of more than five minutes on former Twingo R2 France Trophy champion Georges Gonon, who had Anthony Balester and Romain Salinas snapping at his heels.

Clutier opted for wet tyres on the second morning only for conditions to change markedly, causing him to crash out on a virtually dry section of road.

Georges Gonon took over in the lead, followed by Romain Salinas, Anthony Balester and Guillaume Sirot. Though fully 46 seconds adrift at the start of the long 42-km timed stage that brought the rally to a close, Romain Salinas pulled out all the stops in an exceptional drive to snatch the win from Georges Gonon, whose cause was not helped by two spins. Climbing on to the podium for the first time in third, meanwhile, was Anthony Balester.

Romain Salinas: “The Trophy’s back on although it’s not quite all in my hands. We went flat out all the way to the finish to make up the time we lost at the start of the rally. Even in the last special, when we had nearly 50 seconds to pull back, I still thought we had a chance. It wasn’t easy but we got there in the end.”

Georges Gonon: “We spun twice in the last special and that cost us dear, though Romain was really quick. This second place takes us up to third in the Trophy standings and it was great to be giving as good as we got with the local drivers. I’ve had a first and a second now in the Twingo R2 France Trophy, and third place overall after Le Var would be a good result.”

Anthony Balester: “It’s been a good weekend in general because we drove well and didn’t make any mistakes, in spite of the conditions. The aim was to put in a good drive and third is not bad at all.”

Nicolas Romiguiere takes R2 class win
French Junior rally champions Nicolas Romiguiere and Alexis Negre claimed victory in the R2 class and 14th place overall in their Twingo R2 Evo. The duo will go into the Rallye du Var on a high after negotiating a testing weekend in style.
“It was a very tough rally for us,” said Romiguiere. “Fortunately, Renault Sport’s teams prepared the perfect car for us and we didn’t have the slightest technical problem. The Pirelli tyres were very competitive too. Battling with the weather was not an easy task, but we managed to come out on top in the R2 class, which is what counts.”

55th Critérium des Cévennes – 2012 Twingo R2 France Trophy
Fastest times: Laurent Clutier 9, Romain Salinas 2, Georges Gonon 1
Race leaders: Laurent Clutier (SS1 to 9), Georges Gonon (SS10 and 11), Romain Salinas (SS12 – finish).

Final standings
1. Romain SALINAS/ Benjamin MICHELI, 2:45.28.9
2. Georges GONON/ Valerie GONON, +1:20.1
3. Anthony BALESTER/ Thomas BOSCHETTO, +2:48.1
4. Guillaume SIROT/ Vincent TOUSSAINT, +3:37.5

Twingo R2 France Trophy: Overall standings (after five rounds of six)
1. Romain Salinas, 98 points
2. Laurent Clutier, 93
3. Georges Gonon, 56