Partnered by Thomas Roux, the Frenchman made a strong start in the opening special stage, finishing just 1.2 seconds behind frontrunners Dimitri Audet and Leo Occhipinti, with last-minute entrants Mathieu Sentis and Caroline Potier making light of a faulty radio to complete the top three.

The three crews continued to dominate the early stages until Mathieu Sentis was forced to limp out with a mechanical problem after running off the road in SS6, the last special of day one. Posting Friday’s three fastest times between them, Dimitri Audet and Yann Clairay were separated by a mere seven seconds going into the night-time specials, with Jonathan Fra and Vincent Landais making the most of Mathieu Sentis’ retirement to jump into third.

Dimitri Audet made a nightmarish start to day two, suffering a puncture and going off twice into the snow, allowing Yann Clairay to slip into the lead, which is where he would stay. Also profiting were the non-registered Rally2 driver Jonathan Fra and Nicolas Romiguiere, partnered by Alexis Negre, who both picked up stage wins, the 2011 French Junior Rally champion taking second ahead of the promising British crew Chris Ingram and Stephen McAuley.

Serieys in control

Reigning French Junior Rally champions Jeremie Serieys and Justine Quillet are this year racing in Renault colours in a Twingo Renaultsport R2. Though unable to compete because of his status, Serieys made a fine start in his new car, producing a flawless drive and looking right at home among the Trophy drivers, eventually coming through unscathed just 13.8 seconds behind Yann Clairay.

Yann Clairay: “I’m very happy with the result. It’s my first podium finish with my new co-driver Thomas Roux. We had a close shave with a gearbox problem, but the team was amazing and changed it in less than 50 minutes. I couldn’t believe it! This win is a rich reward for them.”

Nicolas Romiguière: “It was a tough rally but we got there in the end. We played it as safe as we possibly could. We didn’t post any great times, but we didn’t make any mistakes either, which isn’t easy in these conditions. I’ve kicked the season off with a second place, just as I did in 2011, the year I won the French junior title.”

Jérémie Serieys: “It was a great weekend and I drove the way I wanted to. I made a few little mistakes but it would have been very hard not to given the road conditions. The Renault Sport team took really good care of me and that allowed me to focus on my driving. My thanks to them.”

Results: Rallye du Touquet

1. CLAIRAY Yann - ROUX Thomas 1:59:59.1
2. ROMIGUIERE Nicolas - NEGRE Alexis +3:31.4
3. INGRAM Chris - McAULEY Stephen +11:55.5

Overall Standings: Twingo R2 Trophy

1. CLAIRAY Yann 25 points
2. ROMIGUIERE Nicolas 18 points
3. INGRAM Chris 15 points