Clio Ice Trophy

Two-time Turkish Rally Champion Volkan Isik (Puzzle Motorsport) put his vast experience to good use in the opening round of the 2024 Clio Ice Trophy season. Combining performance and consistency, the Turk scored the maximum number of intermediate points in qualifying before extending his lead in the general classification despite the victories of Antonio Otero (Puzzle Motorsport) and Charlie Freard (WRM by Chanoine Motorsport / SRD Racing) in the finals. The field will meet again on Saturday in round two on a different layout of the Circuit du Pas de la Case.

More information here.

Clio Cup Middle East

The Clio Cup Middle East entered the second half of its season at the Yas Marina Circuit. Eduardo Miranda (Uniq Racing) and Stanislav Novikov (Continental Racing) were unstoppable on the 4.672 km Corkscrew Circuit Grand Prix layout, taking pole position and a win apiece after two solid performances. Stanislav Novikov climbed from seventh to first place to win race one ahead of Ilya Sidorov (Continental Racing) and Eduardo Miranda, who fought back and picked up three places in race two to finish ahead of his rival and Steve Laidlaw (Track Time Racing). With the win, the Mexican driver extended his lead in the general classification and Challengers Cup, whilst Ilya Sidorov saw Stanislav Novikov close to within 19 points at the top of the Gentlemen Drivers Cup. The competitors now head to the Dubai Autodrome (25-27 January) for the penultimate meeting on the calendar.

Elsewhere...

Clio Rally3 claimed its first podium in the Finnish Rally Championship, with the duo of Jooa Iivari and Jaakko Jäntti finishing third in SM2 on the snowy SM Auto Sorsa Riihimäki-ralli. Meanwhile, Clio Rally5 triumphed on the gravel of the Delta Winter Rally Show (Croatia) in the hands of Mitja Velkavrh. Co-driven by his mother, Nina Velkavrh Gorenc, the 15-year-old driver continued his winning streak with the model by dominating his group and finishing in the overall top five of the event against cars from superior categories.

Coming up

This Saturday, the Clio Ice Trophy will take centre stage with round two of the season on the Circuit du Pas de la Case, where new protagonists will join the field in a bid to upset the initial pecking order established this past weekend.