FIA World Rally Championship

Two official Clio Rally3s were in action at the Rally Islas Canarias. Matteo Chatillon and Maxence Cornuau combined performance and intelligent racecraft to avoid the pitfalls and score maximum points with victory in WRC3. This result puts them back in contention for the title. WRC3 Monte-Carlo winners Arthur Pelamourgues and Bastien Pouget overcame a puncture on SS5 to ensure an impressive 1-2 finish for Clio Rally3. On the strength of this performance, the duo regained the championship lead ahead of the Vodafone Rally de Portugal (15-18 May), where Tom Pellerey and Hervé Faucher will join them for their WRC debut.

Matteo Chatillon: "This rally was really nice to discover, with roads I wasn’t familiar with. However, we decided to set ourselves ambitious challenges this season to progress and become better with each round. It was a completely new event for practically everyone, so we decided to go for it, and it paid off because we got the result. The first day was extremely fast-paced with Arthur, but our goal was to secure some big points after two challenging rounds at the start of the year. We stayed close, which propelled us into the lead with an advantage of more than a minute and a half after his puncture. From then on, our rally changed completely. We opted for a strategic approach, with a controlled pace to preserve the car and tyres. While this approach sacrificed our pure performance, it allowed us to stay calm, avoid damage and maintain a comfortable lead until the finish. This result is fantastic for us. The one-two finish for the Clio Rally3s is hugely satisfying as an official driver. Beyond the victory, it’s an all-French podium with my friends Arthur, Bastien, Ghjuvanni and Kylian. I couldn’t have asked for anything better, and this victory puts us back in title contention. We’re now heading to my favourite surface, gravel. We must keep working hard, stay consistent and target a big result in Portugal."

On this new addition to the World Rally Championship calendar, Takumi Matsushita - Pekka Kelander and Shotaro Goto - Jussi Lindberg made it four Clio Rally3s in the top five in WRC3. Clio Rally4 also shone with victory for Alejandro Martín and Armando Rivero ahead of Sebastián Gil and Adrián Gil in RC4. Lastly, Clio Rally5 claimed its 28th WRC victory in RC5 with Zósimo Hernández and Mayte Gutiérrez.

French Rally Championship & Clio Trophy France Asphalte

Among the 50 crews competing to succeed Arthur Pelamourgues at Rallye Rhône-Charbonnières, Yoan Corberand and Florence Stirling came out on top in a thrilling final sprint to snatch victory from Julien Deslauriers Sablonnière and Amandine Brunel. Valentin Ascenzi and Melvine Pitois, the best Juniors, completed the closest podium in Clio Trophy France Asphalte history. Pascal and Caroline Bérard (Gentlemen) and Charlotte Olea and Cécile Pages (Women) also won in this exhilarating opening round.

The second round of the French Rally Championship, where more than half of the entrants were driving Renaults, also saw Clio Rally3 claim a class 1-2-3, led by Thomas Battaglia and Lisa Tornior. Lastly, Quentin Ribaud and Loan Biagetti triumphed in the Michelin Amateurs Trophy and Rally4 in their Clio Rally4.

More information here.

German and Dutch Rally Championships

Clio Rally3 and Clio Rally5 starred in the Sulingen Rally, counting for both the German and Dutch Rally Championships. Carsten Mohe and Andrea Lieber secured another victory, leading a sweep of the top five for Clio Rally3 in RC3. Second in this class, René Jeths and Chris Aaltink finished in the top five overall in the Dutch event, ahead of the Clio Rally4 driven by John Coumans and Renaldo Lier. Meanwhile, Clio Rally5 again dominated the RC5 category, led by Max van Empel and Eddy Smeets.

Belgian Rally Championship

In round two of the season, the Rallye de Wallonie saw Clio Rally3 win with Benoit Verlinde and Bert Feys. The 2022 Clio Trophy Belgium winner won 19 of the 20 special stages in RC3 to lead a one-two finish for Clio Rally3, completed by Xavier Dekeyser and Nele Tassaert. Meanwhile, Lény Cols and Pascal Lopes were victorious in RC5 and the BRC Trophy in their Clio Rally5. Lastly, François Cornelis and Thierry Lefin finished fifth overall in the second division of the event, securing another victory for Clio Rally5 in RC5.

Ecuadorian Rally Championship

Round three of the national calendar, the Rally de Chimborazo, was the scene of another success for Clio Rally5, represented by six crews at the start. Andrés Gomez and Mateo Gómez proved the most skilful, leading a block out of the top six in its class and finishing ninth overall. On the same roads, Clio Rally4 secured a podium finish in RC4 with Ricardo Martínez and Ronald Ochoa.

Polish Rally Championship

The Rajd Świdnicki kicked off the Polish Rally Championship season, and Clio Rally3 was again at the sharp end right from the start. The crews of Michał Chorbiński and Adam Chrzanowski, and Hubert Kowalczyk and Dawid Potępa, dominated their class, finishing seventh and ninth overall. Clio Rally4 just finished off its class podium with Sergiusz Janowski and Krzysztof Grzenia, who posted several best times despite retiring in the first special stage.

Czech Republic Rally Championship

Two Clio Rally4 and two Clio Rally5 cars lined up at the start of the Šumava Klatovy Rally for the season opener in the Czech Republic. Filip Ocelka and Tomáš Plachý put in an impressive performance, winning RC4 I and the two-wheel drive class. Clio Rally5 scored a one-two result, with Jakub Kořínek and Petr Cibulka finishing ahead of Martin and František Končal.

Uruguayan Rally Championship

Clio Rally5 scored a historic overall podium sweep at round 2 of the Uruguayan Rally Championship, the Rally de Rocha. Among the crews competing in the model, Federico Quintela and Joaquin Varela were the best performers, winning ahead of Alfonso Lopez - Martin Villete and Jorge Alfaro - Pablo Bieito. Even better, six Clio Rally5s finished in the top seven positions of the event.

French Rally Cup

In France, Clio Rally4 and Clio Rally5 won their respective classes with the duos Alex Gandrieau and Mallaurie Gardrat at the Rallye de la Guirlande. Clio Rally5 was also victorious, with Damien Vaissière and Sébastien Romero at the Rallye Val d’Agout and Benjamin and Marjolaine Zecchini at the Rallye de Drap.

And elsewhere…

Clio Rally3 and Clio Rally5 enjoyed further success in Italy, with a one-two finish in Rally3 led by Ennio Bini and Fabio Rinaldi in Rally3 and a sweep of the top six in Rally5 led by Alessandro Damiani and Gabriele Meloni in the Rally Coppa Valtellina. Also in Italy, the Rally Città di Modena saw the same models win in the hands of Franco Rossi and Alessio Spezzani in Rally3, Davide Gianaroli and Erik Corsini in Rally5 and Erica Ranalli and Emanuele Mischi in the Women’s category.

Clio Rally4 and Clio Rally5 also won their respective classes at the Rally Poreč (Croatia) with the duos of Igor Tomljanović - Marko Šivak and Marko Fakin - Aleksandar Radovčić, the latter even winning in two-wheel drive in this opening round of the European Rally Tour. Also noteworthy was the overall top ten and podium finish in RP3 for Stanislav Zeman and Ján Konfal in their Clio Rally5 at the GART Rally Ľubotice, round one of the Slovak Rally Cup.