FIA World Rally Championship

2024 Clio Trophy France Asphalte winners Arthur Pelamourgues and Bastien Pouget made a victorious world championship debut in WRC3 and RC3 at the Monte-Carlo Rally. Leading from their first stage on the iconic event, the Fun Meca Sport crew overcame a puncture in the following timed sector before taking the lead for good on SS4. With 13 fastest times from 15 stages, the duo won by more than five minutes and finished just outside the overall top 20.

Arthur Pelamourgues: "It was incredible. Despite all the constraints of a longer route and a rigorous organisation, we prepared for this rally like any other, with a simple goal: to do our best. It was a leap into the unknown, so much so that I first thought it was a different sport for us, but all the preparation we did with the team paid off. We quickly realised that we wouldn’t always need to take risks, even though we accelerated the pace in some sectors and relaxed in others. Maybe everything wasn’t perfect, but we didn’t make big mistakes with our tyre choices, which is good given the complexity. The targets were met despite a puncture where we didn’t have to change the wheel thanks to the benefits of four-wheel drive and a spin on Saturday. At one point, I was starting to take an interest in the general classification, but I soon lost sight of that. We’re now waiting to learn all the details of our official Clio Rally3 programme, which will be on WRC3 rounds thanks to Alpine Racing. Whatever happens, we’ll try to build on the momentum of this victory for the future."

Among the other Clio Rally3s, Matteo Chatillon and Maxence Cornuau saw their efforts cut short when they got caught out on SS4. Serious and diligent, Jean-Baptiste Daune - Morgan Gaillot and Julien Bréchet - Thomas Escartefigue finished in the top six in RC3, as did Yanis Desangles - Nicolas Théron and Éric Royère - Alexis Grenier in WRC3. Best Junior in the Clio Trophy Belgium, Lény Cols made his Clio Rally3 and Monte-Carlo Rally debut with co-driver Pascal Lopes and the Chazel Technologie Course team. Less than two years after his first rally start, the Belgian showed he was serious about getting to grips with the car and building up his pace before finishing seventh in RC3.

Matteo Chatillon: "It wasn’t an ideal start to the season. I’m disappointed because I contested this round last year. We could have done something, but that’s part of the sport. We didn’t get enough feedback on the new tyres. On Thursday, I opted for the tyres with which we’d set the fastest time in the shakedown, which was the wrong choice for the night loop. However, there was a long way to go in the rally. The conditions were tricky on Friday morning. Unlike the competition on studded tyres, I chose the most aggressive option with slicks. With the temperature change, it worked quite well without taking any risks, but I accelerated a bit too early after a corner. I oversteered and came up alongside an embankment where two stones sent us rolling into a field. The car is already being put back together by ARL Sport, and I want to bounce back in Sweden, which will be a new experience. I’ve heard that it’s similar to gravel, so I can’t wait to get there and see what happens as I try to have fun, regain my confidence and get a result. And congratulations to Arthur and Bastien on their masterclass performance!"

Lény Cols: "We had an excellent rally despite a little apprehension before the start. Learning Clio Rally3 at night wasn’t easy, but we made good progress and found our pace without taking risks. Apart from one time when I stalled in a hairpin, we didn’t have any issue. When the conditions were more favourable for slicks, I realised it was impossible to lock up the wheels. It’s a car that makes you want to drive it, but I will get back behind the wheel of my Clio Rally5 to continue my learning process. I hope to do another round of the World Rally Championship or another run in this car in the future. It was a wonderful experience, and I’d like to thank Alpine Racing enormously for this opportunity and the Chazel Technologie Course team, my parents and my family for their support throughout the weekend. I’ll never forget this rally!"

Lastly, all six Clio Rally5s entered finished. With co-driver Frédéric Vauclare, Julien Saunier made his Clio Rally5 debut, scoring the Clio Rally5’s 27th RC5 success in the World Rally Championship and its fifth in as many Monte Carlo Rallies since 2021. They were joined on the podium by Julien Charnay - Maxime Gomez and Sébastien Mattei - Loan Biagetti, while Christophe Truchet - Barbara Truchet, Lilian Vialle - Manuel Ghirardello and Romain Auvert - Thomas Hareau completed the Clio Rally5 sweep of the top six in its class.

Julien Saunier: "My co-driver, Frédéric Vauclare, competes in the Clio Trophy France Asphalte with his son Tom and asked me to do the Monte Carlo to celebrate our 20-year collaboration. I accepted immediately, and it was a superb adventure with a sensational car despite its proximity to the production car series. I had a lot of fun in conditions we both love and did well. It was a great rally even though we made some bad tyre choices on Saturday, first in the morning when we started on Michelin M20s while everyone else was on rain tyres, and then the opposite in the afternoon. We were very angry and tried hard to set some outstanding times. So, we couldn’t be more pleased. It was a successful birthday, with the gift of RC5 victory, 2WD podium and 33rd place overall!"

Middle East Rally Championship

Clio Rally5 also won at the Oman International Rally to kick off the Middle East Rally Championship. Despite an issue on the opening leg, Lebanon’s Shadi El Fakih and Joseph Kmeid got back on track to win in RC5 and finish on the podium in MERC4. The crew also finished ninth in MERC and 12th overall. The next round will be at the Qatar International Rally from 6 to 8 February 2025.

Elsewhere...

Clio Rally3 and Clio Rally5 weren’t the only ones to impress this weekend. In Finland, Clio Rally4 also tasted the joys of the podium with Vilma Kivenne and Leevi Jaakonsaari, runners-up in their class on the snowy Mekonomen Autohuolto Ralli.

Coming up

This week, the Clio Ice Trophy concludes with the fourth and final round of the calendar, where Antonio Otero, Baptiste Panissié and Juan Manuel Grigera will battle for the title on the Circuit du Pas de la Case (Andorra). Meanwhile, the Clio Cup Middle East will be in action at the Yas Marina Circuit for the season’s penultimate round. Already crowned in the Challengers category, Harry Hannam will have his first opportunity to join Jerzy Spinkiewicz and Eduardo Miranda as a Clio Cup Middle East champion.