French Gravel Rally Championship & Clio Trophy France Asphalte

Lucas Zielinski impressed on his Clio Rally3 debut after finishing as the top Junior in last year’s Clio Trophy France Asphalte. The Pau native secured 12 fastest times in his class across as many special stages at Rallye Le Touquet Pas-de-Calais. The David Auto Compétition driver and co-driver Ewen Leenhardt even clocked the eighth-best time overall in the fog of SS8. The pair ultimately finished 14th in the event, ahead of their next challenge at the Rally Sierra Morena, the opening round of the FIA European Rally Championship. The crews of Arnaud Gautier and Benjamin Lemetayer, and Théau Poiriez and Margot Delnieppe completed a podium dominated by Clio Rally3.

There was more success for Clio Rally3 in the French Women’s Rally Championship with Aurélie Delrue and Aurélien Gozet, leading a Renault 1-2-3 with the Clio Rally5s of Charlotte Olea- Julie Vidal and Clémentine Benoit - Éric De Bolle. Lastly, Maxence Potard and Maxime Biegalke could not have hoped for a better return to the Clio Trophy France Asphalte, with the win on their first outing since 2024. The pair finished ahead of local crew Paul and Adèle Dachicourt, as well as Romain Brun and Aurélia Chevalier.

Lucas Zielinski: “We got our first taste of the Clio Rally3 during the shakedown and had to quickly understand how it works. We encountered every possible road condition over the weekend, which allowed us to learn a great deal. Without a specific target, our result is very satisfying. The brakes, suspension, and acceleration impressed me most compared to the Clio Rally5, and our previous experience helped us adapt more quickly. We now feel more ready to aim higher, but know there is still much to learn. We’ll take our time and try to perform as well as possible.”

Ewen Leenhardt: “It was a very positive weekend. We were lucky enough to experience many different surface conditions – wet, muddy and dry – which made this rally particularly instructive. We needed that before heading to Spain, so we must continue working hard ahead of our next outing in two weeks. Lucas managed the car as he usually does. That’s actually one of his great strengths: he kept the car on the road without taking unnecessary risks, and we never had any serious scares. As for me, adapting to a slightly faster pace in the pace notes came naturally.”

More information here.

Croatian Rally Championship

The Quattro River Rally hosted the first round on the Croatian calendar. Dario Merlić and Danijel Radovanić secured a class podium result and finished seventh overall in their Clio Rally3 on the roads around Karlovačka županija. The pair also finished second among the crews competing on the national scene and in the Croatian Junior Rally Championship.

German Rally Championship

Renault also excelled on the tarmac stages of the ADAC Rallye Erzgebirge in the German season-opener. Timo and Jasmin Weigert finished just outside the top ten overall whilst winning in RC3 with their Clio Rally3. Success was also on the cards for Clio Rally5, with a 1-2 finish in RC5 led by Nils Hildebrandt and Giuliana Beck. Lastly, Felix Schumann and Gino Kruhs picked up an RC4 class podium in their Clio Rally4.

Greek Gravel Rally Championship

Renault’s fine run continued at the Olympiako Rally, near the birthplace of the Olympic Games, where Themis Halkias and Marios Tsaoussoglou drove their Clio Rally3 to fifth place overall and second in class. Notably, the duo clocked the best time overall on SS4, ahead of several competitors in Rally2 cars. Meanwhile, Panikos Polykarpou and Georgios Votsis secured a double podium finish for Clio Rally3. This opening round also saw the Clio Rally5 achieve a 1-2 finish in class with Georgios Dodos and Nikolaos Injoglou, followed by Vasileios Chalkias and Christos Malissovas.

Italian Rally Championship

Renault enjoyed further success on the tarmac stages at Rally Il Ciocco e Valle del Serchio. Austrians Maximilian Lichtenegger and Bernhard Ettel victoriously kicked off the season with Clio Rally3, as did Davide Nicelli Jr and Martina Bertelegni with Clio Rally5. Clio Rally3 and Clio Rally5 also won their classes in the CRZ version of the event, respectively with Massimo Pucci - Silvio Gabrielli and Lorenzo Nesti - Luca Rosselli.

Romanian Rally Championship

The Raliul Maramureșului hosted the opening round of the Romanian Rally Championship on the tarmac roads around Baia Mare. Dragoș Munteanu and Marina Ciobotea drove their Clio Rally5 to victory whilst taking third place amongst the newcomers on the national scene. Defeated in the Clio Rally5 Challenge, Ciprian Lupu and Andrei Aițculesei secured two podium finishes in R05 and RO5/A.

Swiss Rally Championship

Clio Rally3 shone at the Critérium Jurassien, securing a 1-2-3 finish in its class led by David Boissenin and Manon Verger. They even set the fastest time overall on the final stage, despite 15 Rally2 cars still in the running. Clio Rally4 also secured a podium finish with Philippe Houmard and Clément Aubry, who also finished second among the entrants in the Swiss Cup. Lastly, Loris Chaignat and Axèle Joss triumphed in RC5 in their Clio Rally5.

French Rally Cup

In addition to the success at Le Touquet, Clio Rally3 and Clio Rally5 secured victories at Rallye du Vallon de Marcillac with Gaël Tribouillois and Laëtitia Arnaud, and Johan Grès and Jeanne Rey. Meanwhile, Renault Clio secured three wins in the first edition of Rallye de la Courgette, with victories for Laurent and Amélie Zambon (Rally4), Julien Borderie and Kévin Alias (Rally5), and Adrien Condaminas and Baptiste Jeanneau (FR6). Lastly, Clio Rally3 and Clio Rally5 claimed their classes’ top spots at Rallye de Printemps with Fabrice Martin and Coralie Darras, and Frédéric Aizier and Amélie Pierron.

And elsewhere

In Portugal, Henrique Silva and Fábio Ribeiro Clio Rally5 secured podium finishes in the two-wheel-drive and P2-4 categories with Clio Rally5 at the Rali Serra da Cabreira. The same model was victorious in the P2-4 category at Rali Cidade Termal, with Joaquim Luís Rodrigues and Ricardo Bettencourt. Lastly, it is worth noting the strong performances of Tomasz Bargiel and Damian Stanek with Clio Rally3, as well as Jakub Šroubek and Radka Poláková with Clio Rally5, at the Valašská Rally (Czech Republic).