For the fourth consecutive year, the Rallye Terre des Causses will establish an initial hierarchy in the Clio Trophy France Terre, where twenty-six drivers and their co-drivers will compete in Clio Rally5s, the standard-setting car in the rallying feeder series world thanks to its reliability, performance and accessibility.

In the race to succeed Quentin Ribaud, Florian Bouchonneau, Jean-Sébastien Vigion and Benjamin Boulenc, this opening round could see a former title-winner return to the fray as Florian Bouchonneau makes his return to competition. Still co-driven by Jeanne Rey, he will draw on his experience to quickly find his bearings back and aim for a maiden victory that eluded him in 2022. Florian Bouchonneau has three ambitious contenders to contend with within the AMD Motorsport by Gulf Racing team. Fourth last year, Alexandre Gransagne will also target the top spot whilst his teammates Johan Grès and Nicolas Hebrard will look to battle at the sharp end of the order.

The fight for the official programme awarded to the best Junior promises to be thrilling. Florian Bouchonneau will face two drivers who have already won trophy rounds: Bastien Bergounhe, who joins CHL Sport Auto to follow in the footsteps of Tom Pellerey, and Mika Rasoamaromaka, now partnered with Mélissa Declerck, who won with Quentin Ribaud and Fun Meca Sport in 2021. However, this trio should not underestimate the competition. Runner-up to Tom Pellerey in the Juniors last year, Jean Lavigne will also aim to accelerate his progress with ARL Sport.

Meanwhile, Anthony Rovina (Pit Stop France), Thomas Mouysset and Thomas Eustaquio (GMC Compétition) have revised their ambitions in a vastly renewed field. The best Juniors in the Clio Trophy Spain Tierra and the Clio Trophy Belgium in 2024, Alexandre Villiod (Brunet Competition) and Lény Cols will put their skills to the test on the French special stages. Benjamin Rico (PH Sport) will be another driver to watch, just like newcomers Lucas Aymard, Joris Grès (Fun Meca Sport), Charles Charrier (GMC Compétition), Anaël Cayla (Fun Meca Sport), Lucas Valliccioni (GMC Compétition) and Simon Esteban, all determined to make a strong impression from the get-go.

Following his first podium at last year’s season-finale, Christophe Truchet will try to cement his place at the front even more regularly. Gaël Bertrand also returns to demonstrate the extent of his progress in a field where Laurent Zambon, Alexandre Brossy and Romain Sagnes (Autocantal Compétition) could use their Causses experiences for their trophy debut. Lastly, in the Gentlemen category, Ludovic De Luca (Lezeau Compétition), ever faster and more experienced with Clio Rally5, will be up against Florent Sabatier, a Clio Trophy France Terre newcomer but a four-time class winner at the Causses.

From Friday 4 to Sunday 6 April, the 28th Rallye Terre des Causses will host the French Gravel Rally Championship opening round. The course will offer 156.06 timed kilometres on a total route of 291.57 km, excluding recce. Each of the ten special stages in the Lot and Aveyron will award up to five ’Performer Jean Ragnotti’ bonus points for the five fastest drivers. In parallel to Clio Trophy France Terre, Tom Pellerey and Hervé Faucher will launch their official Clio Rally3 programme thanks to their Junior title last year. The crew will discover their new car serviced by Fun Meca Sport before their WRC3 debut at the Rally de Portugal (15-18 May). Eleven other Clio Rally3s will be at the start of the event.

Entry list
#40 Alexandre Gransagne – Loïc Maurel
#41 Jean Lavigne – Arnaud Cubizolles (J)
#42 Mika Rasoamaromaka – Mélissa Declerck (J)
#43 Florian Bouchonneau – Jeanne Rey (J)
#44 Bastien Bergounhe – Mathieu Descharne (J)
#45 Ludovic De Luca – José Boyer (G)
#46 Christophe Truchet – Barbara Truchet
#47 Thomas Eustaquio – Pauline Compozieux (J)
#48 Benjamin Rico – Samuel Passetemps (J)
#49 Anthony Rovina – Audrey Nesta (J)
#50 Johan Gres – Thomas Taillandier
#51 Alexandre Villiod – Benjamin Mondière (J)
#52 Nicolas Hebrard – Laurence Pelamourgues
#53 Lucas Aymard – Hugo Olivier (J)
#54 Lucas Valliccioni – Charline Mollier (J)
#55 Lény Cols – Pascal Lopes (J)
#56 Laurent Zambon – Maëva Perrinaud
#58 Charles Charrier – Sylviane Sitarz (J)
#59 Joris Gres – Léa Milon (J)
#60 Gaël Bertrand – Fabien Adenot
#61 Thomas Mouysset – Margaux Jeudy (J)
#62 Anaël Cayla – Rémi Nolorgues (J)
#63 Simon Esteban – Jean-François Orts (J)
#65 Alexandre Brossy – Justin Ladet
#65 Florent Sabatier – Mélanie Tendille (G)
#66 Romain Sagnes – Frédéric Vincent