The Clio Cup Series returned to Dijon for the first time since 2018. On Friday, competitors had two 30-minute practice sessions to get to grips with the Burgundy circuit’s elevation changes and quick sequences of corners, with Gabriele Torelli (Rangoni Corse) and Gaël Castelli proving the quickest in the 43-strong Clio Cup field.

Race 1: Pouget makes it three wins on the bounce

On Saturday, David Pouget won the pole position in a qualifying session marked by a proper draft battle and several time deleted for track limit infringements. The Clio Cup Series leader, who scored a double victory last month at Nogaro, finished ahead of Challengers Ben Colburn (Westbourne Motorsport) and Benjamin Cauvas (GPA Racing).

Under cloudy skies, Ben Colburn made the best start to take the lead. Behind the Briton, David Pouget, Benjamin Cauvas and Gabriele Torelli followed in close quarters whilst the field was rattled by an incident that eliminated Filip Kunčer (Milan Compétition). Fifth on the starting grid, the Montenegrin got caught up in an incident early on in the race, which led to an immediate intervention of the safety car.

At the restart, Ben Colburn retained his advantage over David Pouget, whilst Gabriele Torelli overtook Benjamin Cauvas. From then on, the leading trio engaged in a tight battle, and the Italian surprised the Frenchman just before another safety car caused by Romain Massé (T2CM), who emerged unscathed despite a heavy crash at the Villeroy double right-hander. When the race resumed, Ben Colburn held off Gabriele Torelli and David Pouget, but Gaël Castelli seized his chance to slip between them and join the battle.

In the final sprint, Gaël Castelli and David Pouget found an opening on Ben Colburn, but the former went wide and slipped to fourth place in the following corners. Despite Ben Colburn’s attempts to fight back, David Pouget held on to claim his third consecutive victory of the season ahead of the British driver, who won the Challengers class. Guillaume Maio (GM Sport) completed the podium, taking advantage of the fierce duel between Gaël Castelli and Gabriele Torelli. Thomas Compain (Milan Compétition) finished fifth, ahead of Nicolas Milan Jr (Milan Compétition), the top Junior and holder of the race’s fastest lap. Daire Flock (Westbourne Motorsport), Gabriele Torelli, Andreas Stucki (Stucki Motorsport) and Nicolas Milan (Milan Compétition) rounded out the top ten in a field where the order changed at every corner. Stephan Polderman (AST Competition) dominated the Gentlemen category.

Race 2: Milan comes out on top

On Sunday, Alex Lancellotti continued GPA Racing’s impressive run in qualifying, securing the French team’s fourth consecutive pole position. The Italian finished ahead of David Pouget, Gabriele Torelli, Ben Colburn, and Gaël Castelli.

In front of a large crowd, David Pouget got off to an excellent start a few hours later to take the lead. Ben Colburn took second place, but the pole sitter and Gabriele Torelli took advantage of his slipstream to get back into the leading trio before Gaël Castelli joined the group. The battle intensified, but the safety car was called into service after a collision on the pit straight eliminated Francesco Pagano (ASD Scuderia Venanzio), Filip Kunčer and Benjamin Cauvas.

At the restart, David Pouget retained the lead before succumbing to Gabriele Torelli, whom he immediately put under pressure. Lying in wait, Gaël Castelli made a daring move on Ben Colburn, then took advantage of the duel between the two leaders to surprise David Pouget. Nicolas Milan followed suit before a thrilling and eventful end to the race.

Gabriele Torelli, Gaël Castelli and Nicolas Milan entered the first corner three abreast. On the inside, Nicolas Milan emerged in the lead, while Gaël Castelli fell back to fourth place. Nicolas Milan held on in the final lap to take his first win of the season. Initially second and fourth, Gabriele Torelli and Gaël Castelli were penalised for contact after the race. David Pouget and Challenger Ben Colburn thus completed the podium ahead of Guillaume Maio, Anthony Jurado (Rangoni Corse) and Mauro Polderman, the top Junior setting the race’s fastest lap. Alex Lancellotti was promoted to seventh, followed by Andreas Stucki, Nikola Tosic (Rangoni Corse) and Damiano Puccetti (Rangoni Corse). Twelfth behind Daire Flock (Westbourne Motorsport), Stephan Polderman took the double in the Gentlemen category.

Clio Cup Series

With a victory and a second place in Burgundy, David Pouget extends his lead in the Clio Cup Series. The Frenchman now has a 70-point advantage over Britain’s Ben Colburn, who scored a double podium finish and his first two wins in the Challenger category, which he now leads. While Mauro Polderman and Thomas Compain again shared the honours among the Juniors, the Dutchman leaves Dijon two points ahead of his rival. Meanwhile, Stephan Polderman took advantage of his double win to move up in the Gentlemen classification, still led by Laurent Dziadus (Team Lucas). In the Teams classification, GPA Racing remains at the top, although Milan Compétition reduced its deficit by a point.

Clio Cup Italia

Just three points separate race winners Alex Lancellotti and Gaël Castelli after the opening round of Clio Cup Italia. The Italian also leads the Challenger category, where he shared the honours with Benjamin Cauvas. The only driver to finish on the podium in both races this weekend, Stephan Polderman is third overall and first in the Gentlemen classifications. Lastly, Oskar Marszałkowski (Uniq Racing) and Damiano Puccetti leave Burgundy tied on points at the top of the Junior category after their respective victories.

The competitors will next be in action at Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps (30 May-1 June) for round three of the Clio Cup Series calendar. The event will host round two of Clio Cup España and Clio Cup France and round one of Clio Cup Mid-Europe. The Clio Cup Italia protagonists will meet again at Imola on 4-6 July.

Résultats - Clio Cup Series - Clio Cup Italia