The Causses hosted the first round of the Clio Trophy France Terre calendar for the fourth consecutive year. After the Friday shakedown and scrutineering, Benjamin Rico, Lény Cols, Anaël Cayla and Alexandre Brossy won a Michelin LTX Force T XL92 tyre in addition to their starting package thanks to the draw organised by Ceerta, the official Michelin Motorsport distributor for the French Rally Championship.

On Saturday, the competitors set off in the sunshine for the recce run before the start of the competition. Mika Rasoamaromaka hit the ground running, winning Foissac, Prix - Loupiac and Cap del Mas - Puech Morel to return to the service park with a lead of more than ten seconds over Alexandre Gransagne and Anthony Rovina. In the afternoon, the Madagascan maintained the momentum before seeing Jean Lavigne and Bastien Bergounhe fight back. However, the last timed sector of the day allowed him to increase the gap to 25.1s as Anthony Rovina and Alexandre Gransagne suffered punctures. Jean Lavigne inherited second place and led a group of six crews covered by 13.2s.

On Sunday, Mika Rasoamaromaka began to manage his lead while trying to finish in the top five in each special stage to earn more Performer Jean Ragnotti points. Meanwhile, the battle for the podium heated up as Thomas Eustaquio and Florian Bouchonneau shared the stage wins in Grottes de Foissac - Montsalès and Villeneuve - La Brunie. 2022 Clio Trophy France Terre title winner, Florian Bouchonneau moved to second place before finishing in style with two new best times in the final loop.

Mika Rasoamaromaka secured his second Clio Trophy France Terre victory, 10.2s ahead of Florian Bouchonneau. Winner at the Rallye Terre des Cardabelles in 2021, Bastien Bergounhe finished third, holding off local competitor Anaël Cayla, who missed out on a podium finish by 0.8s after a remarkable debut in the trophy. Thomas Eustaquio and Jean Lavigne completed a top six monopolised by the Juniors. Alexandre Gransagne finished seventh ahead of Benjamin Rico and Gentlemen category winner, Ludovic de Luca. The youngest driver of the field, Alexandre Villiod, came tenth. Twenty-four of the 26 crews made it to the finish line, demonstrating again the Clio Rally5’s incredible reliability, as there were no retirements due to technical issues.

Mika Rasoamaromaka’s success earned him 55 points, to which 23 points for Performer Jean Ragnotti must be added. The Madagascan’s efforts, combined with Anaël Cayla’s, see Fun Meca Sport take the lead in the team classification while Florian Bouchonneau and Ludovic de Luca’s push place Agence De Luca at the top of the Renault Network Challenge.

As the French Gravel Rally Championship season-opener, the rally also marked Tom Pellerey’s maiden outing in the official Clio Rally3 after his Junior title last year in Clio Trophy France Terre. Co-driven by Hervé Faucher, the Vaucluse native made the most of the rally to discover his new car serviced by Fun Meca Sport. With seven best times from ten special stages, the crew led a Clio Rally3 sweep of the top eight in RC3 while winning the inaugural round of the GT2i CFRT FFSA Trophy before their FIA World Rally Championship debut at the Rally of Portugal (15-18 May).

The Rallye Terre d’Aléria will host the next Clio Trophy France Terre round from 29 to 31 May. In the meantime, the Clio Trophy France Asphalte will kick off at the Rallye Rhône Charbonnières, where the number of entries could break the record of 51 Clio Rally5s set at the 2022 Rallye Mont-Blanc Morzine!

Mika Rasoamaromaka: "I was truly hoping to start the season with a win, and that’s what we did thanks to the entire team. I had a frustrating campaign last year, and we’re starting this year in the best possible way. I learned how difficult it is to manage a lead while attacking to gain additional Performer Jean Ragnotti points. It’s an aspect that I didn’t have much experience in. It was frustrating at times, but the main thing was the win. We did the job, and that gives us confidence for the future. We will prepare well for the next round in Corsica and work to keep the momentum going. We aim to give it our all and follow in the footsteps of previous trophy winners!"

Clio Trophy France Terre – Rallye Terre des Causses
1. Mika Rasoamaromaka – Mélissa Declerck (J) 1h43m13.7s
2. Florian Bouchonneau – Jeanne Rey (J) +10.2s
3. Bastien Bergounhe – Mathieu Descharne (J) +23.3s
4. Anaël Cayla – Rémi Nolorgues (J) +24.1s
5. Thomas Eustaquio – Pauline Compozieux (J) +33.9s
6. Jean Lavigne – Arnaud Cubizolles (J) +52.7s
7. Alexandre Gransagne – Loïc Maurel +55.8s
8. Benjamin Rico – Samuel Passetemps (J) +2m16.1s
9. Ludovic De Luca – José Boyer (G) +3m30.5s
10. Alexandre Villiod – Benjamin Mondière (J) +3m39.5s
11. Johan Gres – Thomas Taillandier +3m53.6s
12. Christophe Truchet – Barbara Truchet +3m54.2s
13. Lény Cols – Pascal Lopes (J) +5m20.6s
14. Nicolas Hebrard – Laurence Pelamourgues +6m13.6s
15. Alexandre Brossy – Justin Ladet +6m33.9s
16. Joris Gres – Léa Milon (J) +6m42.7s
17. Simon Esteban – Jean-François Orts (J) +7m22.2s
18. Thomas Mouysset – Margaux Jeudy (J) +8m24.4s
19. Anthony Rovina – Audrey Nesta (J) +8m53.7s
20. Romain Sagnes – Frédéric Vincent +9m24.8s
21. Gaël Bertrand – Fabien Adenot +10m36.8s
22. Laurent Zambon – Maëva Perrinaud +10m52.5s
23. Lucas Aymard – Hugo Olivier (J) +13m29.5s
24. Charles Charrier – Sylviane Sitarz (J) +1h03m30.8s
Ret. Lucas Valliccioni – Charline Mollier (J)
Ret. Florent Sabatier – Thomas Santiago (G)

Clio Trophy France Terre - Performer Jean Ragnotti - Teams standings - Renault Network Challenge