An iconic fixture in the French Gravel Rally Championship, but new to the Clio Rally5 trophy calendar, the Rallye Terre de Vaucluse promises to be intense as the suspense remains intact in the run-up to the final sprint!

Seven contenders for one title

Mika Rasoamaromaka, who has led since the opening special stage of the year, won the first three rounds before making a mistake last month at Les Cardabelles. While he still holds his fate in his own hands, the Madagascan now has only a one-point lead and knows better than anyone that the title is by no means a foregone conclusion.

His main rivals will be Anaël Cayla and Florian Bouchonneau. Having gone from strength to strength throughout the year, the Aveyron native is keen to build on his debut victory, especially as the elimination of the worst score at the end of the season is currently working against him. For his part, Florian Bouchonneau will draw on his experience of the event to snatch the title from the Fun Meca Sport duo and become the first two-time winner in the history of the trophy.

It promises to be a thrilling battle in this all-new final, where points on each special stage and at the end will be multiplied by 1.5. Slightly behind, Alexandre Gransagne and Christophe Truchet hope to take advantage of this generous scoring system to cause an upset after their podium results at Cardabelles, as do Thomas Eustaquio and Alexandre Villiod, who are still in the running for the official programme in 2026 promised to the best Junior driver.

Jean Ragnotti Performer Trophy up for grabs

Mika Rasoamaromaka also heads into this final round at the top of the Jean Ragnotti Performer Classification, based on points awarded to the fastest drivers over ten special stages at each event. The Madagascan currently has an eight-point lead over Anaël Cayla and nine points over Florian Bouchonneau, but this battle looks set to be just as close right up to the finish. Still mathematically in contention, Thomas Eustaquio and Anthony Rovina will need to deliver near-perfect performances and hope for a slip-up from their rivals to lift the cup next Sunday.

Two teams for one crown

The various battles for the title and the Jean Ragnotti Performer Trophy will also have direct consequences for the teams, with the future winner entrusted with the operation of a car as part of the official programme for the best Junior driver next year. Crowned in 2021, 2022, and 2024, Fun Meca Sport has a good advantage with Mika Rasoamaromaka, Anaël Cayla, and Joris Grès, whilst Florian Bouchonneau, Alexandre Gransagne, and Nicolas Hebrard will represent AMD Motorsport by Gulf Racing & Racelogic.

Other contests to follow

Among the outsiders, Jean Lavigne will as always be a contender at the sharp end, while Jérôme Janny will try his hand at gravel after competing in the Clio Trophy France Asphalte in recent seasons. Meanwhile, Charles Charrier, Lucas Aymard and Gaël Bertrand will look to demonstrate their potential by putting in a strong performance.

In contention for the overall title, Christophe Truchet could also take a massive step towards the crown in the Clio Full Challenge, the new competition launched this year to reward versatility on different surfaces. Leading the provisional classification, he will have the opportunity to build an irreversible gap. However, Johan Grès will do everything possible to delay the outcome until the final round of the Clio Trophy France Asphalte at Rallye du Var.

With the Gentlemen category and Renault Network Challenge titles with Agence De Luca wrapped up, Ludovic De Luca will aim to end his campaign on a high in his class against Thomas Escartefigue and Dimitri Felices, a well-known preparer in the service park. Like the latter two, three other competitors will be making their first appearance of the season and will therefore be ineligible for points: Junior Grégory Scotto La Chianca, and two experienced drivers on these stages, David Ferrière and Anthony Orsini.

A demanding course

The course of the 34th Rallye Terre de Vaucluse will take in some familiar roads from the French Gravel Rally Championship, with ten timed stages totalling 153.44 kilometres of action. On Saturday, the Rasteau, Visan, and Plan de Dieu special stages will be run twice before the crews take on Vaudieu and Ruth twice on Sunday. Ten Clio Rally3 and two other Clio Rally5 will also be competing in the event.

Entry list
#37 Mika Rasoamaromaka – Mélissa Declerck (J)
#38 Anaël Cayla – Rémi Nolorgues (J)
#39 Florian Bouchonneau – Jeanne Rey (J)
#40 Thomas Eustaquio – Pauline Compozieux (J)
#41 Christophe Truchet – Barbara Truchet
#42 Alexandre Gransagne – Loïc Maurel
#43 Alexandre Villiod – Maëlle Casays (J)
#44 Jean Lavigne – Arnaud Cubizolles (J)
#45 Anthony Rovina – Audrey Nesta (J)
#46 Johan Grès – Thomas Taillandier
#47 Nicolas Hebrard – Bastien Dumas
#48 Ludovic De Luca – José Boyer (G)
#49 Joris Gres – Léa Milon (J)
#50 Jérôme Janny – Helena Pecheur
#51 David Ferriere – Mathieu Donnat
#52 Charles Charrier – Maxime Machabert (J)
#53 Thomas Escartefigue – Cécile Marie (G)
#54 Dimitri Felices – Jean-Marie Boiron (G)
#55 Lucas Aymard – Hugo Olivier (J)
#56 Grégory Scotto La Chianca – Morine Gidel (J)
#57 Gaël Bertrand – Fabien Adenot
#58 Anthony Orsini – Vivien Orsini (J)