Great victories in the secondary classifications at the Le Touquet – Pas-de-Calais Rally

If the fight for the overall standings of Rally The Touquet – Pas-de-Calais Rally, won by Yoann Bonato and Benjamin Boulloud (Lancia Ypsilon Rally2 HF Integrale), was the center of attention, with plenty to see at every level on the Opal Coast. The four Coupes de Marques (French Rally Championship) launched their respective seasons, and all, or nearly all, produced new winners. In SMRC4, Arthur Roché and Quentin Proust secured their first career victory. On their Peugeot In the 208 Rally4 category, they successfully completed a tricky rally with extreme conditions that didn't go well for everyone, such as Quentin Vialatte and Alexis Maillefert (Lancia Ypsilon Rally4), who were leading with two stages to go but went off the road in SS11. Roché and Proust have therefore made a perfect start to their season.

Maxence Potard returns to the forefront

In the Clio Trophy France, there was also plenty of action. Maxence Potard, co-driven by Maxime Biegalke, displayed surprising control and took the win, thus, like Arthur Roché and Quentin Proust, opening his account in this junior formula. The former Rallye Jeunes winner, who previously competed in the Stellantis Motorsport Rally Cup, has given his career a much-needed boost, having been considered a few years ago as the future star of French rallying. The podium was completed by local drivers Paul and Adèle Dachicourt, who finished second. Romain Brun and Aurélia Chevalier, in their first outing together in the Clio Trophy France, delivered a very strong performance and secured third place.

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Great victories for Florent Pueyo, Quentin Dumoulin and Melvin Rabilloud

Florent Pueyo and Timothée Dinet (Peugeot 208 Rally4) also achieved a clean sweep in the Michelin Amateur Trophy. The crew from the Hérault region defeated their numerous rivals, as 23 competitors were entered in this first round, and finished ahead of another 208 Rally4, driven by Thomas and Marine Capelli, the 2024 winners, and Sylvain Seray – Mathieu Fouqueray (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VII). In the SMRC6 category, Quentin Dumoulin, co-driven by Julie Viallet, claimed the first victory of the season ahead of Tristan Pieri – Léo Cantallops and Tom Montagne – Aurélien Delforges; all three crews were competing in Peugeot 208 Racing cars. Finally, for the first appearance of the Trophy Alpine A290 Rallye en CFR, Melvin Rabilloud and Enzo Mahinc won by a wide margin, as was the case at the last Rallye de l'Indre.