"Eleven years of sacrifices": The culmination for Romain Durand, winner of the Lozère Rally

This is one of the major achievements of the beginning of 2026. Rally In the Lozère Rally, an extremely challenging event due to its profile, Romain Durand secured his first ever rally victory at the wheel of his new Škoda Fabia Rally2 Evo, alongside his now-faithful co-driver, Nicolas Blanc, who also experienced the joy of victory for the first time. The event, as usual, counted towards the French Rally Championship 2nd Division, and as such, the Durand-Blanc duo had to fend off attacks from Jordan Berfa and Benjamin Gary, championship leaders at the start of the rally after winning the Rallye du Pays de Grasse Fleurs & Parfums. More than just a victory, the two men dominated the competition, controlling the race from the first to the last special stage without ever faltering or relinquishing the lead. Romain Durand is not, however, a complete unknown: in the past, he has notably participated in the French Junior Rally Championship, where he achieved some impressive results.

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What does this first career success mean to you?

This is the culmination of eleven years of sacrifices that have allowed us to drive some seriously cool cars. Now we have a car that lets us win, and that's why we came to the Rallye de Lozère. This victory was a huge boost for the whole team, especially my father, with whom we spent countless hours preparing this car: everyone was ecstatic. What's more, one of my best friends also won his category at the Rallye de Lozère, so the weekend was a complete success.

From outsiders, you and Nicolas Blanc quickly became the men to beat at the Rallye de Lozère this weekend. How did you handle this new pressure?

It's true that people weren't necessarily labeling us favorites before the start, but we still believed in ourselves. Right from the Prologue, we found ourselves in the lead and therefore had to adapt to the position of being the chased. But honestly, I prefer that to having to chase the clock! We didn't feel any particular pressure either. We ran our own race; Jordan Berfa was on the attack and pushed to the very end, and we felt like we could hold on. If it had rained, it might have been a bit different because we didn't have any experience with the car on a wet track.

At the final stop point of the rally, a certain Guillaume Mercoiret was waiting for you…

It was a very special feeling. Guillaume and I started out together in 2015. We always said we'd win our first victory together, but life didn't quite work out that way. However, I'm very happy for him and very proud of the career he's building. In fact, I think I felt more emotion watching him win at Monte Carlo last January with Léo Rossel than he did last Sunday watching us win! From a casual chat over drinks eleven years ago, he's now playing a leading role in WRC2. In a way, you could say I helped him develop (laughs).

What will the rest of your season hold?

Racing is expensive, we're currently lacking sponsors, so for the time being, we'll have to use our own funds. However, I hope to be able to do the Rallye du Gard in Alès (June 12-13) and then, why not, if possible, do a rally with Guillaume (Mercoiret), if only to reminisce about the good old days and see how far we've come! Stellantis Motorsport would still need to "lend" him to me, but you never know!

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