Second in the 2-Wheel Drive category at Le Touquet, Thomas Anacleto impressed

At the end of the first loop of the Rally Le Touquet – Pas-de-Calais, nobody expected them to be at such a party. Thomas Anacleto and Marie Stirling delivered an impressive performance in the first round of the French Asphalt Rally Championship, at the wheel of a Porsche 992 GT+, which they were still getting to know. Third in the Rallye de Meuse behind Ludovic Godard and Quentin Gilbert with this car, Thomas Anacleto returned to second position in the provisional overall standings behind Raphaël Astier after the first four special stages at Le Touquet, and thus naturally entered the discussion. The rain, only tamed by Raphaël Astier in the Porsche, hampered his performance, but he still impressed: At the Rallye de Meuse, we felt comfortable in the car. But the rally profile was completely different: at Le Touquet, we had steep climbs, village crossings, heavy braking… Nothing like a regional rally " he told us upon arrival.

Difficult conditions for Thomas Anacleto and Marie Stirling

Despite losing positions on Friday afternoon, Thomas Anacleto and Marie Stirling maintained their pace for the remainder of the rally, as evidenced by their fastest time in the twelfth and final special stage, allowing them to secure 8th place overall. I told him to calm down, because in this special stage, we had snow and hail! “,” stated Marie Stirling, who shared the cockpit of the 992 GT+ last weekend and is none other than Thomas Anacleto’s partner. This Rallye Le Touquet – Pas-de-Calais was therefore their second career appearance in the French Rally Championship (CFR) in a Porsche after the 2025 Mont-Blanc Rally, contested in the 991 GT+ prepared by Anthony Cosson, and Thomas Anacleto now has a bit more experience with the car. Enough to silence the critics of the gleaming German machine, which is starting to raise some eyebrows among its rivals…

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Thomas Anacleto offers a more nuanced perspective on Porsche's performance

« Reading some of the comments, you get the impression the car practically drives itself. I encourage people to come and try one: sure, it has a big engine, but with the crew on board, it weighs close to 1600 kilograms and it's a very difficult car to handle, especially on bumpy roads as we saw here. "Anacleto explained at the finish of the rally. We should see them again in at least three other rounds of the French Rally Championship: Our program includes the Vosges Grand Est Rally, the Mont-Blanc Morzine Rally and the Cœur de France Rally " explained the man who is also the manager of Camotos, a company specializing in the manufacture of buggies for Autocross. Le Touquet was our holiday: we work a lot and our main goal is to come to CFR to have fun », he concluded.