Sarah Rumeau in CFRT driving a Škoda 2C Competition in Igol colors

This is the major news at the start of this week regarding the rally French Rally Champion Sarah Rumeau and her co-driver Julie Amblard will compete in the French Gravel Rally Championship this season in a Škoda Fabia RS Rally2 prepared by 2C Compétition. They will sport a new livery, as the all-female crew has joined the Igol family, replacing their long-time partner Yacco. This is excellent news for Sarah Rumeau, who nearly had to retire at the end of last season following difficulties encountered by Iron Lynx, on whom she heavily relied through the Iron Dames project, which will subtly feature in the livery of Sarah Rumeau's car this year. She joins an impressive list of contenders for victory, including Benjamin Clemençon, Florian Condamines, and Conner Martell.

Sarah Rumeau's meteoric rise

It's only been five years since Sarah Rumeau embarked on her motorsport adventure. Having previously played handball at a high level, she switched to rallying in 2021 after a promising experience in the Rallye Jeunes talent identification program a few years prior. In her very first season, she clinched the French Rally Championship title and repeated the feat the following season, while also securing the prestigious Michelin Amateur Trophy, beating out more experienced male drivers. 2023 was a transitional season before a significant step forward in 2024 with the arrival of Iron Lynx in rallying: under the same colors as Dorian Pin or that Sarah Bovy, Sarah Rumeau thus began in 4-wheel drive with Sarrazin Motorsport, first with a Ford Fiesta Rally2 and then a Citroën C3 Rally2 last year.

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2025, a demanding year for Sarah Rumeau

While Sarah Rumeau's 2025 season was fraught with challenges, it was also incredibly enriching in many ways for the Pyrenean driver. Although she wasn't able to participate in all the initially planned races, she still managed to complete 17 events, despite final results falling short of expectations and often due to circumstances beyond her control. She competed in both French Rally Championships and also in WRC2, particularly on gravel, allowing her to gain a wealth of experience. She will therefore arrive much better prepared this season in the CFRT: "Our goal is to better prepare for each race and achieve a strong final result in this championship," she told us. The season will begin, as a reminder, on March 07th and 08th with the Rallye Castine Terre d'Occitanie (Lot).