Benjamin Stirling: "A childhood dream" to drive in Rally2 next year

After winning the Clio Trophy France in 2023 and the season at Alpine Racing, 2025 was the last chance year in SMRC4. How did you prepare for this season?

Not as I would have liked, I must admit. We picked up the car at the end of January and couldn't test drive it until mid-February because we still needed to have the engine serviced. By the time we received it and reinstalled it in the car, we were already very close to Le Touquet. There was also a small mistake on our part regarding the Rally The Meuse Rally, in preparation for Le Touquet, pushed us to work on the car again before Le Touquet. Fortunately, it's a rally we knew well, and there weren't many changes for 2025, so we were quickly able to focus on this first race. For the rest of the season, we did our best to be at our best on tarmac and minimize the damage on gravel, as we knew it would be the most challenging surface for us. Thanks to the work done with Florence, then with our family team, and of course Team PH Sport, whom I thank, everything went very smoothly.

We immediately understood that you were going to be untouchable or almost untouchable on the asphalt, how do you explain this very impressive top speed?

The car suited me immediately; I felt very comfortable in it, and in some ways, it reminded me a lot of the Rally3 we had last year. I found everything I loved about the Rally3 in this 208. Add to that a good setup that gives me confidence in the car, a certain maturity also gained over the years with Florence, and our consistency despite our retirement at the Var Rally… There will still be room for improvement next year, but I think I've already made good progress this year in my driving. Let's just say that tarmac suits me better than gravel…

The synergy seemed perfect with Florence, just as it was with PH Sport. It became like a second family.

No questions asked about Florence: the partnership works perfectly, it's exactly what I need. As for PH Sport, it's true that it's become like a second family… Initially, one of my partners, a long-time client of Bernard Piallat, encouraged us to get closer to the team. I'm thrilled with this connection: PH Sport is a large organization that maintains a human scale, everyone works incredibly well together, the atmosphere is fantastic, they're very responsive, and they have a huge inventory of parts both in the workshop and at the races, making them extremely quick to react in any situation. They know every car they run. Honestly, I believe that to put everything together and hope to win races and championships, you need to be able to rely on this kind of organization. Thank you to them for the work they've done alongside me this year.

The off-road excursion in Var is certainly not easy to accept, especially since the title was already decided… Is it already ancient history?

Yes and no. No, because it was our first real major off-road excursion; the car is still being reassembled, by the way. It's not the ideal end to the season; we weren't going to the Var Rally to fight for the win or set fast times… I also don't think we rushed or poorly prepared for the rally. It just shows that a small hitch can quickly derail everything and that you have to be 100% focused at all times. This version of the Collobrières Rally, running in the opposite direction compared to last year and like it was this year, appealed to me a little less. Perhaps I already had some apprehension, I don't know… But we'll take the positives from this incident; it allows us to re-evaluate ourselves, learn more about ourselves, and strengthen ourselves for next year.

Speaking of 2026, you've already presented the car and you'll be racing again with PH Sport: we imagine there was no need to even think about who you were going to drive for!

Admittedly, the decision was made quickly, but it wasn't a snap of the fingers either. To be honest, we had been in discussions with another team since the Mont Blanc Rally regarding 2026, but that project didn't come to fruition. Once that opportunity was put aside, Bernard, along with Jean-Charles Baubelique and Minerva Oil, made us an offer we couldn't pass up. I thank them again and I'm aware of how fortunate we are to have them on board, in addition to the support offered by Stellantis Motorsport and Michelin Motorsport. Another advantage is that Florence and I are only a two-hour drive from the workshop: we'll try to spend time there, learn the car's mechanics, and build up a kind of toolbox in case we need to work on the car in the middle of a rally. We're going to do everything we can to ensure this nine-round program goes as smoothly as possible.

Are you planning for the medium term by trying now to secure your presence in the top category for several seasons?

We've always taken things step by step, without being reckless, and our goal is to do everything correctly and in the right order. Of course, the level of competition in France is so high that it won't be easy. But we fully intend to establish ourselves for the long term, do everything we can to have a solid season next year, and try to retain our partners to continue the adventure beyond this "free" year. I think that after a season in Rally2, it's going to be very difficult to want to go back to a different car anyway! So, we're going to try to show that we can still improve and work on our skills.

You've come a long way since your beginnings!

I still remember going to the mountains with my parents, being strapped into my car seat on the descent between Les Gets and Samoëns, pulling on imaginary cables while believing I was in the Peugeot Cédric Robert's 206 Super 1600 (laughs)! My earliest childhood memories were of dreaming about rallying with my cousins. So I realize how far I've come, starting with regional rallies, then taking my first steps in the French Rally Championship, and then winning one-make cups… Obviously, it's a childhood dream to think that next year I'll be doing a full season in a car from the top French category. But now that I understand that with dedication, anything is possible, I'm going to give it my all to keep this going.

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