French Rally Cup: Ascension weekend results

With a total of eight events organized last week on French soil, not forgetting the Rally The Antibes Côte d'Azur Rally, a round of the French Rally Championship, provided plenty of excitement for rally enthusiasts. The program could have been even more extensive, as the Côte des Nacres – Costa Serena Rally (Corsica) and the Vervins Rally (Aisne) were also scheduled to take place last weekend. The first event last week was the Coutellerie and Tire-Bouchon Regional Rally in Saint-Rémy-sur-Durolle (Puy-de-Dôme). Victory went to Evan Brun and Philippe Boy, despite their modest entry. Peugeot 208 Rally4. The two men finished ahead of Pascal Clairet – Gilles Combe (Škoda Fabia R5) and Gérôme Molina – Kévin Clavel-Morot (Peugeot 208 R2). At the Rallye du Saint-Emilion (Gironde), headquartered in Puisseguin, Pierre and Martine Roché launched their season and took the victory in their Alpine A110 GT+ ahead of another Dieppe car, that of Sam Taveneau – Pauline Boyer, while Frédéric Meurant and Kévin Aumenier (Škoda Fabia R5) completed the podium.

French Rally Cup: Guadeloupe has joined the fray

Another national rally that took place last weekend was the Rallye de la Canne in Guadeloupe. The first round of the local championship, the event was won by Jean-Michel Pouvin and Joël Lefi (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX) ahead of Jean-Marie Pilli – Lyonnel Pineau (Citroën DS3 R5) and Stéphane Negre – Teddy Adams (Citroën Saxo VTS). All these crews will certainly be at the start of the island's biggest gathering in a few weeks, the Rallye des Grands Fonds, won last year by Simon Jean-Joseph and Patrick Pivato (Porsche 991 GT+).

In mainland France, Laurent Lacomy, partnered with Jérôme Bard, won the Rallye de la Matheysine (Isère) in their Citroën C3 Rally2 ahead of Florent Chalon – Camille Jeannin (Škoda Fabia Rally2 evo) and Philippe Brun – Julie Viallet (Alpine A110 GT+). Lacomy wasn't the only one to bring victory to a Stellantis Motorsport-badged car, as Maxime Escudier and Mallorie Puech also triumphed at the Rallye de Printemps (Hérault) in a C3 Rally2, marking their first career win. They finished ahead of Benjamin Bernard – Cédric Schiano (Škoda Fabia Rally2 evo) and Bruno Ginhoux – Christophe Boban (Volkswagen Polo R5 GTi).

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Arthur Pelamourgues for a place in the French Rally Cup Final?

Between various appearances in the World Rally Championship, Arthur Pelamourgues seems to be enjoying his few outings in the French Rally Cup. Recent winner of the Rallye du Vallon de Marcillac and the Rallye du Morbihan, the Aveyron-born driver, along with Bastien Pouget, triumphed at the Rallye Val Dadou (Tarn) in their usual Hyundai i20N Rally2. A victory that is not so insignificant, since Pelamourgues continues to accumulate qualifying points for the French Rally Cup Final and could now legitimately aim for participation.

Behind them were Jérémy Puech and Joan Tezier (Škoda Fabia RS Rally2), followed by Anthony Cazot and Philippe Curel in a surprising BMW 318 Ti Compact. Admittedly an older generation car, another Hyundai (R5) triumphed this weekend with Anthony Langlois and Margot Pottier at the Rallye du Mézidon (Calvados), ahead of Antoine Margely and Corinne Patte-Joigneaux (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX) and Jean-François and Victoria Piau (Škoda Fabia R5). Finally, at the Rallye de la Vallée du Loir (Loir-et-Cher) in Mazangé, a town known for hosting the French Rally Championship during the Rallye Cœur de France – Centre Val-de-Loire, victory went to Philippe Taffonneau and Loïc Sebire (Alpine A110 GT+) ahead of Raphaël and Antoine Renard (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX) as well as Sébastien and Nicolas Blondel (Renault Megane Maxi).