Julien Casale shows no mercy at Côtes du Tarn, Marc Valliccioni wins the VHC race

The Tarn department, and the towns of Coufouleux and Rabastens, hosted the event last weekend. Rally The Côtes du Tarn Rally, the opening round of the rally season for competitors in the Occitanie Pyrénées Motorsport League, as well as for those in the French Historic Rally Championship, since the event also served as the season opener. In the Modern Rally category, Julien Casale and Pierre Delorme secured a convincing victory in their new Škoda Fabia RS Rally2. It's worth noting that the two men will also be competing in the Le Touquet – Pas-de-Calais Rally, as Casale, winner of the 2025 Michelin Amateur Trophy, will be competing in his prize rally there. In the Côtes du Tarn Rally, they finished more than a minute ahead of Jordan Berfa and Chloé Thomas (Hyundai i20N R5) as well as Jérémy Puech and Philippe Curel, third in a Škoda R5.

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Among the established players, there are also issues at stake.

In the Historic Rally Championship (VHC), the competition was thrilling. From the very start of the rally, Franck Morel and Nicolas Forlin (Ford Sierra RS Cosworth), winners of the 2023 French Historic Rally Cup Final in Albi, took the lead but suffered a mechanical issue that dropped them significantly down the order. They did manage to set the fastest time on the very last stage of the rally, but unfortunately, it was too late to turn things around. From then on, Marc Valliccioni and Clio Chambeland, in a BMW M3 E30, remained unfazed and firmly established themselves at the top of the standings. At the finish, they finished ahead of an unusual duo: Mathias de Sousa and Kévin Millet, Tony Cosson's usual co-driver, also in a BMW M3 E30, and Raynald Hautot and Cécilia Giannuna in a Sierra Cosworth. The next round of the French Historic Rally Championship will take place in early April in Grasse.

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