Yoan Corberand, winner of the Clio Trophy France: "We went to war"

Winning the Clio Trophy France was your goal for several seasons, what joy does it give you to have finally won?

An immense joy! It's incredibly satisfying to have won the Clio Trophy France. I think winning a junior formula is every driver's dream. People might not realize all the aspects and sacrifices involved, but competing at this level requires a huge amount of work before the races to be ready. It's a great reward for everything we've put in.

You were 0,5 points behind Julien Deslauriers in the championship at the start of the last special stage. What was going through your mind as you set off?

We absolutely had to set a better time than Julien and Amandine, because with the points accumulated in the various Clio Trophy France standings, the title would truly hinge on the standings for this single special stage. So, my co-driver, Pauline Compozieux, and I told ourselves we had to make it the stage of our lives. We went into "war" mode, even more so than usual, with only one goal in mind: to beat their time.

You each made a mistake this season, his is more costly since it occurred in the last special stage of the season… Can we say that you were on the edge all season?

We already said it last year: the pace of the Clio Trophy France keeps increasing. And this year again, we had that same feeling of constantly having to walk a tightrope. It's so close, so down-to-earth, that you have to drive perfect stages and leave nothing to chance on every single corner. It's easy to make mistakes, and unfortunately, like Julien on the last stage in the Var region, we too paid the price, going off the road right at the start of the... Rally Mont-Blanc Morzine.

Of your 3 victories this season, which is the most beautiful in your eyes?

Honestly, I'm having trouble choosing just one! The Rhône-Charbonnières Rally will always be a fantastic memory because it was a rally of "firsts": a new team, a new rally for me, a new co-driver with Florence Stirling filling in for the injured Pauline… and Florence's first time with someone other than Benjamin, too! Everything went perfectly, and we won, even though we started the last stage with a five-tenths of a second lead over Julien. Then, the Cœur de France Rally was a fantastic reward for everyone who helped rebuild the car after the Mont-Blanc crash. And it was also Pauline's first victory; I was so happy to be able to "give" it to her—she deserved it, given all the hard work she puts in.

What are your plans for 2026?

As we speak, I don't yet have a definite plan. Unfortunately, even though we won the Clio Trophy France, we don't have any prize money because it's reserved for the Junior winner… and we don't qualify for that category! So we're going to look into the options available to us to compete next year, and then we'll make a decision. But, in any case, it's hard to imagine not participating in the rounds of the French Rally Championship.

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