This weekend, 35 drivers will return to competition at one of French motor racing’s monuments : Magny-Cours. The former host circuit of the French Formula 1 Grand Prix from 1991 to 2008 is an atypical track, always providing spectacular racing with its several technical sequences that penalize the more reckless.

Winners of six of the first eight races of the season, the door handle to door handle battles Benoît Castagné (Raiwoit Racing) and Nicolas Milan (Milan Compétition) will most logically continue in Burgundy. While the former has a six point lead, the dropping of the worst result favours the latter… Suffice to say that the slightest mistake could be very costly ahead of the season-finale at Paul Ricard !

In the chase group, Dorian Guldenfels (GPA Racing), Thibaut Bossy (TB2S) and Yoann Baziret (Setup Racing) will all be aiming for a first victory to remain a serious threat just until the end of the season. For their part, David Pouget (GPA Racing) and Pierre-Étienne Chaumat (TB2S) will try to return to the top step of the podium and race for more than just a points finish before the season concludes.

Junior category leader, Anthony Jurado (Setup Racing) will look to make the most of the return to action to pull away from Corentin Tierce (Tierce Racing), who ran the table at Dijon. Nevertheless, the Hérault native will have to keep an eye on Adeline Prudent (Prudent Compétition) and Pierre Tierce (Tierce Racing). Ineligible to score points, Spaniard Marc De Fulgencio (Team VRT) has just one goal : take another victory in the category. This weekend, he will have reinforcement from Clio Cup España competitor, Luis Gonzalez Martinez (Team VRT).

In the Gentleman category, David Pajot (Vic’Team) will try to find the pace that saw him win everything at Dijon and Valencia to take the lead in the general classification. Former leader, Stéphane Auriacombe (Tierce Racing) has not at all thrown in the towel, nor have Emmanuel Raffin (Autosport GP) and Mickaël Carrée (T2CM), who now has his back up against the wall in his attempt to conserve his title !

Among the outsiders, Julien Baziret (Setup Racing), Mathieu Lannepoudenx (Milan Compétition) and Jérémy Curty (TB2S) intend to upset the established order as the season nears its end to pick up a few positions in the classification. Autosport GP drivers Julien Neveu and Samuel Raffin want to return in style, as does their new team mate, Kristoff Cox from Belgium. For his part, Antoine Prétin (GPA Racing) wants to take his racing to the next level by getting close to a podium result after his impressive debut at Dijon !

Others like Guillaume Savoldelli (TB2S), Vincent Brunerie (Milan Compétition) and Kevin Jimenez (GPA Racing) are also preparing to give it their all, while Lionel Viguier (TB2S), Jérôme Da Ros (Tierce Racing), Éric Rollery (Team Rollery) and Emmanuel Alliot (Emma Compétition) have nothing to lose in a field that promises to be extremely competitive.

More than ever in the Clio Cup France, the father-son relationships will be in the spotlight ! In addition to Edwin Traynard and his dad Franck at Autosport GP, the Tierce twins, Pierre and Corentin will have Thierry – their father – in the family run team, while Franck Jurado (Milan Compétition) has decided to battle with his son Anthony !

TIMETABLE MAGNY-COURS

Friday September 7, 2018
9:40-10:10– Free-practice 1
14:45-15:15– Free-practice 2

Saturday September 8, 2018
11:30-11:50– Qualifying 1
16:45-17:15– Race 1

Sunday September 9, 2018
10:05-10:25– Qualifying 2
15:05-15:35– Race 2

Races will be broadcast live on RenaultSport.com, Facebook & Youtube.