The calendar’s penultimate round proved crucial for many contenders in the various title races. On Friday, the competitors got down to business with the shakedown and the technical and administrative scrutineering. A few hours later, Ludovic De Luca, Aurélien Devanthery, Joan Font, and Christophe Truchet each won a Michelin LTX Force T XL92 tyre in a draw organised by Ceerta, official Michelin Motorsport distributor for the French Rally Championship.

On Saturday, Mika Rasoamaromaka set the pace to take an early lead ahead of Tom Pellerey and Benjamin Boulenc. Tom Pellerey made up ground in the next timed sector, but the Madagascan fought back through Causse and Chanac to return to the service park 8.4s ahead of Tom Pellerey and 15.2s clear of Benjamin Boulenc. Further back, Jean Paul Monnin led the chase group.

In much more brittle, challenging and dusty conditions, the repeated loop produced several twists and turns with troubles for Mika Rasoamaromaka on SS4 and Benjamin Boulenc on SS6. Tom Pellerey inherited the top spot and set the fastest time on SS4 and SS5. Despite a puncture at the end of the day, the CHL Sport Auto driver extended his advantage to 59.7s over Faniry Rasoamaromaka, who had recovered well from a puncture that had dropped him to eighth place after SS2. Alexandre Gransagne and Benjamin Boulenc closely followed third-placed Jean Paul Monnin.

In a strong position to secure the Junior crown, Tom Pellerey started to manage his pace on Sunday. Stocking up on Performer Jean Ragnotti points to keep his Clio Trophy France Terre title chances alive, Benjamin Boulenc went quickest on the iconic Allenc and Le Born stages before the final test, where Tom Pellerey sealed his success with another stage win.

Victorious at the start of the season on the Rallye Terre des Causses, the native of Orange won by a margin of 1m25.8s over Benjamin Boulenc, who moved up to second place after Faniry Rasoamaromaka’s double puncture in the last kilometres. After an intense battle, Alexandre Gransagne claimed his first podium finish ahead of Jean Paul Monnin. Benjamin Stirling and Yannick Francisci followed, as did Jean Lavigne, who came close to his first-ever fastest time on Sunday. Christophe Truchet finished a personal best in eighth place ahead of Benoit Verlinde and Ludovic De Luca, while Jean-Michel Da Cunha won the Gentlemen’s category.

In addition to his Junior crown and an increased lead in the Trophée Performer Jean Ragnotti, Tom Pellerey took a big step towards the Clio Trophy France Terre title. Only Benjamin Boulenc can now deny him the title, but the Occitan no longer has his destiny in his own hands. However, he will be keen to pick up some valuable points for Fun Meca Sport by Meccanocar, who are in a hard-fought battle with CHL Sport Auto for the team title and the privilege to run Tom Pellerey’s 2025 programme. Currently led by Lilian Vialle and Agence de Luca, the Gentlemen category and the Renault Network Challenge also remain up for grabs heading to the season finale.

Lastly, Clio Rally3 won its class on the Rallye Terre de Lozère with Simon and Yves Heinemann following a magnificent battle. Guillaume Tardy was the early leader and had to deal with Julien Pontal’s return, but both men lost big on the first run through Allenc. Simon Heinemann then surged into the lead, and the Fun Meca Sport driver held Julien Pontal off for the win. Michaël Lobry rounded off an all-Clio Rally3 podium, demonstrating incredible reliability on extremely rough terrain as all seven crews reached the finish.

The 2024 Clio Trophy France Terre season concludes at the Rallye Terre des Cardabelles (4-6 October).

Tom Pellerey : "This was a great way to restart the season ! I was looking forward to this event, even if it was quite stressful because we knew it could be a turning point. We took on the challenge and did an excellent job clinching the Junior title and winning the official programme for next year. It was a well-run rally, in which we were sometimes put to the test with extremely rough tracks and a puncture, forcing us to finish SS6 as best we could, but we made our way through several difficulties. It’s truly fantastic !"

Clio Trophy France Terre – Rallye Terre de Lozère
1. Tom Pellerey – Hervé Faucher (J) 1h32m29.5s
2. Benjamin Boulenc – Chloé Barozzi-Gauze +1m25.8s
3. Alexandre Gransagne – Loïc Maurel +1m56.8s
4. Jean Paul Monnin – Melvin Fraigne +2m01.4s
5. Benjamin Stirling – Florence Stirling (J) +3m29.6s
6. Yannick Francisci – Carla Gaffayoli +3m52.6s
7. Jean Lavigne – Arnaud Cubizolles (J) +3m57.1s
8. Christophe Truchet – Barbara Truchet +4m16.4s
9. Benoit Verlinde – Anton Dupan (J) +5m19.9s
10. Ludovic De Luca – José Boyer +6m03.8s
11. Jean-Michel Da Cunha – Benjamin Gary (G) +9m39.7s
12. Lilian Vialle – Manuel Ghirardello (G) +9m44.7s
13. Vincent Favre-Miville – Maelle Casays (G) +10m31.2s
14. Xavier Pruvot – Nathalie Pruvot (G) +11m51.9s
15. Aurélien Devanthery – Gaël Delasoie +12m22.8s
16. Anthony Rovina – Manon Perrin (J) +14m02.2s
17. Clément Ayrinhac – Romain Beilouny (J) +14m12.8s
18. Joan Font – Enrique Velasco (G) +27m20.9s
19. Gaël Bertrand – Fabien Adenot +34m26.5s
20. Thomas Eustaquio – Pauline Compozieux (J) +1h10m21.5s
Ret. Faniry Rasoamaromaka – François Heer (J)
Ret. Dimitri Felices – « Clochette » (G)
Ret. Mika Rasoamaromaka – Bastien Pouget (J)
DNS. Déborrah Marie – Amandine Houry (F)

Clio Trophy France Terre - Teams standings - Jean Ragnotti Performer standings - Renault Network Challenge