Clio Cup Middle East

The Clio Cup Middle East pre-season collective tests took place last Thursday at the Dubai Autodrome. Russia’s Stanislav Novikov set the fastest lap time with a 1:39.255s ahead of his Continental Racing team-mate, Cyprus’ Vasily Vladykin, who led the way in the morning session. Britain’s Willie Morrison (Track Time Racing), India’s Rahil Taneja (Track Time Racing) and Britain’s Kevin Day (Xcel Racing) completed the top five at the end of the day. The competitors will be back in action on the same track this weekend for the maiden round of the discipline in the Middle East.

Belgian Rally Championship

Clio Rally4 took the Junior BRC title thanks to Tom Rensonnet and Loïc Dumont’s sixth win of 2022 on the Spa Rally, the Belgian Rally Championship season finale. By winning all eighteen stages, the Verviers native secured the crown on Saturday before managing his pace to finish third in the RC4 class. Winner in the Junior BRC by more than six minutes, the duo also finished ninth overall at the end of a faultless performance. With six wins for Tom Rensonnet and three for 2021 Clio Trophy Belgium winner Gilles Pyck, Clio Rally4 won nine of the ten rounds on the calendar to seal its maiden title on the Belgian national scene.

Elsewhere...

The Clio Rally5s entered in the Rally de Mariscala dominated the RC4 class of the Uruguayan Rally Championship. The Brazilian duo of Luis Eduardo Stedile and Carlos Enrique Morales finished fifth overall, ahead of the Uruguayan crews of Rodrigo Filaho - Rodrigo Arbiza and Alfonso Lopez - Sebastián González. The Clio Rally5 has won six times in as many starts over the seven rounds of the calendar this season.

In Italy, Mattia Zanin and Fabio Pizzol led Clio Rally4 to fourth place on Rally Day della Fettunta, winning the Rally4 and Under 25 categories in the process. Federico Gasperetti and Federico Ferrari ensured a one-two finish for the model in its class, as did the teams of Niko La Notte - Matteo Zaramella and Massimiliano Fei - Dimitri Pistolesi in Rally5. Meanwhile, Andrea Salviotti and Susy Ghisoni led a sweep of the top four for Clio Rally5 in its class at the Pavia Rally Circuit, as did Alessandro Nicolini and Davide Mantegazza at Rally Colli del Monferrato e del Moscato.

Clio Rally4 and Clio Rally5 were also in action in France, where Jeremy Tondut and Thierry Tondut scored a one-two for Clio Rally5 in the A1 class of the Cévennes Race Track Rally held at the Pôle Mécanique in Alès. Lastly, Jan Dvořák - Petr Jindra and Jakub Vlček - Martin Zigler led the contingents of both models at Mikuláš Rally Slušovice (Czech Republic).