For its traditional opening round in France, the Clio Cup Series featured one of the biggest grids of the Easter weekend meeting, with nearly 40 cars. Among them, Alexandre Finkelstein (GPA Racing) and Nicolas Milan (Milan Compétition) led the way in free practice on a damp track.

Race 1 : Pouget comes out swinging

After Saturday’s torrential downpours, the first qualifying session of the year was run in milder conditions on Sunday. Alexandre Finkelstein made the most of this to claim his first overall pole position in the Clio Cup Series in a session which was red-flagged twice.

The first race of the campaign got underway a few hours later under threatening skies. David Pouget and Alexandre Albouy (GPA Racing) quickly got the advantage over their teammate Alexandre Finkelstein. In the field, an incident eliminated seven drivers, all of whom were unscathed. During the red flag period and in the pit lane long enough to evacuate the cars, the competitors switched to the Michelin rain tyres in response to the worsening weather.

The race resumed behind the safety car. However, the restart was short-lived as Mickaël Carrée (T2CM) and Axel Bengtsson (GPA Racing) got into a tangle, leading to another neutralisation. David Pouget took control at the restart and pulled away with Alexandre Albouy, but Albouy went off the track at Turn 9, prompting another safety car period.

The four-minute sprint to the finish had little impact on the hierarchy, with David Pouget becoming the first winner of 2025. Behind him, Alexandre Finkelstein triumphed in a superb duel with Filip Kuncer (Milan Compétition) in the final laps. Axel Bengtsson and Aurélien Renet (JSB Compétition) completed the top five and the Challengers podium along with class winner Filip Kuncer.

Seventh behind reigning FFSA GT French Champion Gaël Castelli (Milan Compétition), Mauro Polderman (AST Competition) won the Junior category. Laurent Dziadus (Team Lucas) dominated the Gentlemen classification while finishing in the top ten overall between Anthony Jurado (Rangoni Corse) and Ben Colburn (Westbourne Motorsport).

Race 2 : Pouget does it again

On Monday morning, new conditions awaited the competitors for the second qualifying session of the Bank Holiday weekend. In sunny conditions and on a track that was still partially damp, David Pouget took pole position ahead of Anthony Jurado.

On dry asphalt in the afternoon, David Pouget held onto the lead at the start ahead of Anthony Jurado. On the other hand, Alex Finkelstein lost a position to Gabriele Torelli. Further back, Rodrigue Dagnet (Milan Compétition) took the lead in the Gentlemen category, but the safety car had to intervene after Yokeshwaran Krishnavelu (GPA Racing) crashed. The restart saw David Pouget resume his domination. In the Gentlemen category, Rodolphe Dagnet went off the track, giving up the lead to Laurent Dziadus. Junior poleman and class leader Damiano Puccetti (Rangoni Corse) retired after contact with Axel Bengtsson.

Gabriele Torelli got the better of his Rangoni Corse teammate Anthony Jurado in a battle that benefited race leader David Pouget for a while. However, the European title-holder didn’t give up and closed the gap on the French driver going into the final lap. Still, David Pouget kept his Italian rival at bay to take his second victory at Nogaro. The third-place battle was just as intense, with Anthony Jurado, Nicolas Milan and Gaël Castelli making it three-wide on the last lap. Nicolas Milan came out on top to complete the podium ahead of Anthony Jurado and Gaël Castelli.

Alexandre Albouy finished sixth overall in race two and took top honours in the Challengers category, ahead of Aurélien Renet, Ben Colburn, Loïc Labeda and Filip Kuncer. Thomas Compain (Milan Compétition) and Laurent Dziadus dominated the Junior and Gentlemen categories.

Clio Cup Series

With his two victories at Nogaro, David Pouget logically takes command of the Clio Cup Series with 100 points, 40 clear of Gaël Castelli, who was consistent throughout the weekend. Anthony Jurado follows in third place on 57 points, one ahead of Filip Kuncer, the leader among the Challengers, and Ben Colburn. Mauro Polderman and Thomas Complain, winners of one race each, are level on points in the Junior category, where Daire Flock (Westbourne Motorsport) is close behind. With a perfect score, Laurent Dziadus dominates the Gentlemen classification.

Clio Cup France

David Pouget also leads the French classification with 100 points, followed by Aurélien Renet and Anthony Jurado, who rank at 78. Laurent Dziadus emerges at the top of the Gentlemen category with two wins ahead of Michel Faye (GM Sport) and Samuel Chaligne (T2CM). Ronan Deslandes (T2CM) takes the lead in the Junior category.

Clio Cup España

Loïc Labeda capitalised on the misfortunes of Gabriele Torelli and Nicolas Milan to spring a surprise by winning on Sunday before the big guns hit back the next day. Gabriele Torelli and Loïc Labeda lead the way, level on 86 points, 11 more than Nicolas Milan. Loïc Labeda also dominated the Challengers after scoring the maximum points on offer.

After this round, which launched the 60th season of Renault-branded racing cups, the Clio Cup Series heads to Dijon-Prenois (9-11 May), where many of the Clio Cup Italia protagonists will be in action for the first time this year.

Nogaro results - Clio Cup Series - Clio Cup France - Clio Cup España