A traditional Clio Cup venue in Spain, the Valencian track hosted round nine of the Clio Cup Series for a meeting counting for both Clio Cup Europe and Clio Cup España.

The Milan Compétition team came out on top in practice, led first by Anthony Jurado on Friday morning and then by Nicolas Milan in the afternoon. The two also dominated Saturday in qualifying, despite a small off-track excursion for Nicolas Milan caused by their pushing technique. Despite this setback, Anthony Jurado set the fastest time ahead of his team-mate before seeing all his lap times cancelled, as he and his Clio Cup weighed in at 1117.5 kg instead of the 1120 kg stipulated by the regulations. Seventh-placed Ivan Hernandez (Chefo Sport) suffered the same fate after scrutineering revealed that his fuel tank contained less than the three litres of fuel required by the regulations.

Nicolas Milan took pole position ahead of David Pouget, while Adrian Schimpf and Nikola Miljkovic (Tempo Racing Team) shared the second row. Nicolas Milan led from David Pouget after the start. Behind them, Nikola Miljkovic snatched third place from Adrián Schimpf in front of Alejandro Schimpf (AST Competition) before an incident reshuffled the positions between the three drivers.

The battle for victory heated up on lap two. Nicolas Milan went wide at the exit of the first corner and David Pouget seized the opportunity to take control. The Frenchmen were soon alone at the front of the field but continued their breathtaking duel throughout the race. After several unsuccessful attempts, Nicolas Milan regained the lead on lap eight. Far from giving up, the GPA Racing team boos tried to counter him until their fight reached its climax on lap 12. David Pouget then caught Nicolas Milan off guard before the Milan Compétition owner-driver took advantage of a blocked wheel to try and answer back but to no avail.

Under huge pressure during the final three laps, David Pouget held on to take the win from Nicolas Milan. Challenger Adrian Schimpf completed the podium after taking third place from his twin brother, who lost out to Jordi Palomeras (Milan Compétition) shortly before the chequered flag. Alejandro Schimpf finally settled for seventh after a five-second penalty for his responsibility in the incident with Nikola Miljkovic, behind Jerzy Spinkiewicz (Uniq Racing) and Guillaume Maio (GM Sport). Alex Royo (Team VRT) finished eighth, in his return to the Clio Cup. Anthony Jurado and Racer Lionel Viguier completed the top ten after Damiano Puccetti (Rangoni Corse) and Julien Baziret (Baziret Sport) were penalised for failing to respect track limits and the disqualification of Nikola Miljkovic for his unsportsmanlike conduct after the race.

With six wins and 15 podiums from 17 races, David Pouget enjoys a 281-point lead in the Clio Cup Series. Nicolas Milan is now his closest rival following his second place and the absence of Gabriele Torelli, who will be back behind the wheel on Sunday following his wedding !

CLIO CUP EUROPE

Clio Cup Europe leader David Pouget achieved an excellent operation by winning his duel with Nicolas Milan. In doing so, the Frenchman took maximum points against his principal title rivals, Anthony Jurado settling for seventh place and Gabriele Torelli being absent on Saturday. Third at the finish, Adrian Schimpf beat Guillaume Maio and Alejandro Schimpf in the Challengers Cup, where he now has a lead of 17 units. In the Racers Cup, Lionel Viguier took the lead on lap eight to claim his first European success of the year ahead of Rene Steenmetz (AST Competition) and Quinto Stefana (Milan Competition) and keep alive his title hopes against leader Luca Franca, who is absent this weekend.

CLIO CUP ESPAÑA

After a battle with his twin brother, Adrian Schimpf scored his second victory this year in Clio Cup España and now leads the general classification. Jordi Palomeras and Alejandro Schimpf completed the podium at the conclusion of their last-lap duel. Adrian Schimpf doubled his tally by leading an identical trio in the Challengers Cup, where he extended his lead. Lastly, Jérémy Bordagaray (Milan Compétition) claimed his fourth category win of the year ahead of Alejandro Romero (Team VRT) and Joaquin Rodrigo (Team VRT) to extend his lead in the Racers Cup.

Rejoined by Gabriele Torelli, the competitors will meet again tomorrow for qualifying at 9:00am. Race two of the weekend will be streamed live on the Renault Clio Series Facebook page and YouTube channel from 12:35pm.

Results - Clio Cup Series - Clio Cup Europe - Clio Cup España