To be crowned in Clio Cup Europe today, Anthony Jurado could afford to be patient as long as he didn’t concede too many points to his rivals. After Friday’s free practice session dominated by Tomas Pekar (Carpek Service) and Alex Lahoz (Cotauto Motorsport), his challengers did everything they could to prolong the suspense. David Pouget was fastest in qualifying, ahead of Luca Franca (MC Motortecnica) and Marc Guillot, while Anthony Jurado had to settle for seventh place on the starting grid.

While David Pouget held on the lead at the start, Marc Guillot, Gabriele Torelli (Faro Racing) and Nicolas Milan (Milan Competition) made their way past Luca Franca. Marc Guillot kept pouring on the pressure and found an opening a few corners further down the track to take the lead at the end of the opening lap that eliminated Antoine Bordagaray (Team Borda Rally), Lin Chen Han (Uniq Racing) and Andrea Chierichetti (Oregon Team).

The race resumed after a red flag period. Marc Guillot held onto the lead as Nicolas Milan overtook Gabriele Torelli for third place, while Anthony Jurado passed Alejandro Schimpf before attacking the Italian.

The fight for victory intensified progressively, each competitor fighting to score all-important points that could allow them to stay in contention for the title. On lap five, David Pouget seized his opportunity to pass Marc Guillot, but the latter countered on the next lap in front of Nicolas Milan, in the lead of an increasingly crowded chase group.

Far from giving up, David Pouget launched a new attack on lap eight. His move proved decisive as he took the lead and went on for the win ahead of Marc Guillot. Further back, Anthony Jurado passed Nicolas Milan for third place, which was enough to secure his first Clio Cup title.

Fifth-place at the chequered flag, Gabriele Torelli was ahead of Alejandro Schimpf, later penalised for failing to respect the track limits. Luca Franca, Adrian Schimpf (Cotauto Motorsport), Tomas Pekar (Carpek Service) and Jordi Palomeras (Team VRT) all gained a position. Poland’s Jerzy Spinkiewicz (Uniq Racing) also took advantage of the same penalty imposed on Nikola Miljkovic (Tempo Racing Team) to complete the top ten while Javier Cicuendez (Team VRT) won the Gentlemen Drivers category on home soil.

CLIO CUP EUROPE

Third behind David Pouget and Marc Guillot thanks to his overtake of Nicolas Milan on the final lap, Anthony Jurado cemented his maiden Clio Cup title. The Frenchman wins a B.R.M. Chronographes timepiece and a brand-new Clio Cup. Jerzy Spinkiewicz, who had already won the Challengers Cup, inherited the victory in this category after Nikola Miljkovic was penalised for not respecting the track limits. The Pole won ahead of Juuso Panttila (Chefo Sport) and Guillaume Maio (GM Sport). Meanwhile, Stephan Polderman edged out Luciano Gioia (Essecorse) and Quinto Stefana (Milan Competition) for the win and the Gentlemen Drivers Cup title at the end of a breathtaking race.

CLIO CUP SPAIN

On home soil, the Clio Cup Spain competitors relaunched the title races before Sunday’s grand finale. Leader of the general classification, Nico Abella (Chefo Sport) lost a lot of ground in his opening lap incident with Felice Jelmini (PMA Motorsport). Alejandro Schimpf was the first to cross the finish line but lost his victory due to a track-limits penalty. His twin brother Adrian did the double by winning the overall and the Challengers Cup in front of Jordi Palomeras. In third place, Alex Royo (Team VRT) closed the gap to Nico Abella, as did Jordi Palomeras in the Challengers Cup. In the Gentlemen Drivers Cup, Javier Cicuendez ended the series of eight consecutive victories of Fabien Julia (LR Performance), who had wrapped up the category title at the previous meeting.

CLIO CUP ITALIA

The season-long duel between Gabriele Torelli and Felice Jelmini reached a turning point when Felice Jelmini was hit by Nico Abella, also hit by another competitor, on lap one. Gabriele Torelli led from lights out to chequers to take his first step towards the title, winning ahead of Challenger Giacomo Trebbi (MC Motortecnica), who maintained his chances of winning the Challengers Cup by beating Jacopo Cimenes (Essecorse) and Cristian Ricciarini (Essecorse). Lastly, Luciano Gioia (Essecorse) scored his first success of the year in the Gentlemen Drivers Cup, winning ahead of Quinto Stefana and Daniele Pasquali (Tuder Motorsport).

Collective tests 1 - Collective tests 2 - Qualifying 1 - Starting grid - Race 1 - Clio Cup Europe - Clio Cup Spain - Clio Cup Italia

The remaining titles to race for - two in Clio Cup Spain and two in Clio Cup Italia - will be decided on Sunday following the 2022 grand finale, which will be streamed live on the Renault Clio Series Facebook page and YouTube channel from 2.25 pm.