Hockenheim welcomed round three of the Clio Cup Series and Clio Cup France, plus the Clio Cup Mid-Europe season kick-off. On Friday, Alexandre Finkelstein (GPA Racing) was the first of the 42 competitors in Germany to set the pace before Gabriele Torelli took over a few hours later.

Race 1 : Torelli in control

Gabriele Torelli continued his fine form on Saturday, claiming his third consecutive pole position. The winner of the Clio Cup Italia in 2022 and the Clio Cup Mid-Europe in 2023 led David Pouget and Anthony Jurado at the end of a session cut short by the incident caused by Stephan Polderman (AST Competition). Juniors Jack Byrne (GPA Racing) and Leonardo Arduini (MC Motortecnica) completed the top five on the grid.

David Pouget pulled ahead of the poleman to take the lead ahead of the Italian and Anthony Jurado (Rangoni Corse). Meanwhile, Nicolas Milan (Milan Compétition) overtook Jack Byrne and Leonardo Arduini. Gabriele Torelli and Anthony Jurado used the slipstream to catch up to and get past David Pouget in an intense battle on lap two before the first safety car period to evacuate Alejandro Schimpf’s (AST Competition) damaged car.

Gabriele Torelli maintained the lead on the restart, but Anthony Jurado reignited the duel with a series of attacks. Despite the pressure, the leader held firm in a peloton where Florian Venturi (GM Sport) and Aurélien Renet (JSB Compétition) lost positions, running afoul over a kerb at the entrance to the Stadium.

The final run to the flag offered Gabriele Torelli a double reprieve. His closest pursuer fell back after a small mistake in the last corner, then another safety period for the incident that ended Laurent Dziadus’ (Team Lucas) race. The race finished behind the safety car, with Gabriele Torelli claiming his first win of the season ahead of Anthony Jurado in the Rangoni Corse team’s third one-two in 2024. David Pouget completed the podium ahead of Nicolas Milan and Alexandre Finkelstein. Sixth-placed Adrián Schimpf (AST Competition) finished first in the Junior category ahead of Leonardo Arduini (MC Motortecnica). Initially eighth, Guillaume Maio (GM Sport) was handed a ten-second penalty for incorrect grid positioning. Lorenzo Van Riet inherited the spot and victory in the Challengers category. Jack Byrne and Mathias Dall (Dall Racing) closed out the top ten, while Mickaël Carrée (T2CM) was first among the Gentlemen.

Race 2 : Pouget rights the course

Under bright skies and warmer temperatures for Sunday qualifying, Guillaume Maio ended Gabriele Torelli’s run with his second pole position of the year. Behind them, Anthony Jurado and David Pouget shared the second row, followed by Nicolas Milan.

Guillaume Maio put in a perfect start and immediately pulled away from the trio of David Pouget, Anthony Jurado and Nicolas Milan, while Gabriele Torelli slipped back to fifth. A victim of the draft on Saturday, David Pouget used it to his advantage on Sunday to attack Guillaume Maio for the lead on lap two. This duel pulled their pursuers back into the battle for victory, with several position changes behind the Albi native before the safety car intervened after Pierre Bordeaux (Comte Racing Team) stopped.

David Pouget held the lead at the restart before Anthony Jurado and Nicolas Milan attacked. However, the fierce battle between his rivals allowed him to pull away for good. Alone in the lead, David Pouget went to win by more than three seconds from Gabriele Torelli and Nicolas Milan, who knocked Anthony Jurado off the podium on the penultimate lap. Adrián Schimpf, who had been on the attack at the start, gained five places in the opening laps to complete the top five and win the Junior category. The Spaniard was followed by Alexandre Finkelstein and Guillaume Maio, who won the Challengers category by two seconds from Andreas Stucki (Stucki Motorsport). Florian Venturi and Thomas Compain (Milan Compétition) followed after battling in a field where Lorenzo Van Riet received a five-second penalty for multiple changes of direction. Lastly, Mickaël Carrée dominated the Gentlemen category again.

CLIO CUP SERIES

Gabriele Torelli and David Pouget were also victorious in the Clio Cup Series. Anthony Jurado now leads the Italian by five points with Nicolas Milan in third position. David Pouget is back on track to defend his crown and is now in fourth place ahead of Guillaume Maio, still the Challengers category leader after sharing the honours with Lorenzo Van Riet. Sixth overall, Jack Byrne (GPA Racing) saw his lead shrink in the Junior category after Adrián Schimpf’s double victory while Mickaël Carrée extended his advantage with a double win in the Gentlemen’s category.

CLIO CUP FRANCE

Gabriele Torelli and David Pouget also monopolised the top step of the podium in Clio Cup France. Second on Sunday, the Italian now has a 14-point lead over Nicolas Milan and a 53-point advantage over title holder David Pouget. Fourth overall, Florian Venturi extended his lead in the Junior category with a double victory, as did Mickaël Carrée in the Gentlemen category. Among the Challengers, Calvin Comte (Comte Racing) scored his first win on Saturday to distance himself from the chase group now led by Cédric Delcroix (GPA Racing) ahead of the next round at Magny-Cours ( 23-25 August).

CLIO CUP MID-EUROPE

Hockenheim hosted the kick-off to the Clio Cup Mid-Europe season, a regional group in which the inaugural Alpine Esports Series season winner, Jaroslav ‘Jardier’ Honzik, made his debut in the discipline. Race 1 winner Lorenzo Van Riet tops the general classification ahead of Andreas Stucki, Jack Byrne, Thomas Compain and race 2 winner Guillaume Maio. The Dutchman also took the lead in the Challengers category. At the same time, Jack Byrne and Thomas Compain (Milan Compétition) left Germany level on points at the top of the Juniors category after taking one win apiece. This field will be back in action at Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps (30 May-2 June).

The competitors now head to Italy’s Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli for round four of the Clio Cup Series calendar on 17 to 19 May, with the first weekend for Clio Cup Italia and the third for Clio Cup España.

Results - Clio Cup Series - Clio Cup France - Clio Cup Mid-Europe