After an extended summer break following the cancellation of Rallye Rouergue Rodez Aveyron Occitanie, the Clio Trophy France Asphalte resumes next week at Rallye Mont-Blanc Morzine. At this iconic French Rally Championship event, the return to action will be intense, with 39 crews ready to give it their all to reach the midseason mark in the lead and enter the home stretch in a strong position.
Now in its seventh season with the fifth-generation Renault Clio, the Clio Trophy France Asphalte continues to prove its appeal, with a record 39 Clio Rally5 cars set to line up at Morzine this year.
The Alpine mountains offer a magnificent backdrop for the competitors, who are eager to return to competition for the first time since mid-June. Leader in the general classification following his first victory in the Vosges, Paul Dachicourt (Fun Meca Sport) will look to consolidate his advantage in Morzine. Also leading the Junior category, where an official drive is up for grabs, the Pas-de-Calais native will target another victory at a rally that went his way last year, when he posted one of his best results despite a puncture on the opening special stage.
His main rivals, however, are determined to prevent him from pulling away. Winner of the opening round at Le Touquet, Maxence Potard (Gilbert Compétition) will rely on his experience in the Alps to bounce back after his crash in the Vosges. The member of the FFSA's Collectif France Rallye isn't the only one with this objective, as Romain Brun will attempt to return to the sharp end of the order after a difficult weekend in the Vosges.
Several competitors will try to capitalise on their knowledge of the roads to close the gap to the leaders. Having secured four podium finishes with Clio Rally5 at Morzine since 2020, Romain Fostier (David Auto Compétition) is a serious contender for victory in this demanding event. He will also seek to increase his lead over his rivals in the Gentlemen class: Pascal Bérard, Jacques Bourrat, Franck Giraud (Lycée Roger Claustre) and Michaël Durigon, who returns to the Clio Trophy France Asphalte for his 22nd start in the event.
Jérôme Janny (David Auto Compétition) will equally rely on his experience to build on his strong start to the season, as will Yohan Roumieux (JLA Rally), who finished in the top ten last year, and Maxime Chagot (LCS Location), a two-time class winner at Morzine. Fabien Combe, who has finished 10th twice this year, and Christophe Truchet, 2025 Clio Full Challenge winner, will be outsiders to watch in their Rallye Mont-Blanc Morzine debut.
Behind the trio of Paul Dachicourt, Maxence Potard and Romain Brun, other Junior drivers have high hopes. Following his first podium finish in the Vosges, Clément Didier (JLA Rally) will look to build on that form in the Alps, where Alex Florenson (PH Sport), who finished fifth a year ago, will target a trip to the podium next Saturday. Also worth keeping an eye on are Thomas Santiago (LCS Location), Louis Gass (PH Sport), Néo Rivallant (Fun Meca Sport), Oliver Sørensen, Thomas Van Outryve (LCS Location) and Maxence Girard (CHL Sport Auto), all in search of valuable points.
Meanwhile, Tom Le Jossec (Rageau Sport Location) and Alexis Poso (Salvi Compétition) will aim to stay in contention on their Mont-Blanc debut with Clio Rally5. Back in action after his retirement at Le Touquet, Loan Guibal (Salvi Compétition) wants to turn his obvious speed into stage wins and a strong result in a rally he is discovering for the first time, just like Léo Véricel, Louis Bottin (PH Sport) and Alfred Sablonnière. Clémentine Benoit (Sarrazin Motorsport) will defend her lead in the women's category and face Lilou Boulangé (Gazou Compétition), a rookie this season behind the wheel after co-driving for her father Arnaud in 2025.
Nicolas Paviet-Roche and Mathieu Duclos will make their first appearance of the year in familiar surroundings. Killian Marry will also return to the service park to tackle Alpine special stages for the first time – stages that several newcomers know well, notably William Gagnière, Paul Missillier and Vincent Chagot, Maxime's brother. Lastly, Grégory Scotto La Chianca will make his Clio Trophy France Asphalte debut, as will Robin Duarte, Arthur Guillaume and Tanguy Rubin-Delanchy, who have all cut their teeth with Clio Rally5 in the French Rally Cup.
The 78th Rallye Mont-Blanc Morzine will feature 12 timed sectors covering a total of 196.04 kilometres over a 493.87 km route. On Friday, the action gets underway on the Montriond-le-Lac – Avoriaz stage, followed by two loops comprising Bonneville – Glières Val de Borne and Les Clefs – La Clusaz, then a single run on the Morzine – Montriond-le-Lac stage. On Saturday, the crews will tackle Morillon – Samoëns, Samoëns – Morzine and La Côte d'Arbroz – Taninges three times. The final ten special stages will each award up to five “Jean Ragnotti Performer” points to the five fastest drivers, in addition to the standard finishing points. Ten Clio Rally3s, six Clio Rally4s and nine Clio Rally5s outside the trophy will also be at the start of the event.
Entry list
#50 Paul Dachicourt – Adèle Dachicourt (J)
#51 Maxence Potard – Maxime Biegalke (J)
#52 Romain Fostier – Ophélie Abchiche (G)
#53 Romain Brun – Aurélia Chevalier (J)
#54 Jérôme Janny – Helena Pecheur
#55 Alex Florenson – Charline Dichamp (J)
#56 Tom Le Jossec – Christophe Leroy (J)
#57 Louis Gass – Alison Girard (J)
#58 Yohan Roumieux – Bastien Fontaine
#59 Fabien Combe – Fabien Chèze
#60 Néo Rivallant – Yannis Gosselin (J)
#61 Christophe Truchet – Barbara Truchet
#62 Clément Didier – Anne-Laurence Breton (J)
#63 Léo Véricel – Jade Gaston (J)
#64 Oliver Sørensen – Frederik Glad (J)
#65 Thomas Santiago – Sarah Pernet-Coudrier (J)
#66 Loan Guibal – Stéphane Crespin (J)
#67 Pascal Bérard – Caroline Bérard (G)
#68 William Gagnière – Benoît Gay
#69 Alfred Sablonnière – Antoine Montheilhet (J)
#70 Paul Missillier – Alexian Parmentier (J)
#71 Nicolas Paviet-Roche – Mélodie Bellavarde
#72 Thomas Van Outryve – Johanna Della-Pina (J)
#73 Michael Durigon – Mylène Richard (G)
#74 Jacques Bourrat – Jean Bourrat (G)
#75 Alexis Poso – Lou Cardot (J)
#76 Grégory Scotto La Chianca – Florian Chardon (J)
#77 Maxime Chagot – Bertrand Chagot
#78 Vincent Chagot – Alexandre Le Du (J)
#79 Robin Duarte – Paul Bernie (J)
#80 Clémentine Benoit – Éric De Bolle (J, F)
#81 Killian Marry – Adam Thouez (J)
#82 Franck Giraud – Christophe Dubien (G)
#83 Maxence Girard – Ricardo Gil Mateus (J)
#84 Louis Bottin – Titouan Andreux (J)
#85 Mathieu Duclos – Valentine Donat-Magnin
#86 Lilou Boulangé – Margot Petit (J, F)
#87 Arthur Guillaume – Élodie Ruszkowski (J)
#88 Tanguy Rubin-Delanchy – Julien Rubin-Delanchy (J)
