Quality and quantity!
Whether it is at the wheel of the Citroën C2 Super 1600 – where Jean-Sébastien Vigion and Robert Butor have been the best performers since the start of the season – or in the C2-R2 MAX, the Citroën drivers have shown the best of themselves over all four corners of Europe. As well as the sheer competitiveness of the C2, the number of drivers flocking to the various Citroën Racing Trophy series is astonishing. In France, there are regularly between 12 and 20 C2-R2 MAXs at the start of every French Championship rally.

It’s a similar story when it comes to the Coupe de France, which is proving more and more popular. In the Benelux region, in Ireland and in Poland, more than 10 Citroën C2 drivers have taken the start of the most recent rallies – all aiming firmly for Group R victory. This high-quality field inevitably leads to increasingly intense battles for supremacy. Mark Donnelly (Ireland) and Hans Weijs Jr (The Netherlands) were respectively beaten by Robert Barrable and Adrian Fernemont recently. But one thing is for sure: their rivals will soon be out for revenge!

FRENCH GRAVEL CHAMPIONSHIP - AUXERROIS
The C2-R2 MAXs to the maximum!

The rising profile that the Citroën C2-R2 MAXs enjoy on the two-wheel drive trophy in the French Gravel Championship was confirmed on round two of the season, the Rallye Terre de l'Auxerrois.

As had been the case in the Aveyron region on the opening rally of the year, the Citroën C2-R2 MAXs were most definitely present on the Auxerrois Rally in both quantity and quality. About a dozen drivers took the start of the second round of the gravel championship. The start of the rally was characterised by Emmanuel Gascou’s charge to the front. The Frenchman led the Citroën Racing Trophy throughout the whole of the opening day, before returning to Auxerre 23 seconds in front of Marc Amourette.

Behind the untouchable leading duo, Mathieu Arzeno – voted the rising star of the year by Echappement magazine – showed that he is a fast learner by running third in class, in front of the Madagascan Toavina Rakotomalala. On Sunday Gascou fell victim to a mechanical problem and was unable to fend off the irrepressible Marc Amourette, who claimed his second consecutive gravel win in front of Gascou and Julien Abelli, making his gravel debut. By finishing on the highest step of the podium for two events in succession, Marc Amourette increased his lead in both the French Gravel Championship’s Citroën Racing Trophy and the two-wheel drive trophy. After finishing as runner-up for the second consecutive time, Emmanuel Gascou remains in the thick of the fight for both titles.

CRT French Gravel Championship after the Rallye Terre de l’Auxerrois:

AT THE LAST MINUTE!
Four C2-R2 MAXs took the start of the Rally Arges, round two of the Citroën Racing Trophy Romania. In a carbon copy of the Rally Brasov, ‘Danny’ won the rally ahead of Filip Alexandru and Cosma Vlad. Nonetheless, the gap separating the duo scrapping for second place was just eight-tenths of a second.

OVER TO GOMES...
A mistake crept into the report on the Rallye de Fafe (Portugal), which was published in Newsletter n°7. As Paulo Antunes was not entered for the Citroën Racing Trophy, it was actually Frederico Gomes who claimed the victory in front of

Ricardo Marques...

FRENCH CHAMPIONSHIP - LYON-CHARBONNIÈRES
Adrenaline for Vigion

Continuing his learning curve with the C2 Super 1600, Jean-Sébastien Vigion claimed another podium in the two-wheel drive category. “This car is 100% adrenaline!” he said at the finish.

In the C2-R2 MAX category, Germain Bonnefis drove a faultless rally to dominate his rivals and take second place in Group R. By finishing second in front of the recovering Julian Carret, Jean-Renaud Marchal fulfilled his objectives by scoring points that allowed him to take the lead of the overall classification.

COUPE DE FRANCE - LOZERE
A first win for Bonnefis

Confirming the increasingly important presence of the C2-R2s on Coupe de France rounds, seven drivers took the start of the Rallye de Lozère. Jean-Luc Vauclare, the established leader of the Citroën Racing Trophy in the Coupe de France, had no answer for the determined Germain Bonnefis. The Frenchman won the Citroën Racing Trophy round and also finished second in the overall classification!

HUNGARY - MISKOLC
Butor racks up the wins

Robert Butor, who previously won the two-wheel drive category on the Eger Rally, continued his determined mission on the Hungarian Rally Championship. Driving his C2 Super 1600, the Citroën driver won again on the Miskolc Rally despite facing strong opposition. Thanks to this win, Robert Butor now has a 12-point championship lead.

CRT French Rally Championship after Lyon-Charbonnieres

CRT Coupe de France after Lozère

NEXT RALLIES...

15-16 MAY
Coupe de France: Dieppe, Pila Canale, Gard
Poland: Lotos Baltic

22-23 MAY
Coupe de France: Sainte Baume
Hungary: Salgo
Czech Republic: Cesky Krumlov

29-30 MAY
Coupe de France: Vins Macon
Switzerland: Chablais
United Kingdom: Jim Clark

5-6 JUNE
Poland: Polski
Romania: Targu Mures

UNITED KINGDOM - PIRELLI / IRELAND - Killarney
Two for Barrable
While Mark Donnelly made his mark on the United Kingdom last month, this time it was Robert Barrable’s turn to show his class on both sides of the Irish Sea. The former racing driver showed that he had truly got to grips with rallying at the wheel of his Citroën C2-R2 MAX. On both the gravel of the Pirelli International Rally (England) and the asphalt of the Rally of the Lakes in Killarney (Ireland), Barrable took an imposing victory, putting himself at the forefront of the Citroën Racing Trophy standings in both the United Kingdom and Ireland.
In England, Robert Barrable beat Luke Pinder and Joseph McGonigle, while Donnelly could only manage fourth. In Ireland, Martin McCormack and Shane Buckley finished behind Barrable.

SWITZERLAND - CRITERIUM JURASSIEN
Three cars in 18 seconds
Antonio Galli, with his 20 years of experience, was determined to give his rivals no chance on the stages of the Critérium Jurassien. Nonetheless, it was far from easy for Galli, who ended the rally just 18 seconds ahead of his two closest pursuers, Joël Rappaz and Devis Cremona, at the finish of the first round of the season.

BENELUX - WALLONIE
Fernemont after Weijs
The Rallye de Wallonie gave the Citroën Racing Trophy Benelux a new winner from its 14 entrants. While Hans Weijs Jr once again set the early pace, fighting for victory in the two-wheel drive classification, the Dutchman saw his hopes of a third consecutive victory vanish on Sunday morning. Adrian Fernemont took full advantage to claim his first win in front of Ronny Foxius.

POLAND - ELMOT
Bebenek is the first winner
A total of 11 C2-R2s took the start of round one of the Citroën Racing Trophy Polska on the Elmot Rally. Faced with the series regulars, Polish Champion Michal Bebenek did not take long to settle into a dominant rhythm. He took the lead on SS3 and was untroubled all the way to the finish. Ariel Piotrowski was runner-up for much of the event but finally ceded second to Jan Chmielewski at the end of the rally. The youngster Lukasz Markowski scored his first podium of the year.

CRT UK after Pirelli
CRT Ireland after Killarney
CRT Switzerland after Jurassien
CRT Benelux after Wallonie
CRT Poland after Elmot

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