With his first-ever win in the Clio Ice Trophy, Lucas Darmezin is back in the title race, still led by teammate David Bouet. Both drivers for WRM by Chanoine Motorsport / SRD Racing drivers, the 20-year-old from France and the 2021 French Junior Rallycross Champion shared the Finals victories on Saturday in Andorra, but nothing is decided going into the second half of the season!
There were some additions for round two with five new competitors. Third in the 2022 Clio Ice Trophy, Mathieu Lannepoudenx was back with the Brunet Competition team for his first appearance of the year. Baptiste Panissié, seen in the Clio Trophy France Terre last year, made his debut on snow, teaming up with rallycross regular Louka Bourd in a Renault Clio Rally5 for WRM by Chanoine Motorsport / SRD Racing. Meanwhile, Helena Ferrer (Driveland / Puzzle Motorsport) and Nicolas Flon (RX Evolution) also got their first taste of the Clio Ice Trophy.
DYLAN DUFAS TAKES ADVANTAGE OF ENZO LUCOTTE'S MISFORTUNES
Situated at an altitude of 2,400 metres above sea level, this Pas de la Casa Circuit layout was longer (817 metres) with slightly more distinct curves than a fortnight ago. Round one winner David Bouet set the pace from the first group on track. Even with the efforts of his challengers, the leader of the general classification led the way with the best time of 1:03.154s to lead Dylan Dufas (RX Evolution) and Lucas Darmezin in the practice sessions.
Qualifying was a different story. Dylan Dufas jumped to the top of the order ahead of David Bouet in the first series before Enzo Lucotte (Pit Stop France) took the lead with a lap of 1:03.195s. The Frenchman could have again taken the maximum intermediate points by preceding Dylan Dufas, but the latter finally took the fifteen points on offer due to a puncture that prevented his rival to complete the session and thus be eligible to score points according to article 17 of the GSeries regulations.
BOUET AND DARMEZIN FIGHT BACK IN THE FINALS
On pole position for the Final B, Dylan Dufas struggled at the start and fell to seventh place. Meanwhile, David Bouet took the lead before gradually extending his advantage to win with a 16-second advantage over his closest chaser, Baptiste Panissie. Despite his poor getaway, Dylan Dufas made several overtaking moves in the next five laps to steal third place from Joaquin Rodrigo (Brunet Competition), who was also surprised by Mauro Polderman (Driveland / Puzzle Motorsport) on the last lap. Stephan Polderman (RX Evolution) and Helena Ferrer (Driveland / Puzzle Motorsport) rounded out the order.
An unlucky poleman a fortnight ago, Enzo Lucotte was caught out again at the start, slipping behind Lucas Darmezin and Alex Español (Driveland / Puzzle Motorsport). While Lucas Darmezin built a comfortable lead, Enzo Lucotte regained the advantage over the Andorran, but the latter retaliated two laps later to secure second place, six seconds behind the winner and set the best lap of the day in 1:00.734s. Fourth-place finisher Nicolas Flon resisted the comeback of teammate Bryan Dufas (RX Evolution), who also had a less-than-ideal opening lap, with Mathieu Lannepoudenx next in the finishing order. Snow racing newcomer Louka Bourd completed the order in the Final A.
With two Finals wins so far, David Bouet now enjoys a six-point lead over Dylan Dufas in the general classification. Lucas Darmezin, who scored the most points in this second round, is up to third overall, 14 units behind his teammate and Clio Ice Trophy leader. Alex Español, Enzo Lucotte, Joaquin Rodrigo and Bryan Dufas are still in the hunt and can claim the leadership at the next meeting scheduled for Saturday on a new layout of Pas de la Casa Circuit.
Round 2 – Final classification
Lucas Darmezin 38 points
David Bouet 36 points
Dylan Dufas 32 points
Alex Español 30 points
Baptiste Panissie 26 points
Bryan Dufas 18 points
Mauro Polderman 18 points
Enzo Lucotte 17 points
Nicolas Flon 17 points
Joaquin Rodrigo 13 points
Mathieu Lannepoudenx 9 points
Stephan Polderman 8 points
Helena Ferrer 5 points
Louka Bourd 5 points
General classification - Round 2/4
David Bouet 70 points
Dylan Dufas 64 points
Lucas Darmezin 56 points
Alex Español 51 points
Enzo Lucotte 49 points
Joaquin Rodrigo 38 points
Bryan Dufas 36 points
Mauro Polderman 29 points
Baptiste Panissie 26 points
Anthony Ghesquiere 24 points
Nicolas Flon 17 points
Marin Le Jossec 16 points
Jérémy Sarhy 15 points
Tom Le Jossec 13 points
Stephan Polderman 13 points
Mathieu Lannepoudenx 9 points
Markel De Zabaleta 8 points
Helena Ferrer 5 points
Louka Bourd 5 points
Alain Cusimano 3 points
