The Alpine A110 Rallye GT+ secured its first overall victory in the French Rally Championship on Rallye Mont-Blanc Morzine.
Nine-time world rally champion Sébastien Loeb and co-driver Laurène Godey gave the A-arrow brand its first overall win since the 2021 Rallye Antibes Côte d’Azur.
Alpine also won in the French Two-Wheel Drive Rally Championship with the A110 Rally of Yann Clairay and Gilles De Turckheim, winners on the return to action of the Alpine ELF Rally Trophy.
Loeb triumphs with Alpine
Introduced less than four months ago, the Alpine A110 Rallye GT+ realised its full potential on the Alpine roads. A front-runner from the outset, the model posted the fastest time on SS2 in the hands of Quentin Gilbert. On the second loop, Sébastien Loeb and Raphaël Astier finished 1-2 on SS4 before the nine-time world champion took the lead on Bonnevaux – Le Biot.
On Saturday, Sébastien Loeb and Raphaël Astier repeated their 1-2 in the second pass between Lullin and Orcier before Quentin Gilbert joined them for historic 1-2-3 in Draillant – Fessy 2 and Bonnevaux – Le Biot 2. More and more at ease behind the wheel of his new machinery, Sébastien Loeb then set the fastest time in the rally’s longest stage.
With six fastest times from the 13 stages contested, the GL Automobiles’ Alpine A110 Rallye GT+ driven by Sébastien Loeb and Laurène Godey won by more than ten seconds over the leaders of the French Rally Championship. Long in contention for second place, Raphaël Astier conceded more than three minutes due to a slow puncture on SS12. Fourth at the finish, Quentin Gilbert was left to rue his slight misstep in the opening kilometres of the rally, as he fell short of a podium result by 2.1s.
A triumphant return for Clairay
The Alpine ELF Rally Trophy also began the second half of its season with nine Alpine A110 Rally crews in Morzine. After a rainy shakedown, the hostilities kicked off on greasy roads.
Yann Clairay, who won in Antibes, set the pace before Pierre Roché hit back in drier conditions. In the afternoon, Yann Clairay went back on the offensive and regained the lead on SS4 before extending his advantage on Draillant-Fessy and Bonnevaux-Le Biot. With the cancellation of the night stage due to misplaced spectators, Yann Clairay ended the leg with a 13.4s lead.
Yann Clairay continued his fine form on Saturday, with a string of fastest times on the second runs of Lullin-Orcier, Draillant-Fessy and Bonnevaux-Le Biot. After his fastest time in La Côte d’Arbroz – Sommand, the leader switched to management mode to seal his second victory of the season, both overall and in the Challengers category. The Code Racing Development driver’s success sees him move up to third place in the trophy.
Despite the attacks from Ludovic Godard, Pierre Roché did all he could to hold on to second place in the final loop. Grégory Fontalba finished fourth overall and first in the Gentlemen’s category, where he now has a commanding lead. Jérémy Crétien won the duel for fifth place against Sergo Pinto, while Loïc Pautou finished seventh after Frédéric Perriat and Matthieu Fassio retired.
With two wins and two-second places from four starts, Pierre Roché nevertheless extended his lead at the top of the Alpine ELF Rally Trophy. The Team FJ leader could take a significant step towards a second consecutive title at the next round, contested on home soil on the Rallye Cœur de France (27-29 September).
Quotes
Sébastien Loeb: “I had never driven a rear-wheel drive car in rallying, and the event was quite new to me, with many stages that I wasn’t familiar with. We’d seen that the Alpines had been performing very well for some time. They are especially strong in the fast sections, where they are well-balanced and efficient. I got to grips with the car on the first day. I felt right at home behind the steering wheel. Laurène and I had a simply exceptional weekend, thanks to the large crowds, the impressive level of the French Rally Championship and this diabolical car with the impeccable work of Ludovic Godard’s team!”
Yann Clairay: “It is the rally I know best, so I really wanted to win it. I wanted to open up a gap to manage the final stages, and that is what happened. It was a superb weekend with a magical car, as was Gilles to my right. We pulled each other up and battled against Cédric Robert in two-wheel drive. We couldn’t have dreamt of anything better!”
Pierre Roché: “We had a good rally and really enjoyed ourselves. I think all the competitors in the trophy set excellent times because Yann pushed everyone so hard. He was the best this weekend, so we’ll have to work harder and better to get our revenge next time.”
Grégory Fontalba: “We’re improving our times from year to year, and the progress is phenomenal when it’s led by drivers coming from racetracks like Yann on this magnificent event. It forces us to do our utmost to get those seconds we’re missing. It’s a beneficial experience despite our insatiable desire to win!”
Rallye Mont-Blanc Morzine 2024
1. Sébastien Loeb – Laurène Godey 1h40m42.7s
2. Léo Rossel – Guillaume Mercoiret +10.7s
3. Yoann Bonato – Benjamin Boulloud +19.9s
4. Quentin Gilbert – Christopher Guieu +22.0s
5. Laurent Pellier – Grégory Fressard +1m04.3s
Alpine ELF Rally Trophy – Rallye Mont-Blanc Morzine
1. Yann Clairay – Gilles De Turckheim 1h43m56.3s
2. Pierre Roché – Martine Roché +17.5s
3. Ludovic Godard – Matthieu Bôle-Richard +31.2s
4. Grégory Fontalba – Stéphan Hermet +2m49.7s
5. Jérémy Crétien – Xavier Rouchouze +4m01.5s
6. Sergio Pinto – Charlène Greppin +4m35.5s
7. Loïc Pautou – Sonny Postel +8m53.6s
Ret. Matthieu Fassio – Hugo Olivier
Ret. Frédéric Perriat – Margot Pottier
General classification
1. Pierre Roché 70 points
2. Grégory Fontalba 47 points
3. Yann Clairay 41 points
4. Ludovic Godard 39 points
5. Jérémy Crétien 26 points
6. Matthieu Fassio 20 points
7. Sergio Pinto 14 points
8. Fabrice Bect 8 points
9. Jean-François Mourgues 6 points
10. Loïc Pautou 4 points
11. Guy Bertrand 3 points
12. Éric Giannini 0 point
13. Sébastien Maurel 0 point
14. Frédéric Perriat 0 point
