The three-way battle did not take long to get underway in this, the fourth round of the season. Pierre Marché, Arnaud Augoyard and Henri-Marc Venturini were all into their stride right from the first stage. The Corsican, winner of two events already this season, set the quickest time ahead of Augoyard and Marché.  

On the next stage, Marché hit back, setting the best performance. But in the second lap of the first day, all of Pierre Marché’s hopes of victory fell away. First of all hit by a puncture in Cassagnes, the driver from the department of Yonne (Burgundy) crashed off on the treacherous Alrance special stage. It was the first time he had had to abandon this season.  

At the end of the first day, Henri-Marc Venturini held a 16.3 second lead over Arnaud Augoyard and a 29.6 second lead over Mathieu Biasion, who was still looking for his first podium finish of the season. 

The second day was witness to a rather unusual turn of events. Despite there being six special stages scheduled, only four times ended up counting towards the overall standings. The eighth special stage was interrupted before the Clios set off in order to administer first aid to a spectator who had fallen ill. An hour later, the ninth special stage was driven in convoy, the Race Director having decided to cancel the timing of the stage due to safety considerations. The very heavy rain had made the road surface too dangerous for those drivers with cars fitted with slick tyres. 

Off again for the tenth special stage, events took another surprising turn, as the leader Henri-Marc Venturini crashed out of the rally. At that point, Arnaud Augoyard found himself on his own in the lead.  

With a lead of almost a minute, Augoyard spent the last day keeping his rivals at bay. In spite of a strong finish to his race, Mathieu Biasion could do no better than second, his first Clio Cup Rally podium finish. On the last stage, Thomas Guyot fell back due to a puncture, whilst Thomas Barral recorded some excellent times to move up from seventh to fourth position, just behind Boris Carminati. 

Arnaud Augoyard: “I went through everything on this rally! First of all, I was slowed down on the first day by brake problems. Then on Saturday, I pushed hard to get back into contention. I think that played a part in the mistake that Henri-Marc made that put him out of the race. Then I had to manage the lead to make sure of my first victory. I am really glad that was how it finished. I drove well right to the end of the race to maintain a good lead. I am very pleased with this result.” 

Mathieu Biasion: “If we hadn’t had our puncture and the minor crash during the third special stage on Saturday, we might have been able to go for the win. But for our first Rouergue Rally, it’s a good result. With three best times at the end of the race, we finished very strongly. Since the Limousin rally, I feel that I have got to grips with the car. The goal here was to finish in the top three, which is exactly what we’ve done. Now we’ll have to go for victory in the heart of France!” 

Boris Carminati: “We were a little slow getting into the rally, having done reccies for Friday’s special stages in the fog. After that, we picked up the pace. I am just a bit disappointed not to have been able to compete in the special stages in the rain, as they are the sort of conditions that usually suit me.” 

Clio Cup Rally : 1. Augoyard / Baudin 2h18’52’’5 – 2.  Biasion / Reynet +27’’9 – 3. Carminati / Granier +1’10’’6 – 4. Barral / Rebut +2’19’’6 – 5. Gascou / Chapus +2'25’’1 – 6. Jouines / Rubio +2’34’’7 – 7. Lacomy / Mattei +4’05’’1 – 8. Gonon / Gonon +4’32’’7 – 9. Janvier / Poursain +4’49’’9 – 10. Guyot / Abchiche +7’04’’2… 
Stage Wins : Venturini 4, Biasion 3, Augoyard 2, Marché, Carminati 1. 
Leader (stage by stage) : ES1 à ES9 Venturini, ES10 à 14 (arrivée) Augoyard. 
Classification : 1. Augoyard 162 points – 2. Marché 122 points – 3. Venturini 101 points – 4. Biasion 95 points – 5. Guyot 75 points…