Three drivers lined up at the start of the Rallye du Var looking to win the second edition of the Clio Cup Rally. Arnaud Augoyard, Pierre Marché and Henri Venturini were the only men still in the hunt for outright victory after seven of the eight rounds of the 2005 racing calendar. 

Henri Venturini, whose chances hinged on him winning whilst his rivals performed below par, was the first to drop out of contention. He lost over three minutes on the first special stage due to a puncture. After being delayed again on the third special stage, the deeply disappointed Corsican driver decided not to start day two. 

At the front, Pierre Marché was first to go on the attack. He set the best time on stage one and then went on to repeat the feat on the third, fourth and sixth special stages. At the halfway stage, he led Thomas Barral and, more importantly, Arnaud Augoyard by 26.1”. 

Arnaud Augoyard tried to fight back. But before the last special stage of day two, whilst Marché was still leading his main rival by more than twenty seconds, the man in the grey Clio went off, putting him out of the rally for good and leaving Augoyard certain of winning this season’s title. 

Despite leading at the end of day two, Arnaud Augoyard would ultimately finish in second place behind Thomas Barral, who built on his run of good performances since the start of the season. Along with Boris Carminati, third this weekend and the winner in Cévennes, Thomas Barral has been one of this season’s revelations and will certainly be a force to be reckoned with in 2006.

The Rallye du Var also provided Benjamin Perrin with an opportunity to show off his talent. After his podium finish at the Cœur de France rally, he finished fourth here with three best times to his name. 

Arnaud Augoyard: “I must admit that I was a little apprehensive at the start of the rally. I tried to take it easy and avoid making any mistakes. At the halfway stage, I decided to go on the attack. On Special Stage eight, I really went for it. We knew from the intermediate times that we were still slightly quicker than Pierre. I’ve rarely taken so many risks. And then on Saturday evening we were told that Pierre had been forced to abandon and that we had therefore won the title. It hasn’t really sunk in as yet. My consistency has paid dividends this year against some really stiff competition.”