PAUL DACHICOURT CLAIMS MAIDEN CLIO TROPHY FRANCE ASPHALTE VICTORY IN VOSGES

DRAMATIC LATE COMEBACK EARNS DACHICOURT FIRST TROPHY WIN AFTER INTENSE BATTLE WITH FAGNONE

Paul Dachicourt and co-driver Adèle Dachicourt secured their first-ever Clio Trophy France Asphalte victory after a hard-fought duel at Rallye Vosges Grand Est, overcoming a puncture and a late deficit to win the second round of the 2026 season.

After narrowly missing victory on home roads at the season opener, the Fun Meca Sport crew responded with a determined performance on the demanding Vosges asphalt stages.

Dachicourt set the early pace by taking the fastest time on the opening Pays d'Ormont stage and quickly established himself among the leading contenders. However, the rally proved highly challenging, with several frontrunners encountering problems throughout the event.

Local driver Florent Fagnone, alongside Benjamin Fagnone, used his knowledge of the roads to stay in contention and eventually moved into the lead after Dachicourt suffered a puncture during the second pass through Corcieux.

The decisive moment came on Sunday morning. Dachicourt launched an aggressive attack on the rally's longest stage, La Vologne, gaining more than 20 seconds on his rivals and re-entering the fight for victory.

The battle continued throughout the final stages, with Dachicourt gradually reducing the gap before reclaiming the lead on the penultimate test. He then held his advantage to secure a breakthrough victory in Clio Trophy France Asphalte competition.

"We never gave up despite the puncture and kept pushing until the finish."

Florent and Benjamin Fagnone finished second, earning their first podium finish of the season on their first Clio Trophy France Asphalte appearance of 2026.

"Second place and a first podium is a strong result after such a competitive rally."

Clément Didier and Théo Jacquemet completed the podium after a consistent performance across the weekend. Didier emerged ahead of Jérôme Janny following a close battle for third place.

Tom Le Jossec secured fourth position, while Romain Fostier completed the top five. Yohan Roumieux, Christophe Truchet, Pascal Bérard and Fabien Combe rounded out the leading finishers.

The victory moves Dachicourt to the top of both the overall Clio Trophy France Asphalte standings and the Junior classification. Fagnone's podium elevates him directly to third in the championship, while Groupe Bertrand moves into the lead of the Renault Network Challenge.

Elsewhere, Jérôme Jacquot and Marielle Grandemange led a clean sweep of the top five positions in the Rally3 category for the Clio Rally3.

The Clio Trophy France Asphalte season continues with Rallye Rouergue Rodez Aveyron Occitanie, scheduled for 9-11 July.

KEY POINTS

• Paul Dachicourt and Adèle Dachicourt claimed their first Clio Trophy France Asphalte victory.

• The Fun Meca Sport crew recovered from a puncture to win Rallye Vosges Grand Est.

• Florent and Benjamin Fagnone secured their first podium finish of the season.

• Clément Didier and Théo Jacquemet completed the podium in third place.

• Dachicourt now leads both the overall and Junior championship standings.

• Groupe Bertrand moved into the lead of the Renault Network Challenge.

• Clio Rally3 crews occupied the top five positions in the Rally3 category.

• The next round takes place at Rallye Rouergue Rodez Aveyron Occitanie on 9-11 July.

Paul Dachicourt: “This first victory is incredible. We only really got started in the Clio Trophy France Asphalte a year ago, so it's brilliant to be competing at the sharp end today and taking our first win. We've known since the middle of the 2025 season that we have the pace to be among the frontrunners, but minor setbacks have consistently slowed our momentum. This time, everything fell into place, and the emotion at the final stop was quite unique. We didn't really know where we'd be competing on this rally, which was completely new to us. We'd never even driven in the region before. The main target was to get through the first loops before pushing harder in the second ones. Despite that, we set the fastest time right from the start. We led throughout the first day, but a puncture on Corcieux 2 cost us dearly, dropping us back by more than 30 seconds. On Sunday, Adèle and I put in a superb first special stage, clean and executed to the millimetre. That allowed us to close the gap before two stages I wasn't at all comfortable with. Again, we had to be smart, avoid the pitfalls and keep the championship in mind. We kept pushing hard in the afternoon as victory was within our reach, and it's brilliant that we did it. We're in a strong position for the rest of the season. We're top of the general classification, with a small lead and our dropped score still available. The Rouergue and Mont-Blanc are rallies we know well and enjoy. We put in some great performances there last year, so we're ready and looking forward to it.”

Clio Trophy France Asphalte – Rallye Vosges Grand Est

1. Paul Dachicourt – Adèle Dachicourt (J) 2h01m53.3s

2. Florent Fagnone – Benjamin Fagnone +6.0s

3. Clément Didier – Théo Jacquemet (J) +2m56.1s

4. Jérôme Janny – Helena Pecheur +3m05.2s

5. Tom Le Jossec – Christophe Leroy (J) +3m28.7s

6. Romain Fostier – Ophélie Abchiche (G) +3m42.4s

7. Yohan Roumieux – Bastien Fontaine +3m43.2s

8. Christophe Truchet – Barbara Truchet +4m14.3s

9. Pascal Bérard – Caroline Bérard (G) +5m38.4s

10. Fabien Combe – Fabien Chèze +6m39.1s

11. Néo Rivallant – Melvin Fraigne (J) +6m51.7s

12. Jacques Bourrat – Jean Bourrat (G) +7m51.5s

13. Ludovic Lamarche – Baptiste Gauthier +7m57.1s

14. Léo Véricel – Jade Gaston (J) +8m06.4s

15. Alexis Poso – Lou Cardot (J) +8m49.6s

16. Romain Brun – Aurélia Chevalier (J) +10m02.4s

17. Laurent Lambert – Yannick Le Moing (G) +10m11.1s

18. Maxence Girard – Ricardo Gil Mateus (J) +10m22.9s

19. Maxime Chagot – Bertrand Chagot +12m44.5s

20. Thomas Van Outryve – Johanna Della-Pina (J) +13m00.s

21. Clémentine Benoit – Éric De Bolle (J, F) +15m03.8s

22. Guillaume Delobel – Coralie Darras +18m11.4s

23. Louis Gass – Alison Girard (J) +31m39.1s

24. Oliver Sørensen – Frederik Glad (J) +34m59.5s

25. Alex Florenson – Charline Dichamp (J) +1h00m14.6s

26. Amaury Pages – Mattis Chalvidan (J) +1h08m36.5s

27. Louis Bottin – Titouan Andreux (J) +1h09m15.9s

DNF. Justin Veyrard – Corentin Landon (J)

DNF. Maxence Potard – Maxime Biegalke (J)

DNF. Alfred Sablonnière – Romain Depeux (J)

DNF. Thibault Hickel – Alexian Parmentier (J)

DNS. Franck Giraud – Christophe Dubien (G)

DNS. Thomas Santiago – Anne-Laurence Breton (J)