ROCHÉ DOUBLES UP, OVERALL PODIUM FOR ASTIER IN ROUERGUE

The Alpine Elf Rally Trophy wrapped up the first half of its season this weekend in Rodez. After two different winners in the opening two rounds of the season, it looked as though the battle would be fierce, particularly between the top five crews in the general classification, all covered by less than ten points at the start.

As in Antibes, Ludovic Godard was the first to make his mark on Friday, but Vincent Leduc hit back on the following stage to return to the service park with a 1.5s advantage over his rival following the SS3 driven in road mode. Although he confirmed his excellent form on the second run through Rodelle, the hierarchy was turned on its head on one of the rally's first litmus tests.

On the 33 kilometres between Campouriez and Le Nayrac, Pierre Roché struck hard, going 26 seconds faster than anyone else to leap from third to first place. Perfectly controlling his effort in the final timed sector of the day, the new leader finished the leg with a 12.1s advantage over Vincent Leduc whilst Ludovic Godard followed 20 seconds further back.

Pierre Roché further increased his lead the following day. Already the fastest in Lévézou, he put the hammer down on the iconic Luc - Moyrazès stage, extending his lead to 24.5s before the final loop. Not one to rest on his laurels, he did it again in the first two stages of the afternoon before managing his pace in Rodez to seal his second victory in the Alpine Elf Rally Trophy ahead of Vincent Leduc and Ludovic Godard, respectively winners in the Gentlemen and Challengers categories.

Leading the trophy before the start, Jean-François Mourgues finished fourth, holding off the comeback of Fabrice Bect by 4.5 seconds. Title holder Grégory Fontalba ended up sixth ahead of Jérémy Crétien, Éric Royère and Bertrand Fassio, all covered by less than 16 seconds at the finish. Loïc Panagiotis completed the top ten while Romuald Lamboley closed the order with no retirements, highlighting the impressive reliability of Signatech's Alpine A110 Rally cars.

With two wins in as many starts this season, Pierre Roché takes command of the general classification with a three-point lead over Jean-François Mourgues and a five-point advantage over Vincent Leduc. However, the gaps remain tremendously tight, with Fabrice Bect, Ludovic Godard and Jérémy Crétien also within 20 points - the equivalent of a victory - of the new leader.

Alongside the trophy, the Alpine A110 Rally once again excelled in the hands of Raphaël Astier. Fifth in Antibes and fourth in the Vosges, he quickly got back into the rhythm of the French roads after his feats at Pikes Peak, scoring his first overall podium finish in the French Rally Championship with the A-arrow brand. With ten top-five finishes from the eleven stages contested, he also claimed his third victory of the year in R-GT and two-wheel drive. He also scored his maiden win in the Michelin Premium Trophy.

The Alpine Elf Rally Trophy competitors will enjoy a well-deserved summer break before they return to action on Rallye Mont-Blanc Morzine (31 August - 2 September).

Pierre Roché: We had an excellent weekend at a rally that I particularly like. The Rouergue has often been good to me, and despite the heat, we had a good rally. We made the difference on the stages we knew best, and it was a nice, enjoyable battle with local driver Vincent Leduc. We still have room for improvement with this superb Alpine A110 Rally. There's a lot of potential to be unlocked, and I think we'll soon be able to challenge other Rally2s that are closer to the front. That will be my main focus between now and the end of the season as I know I always need a little time to get the fullest of a new car that I'm just getting to know!

Classification

1. Pierre Roché – Martine Roché 1h56:40.6s

2. Vincent Leduc – Caroline Puel +23.3s

3. Ludovic Godard – Matthieu Bole-Richard +1:33.1s

4. Jean-François Mourgues – Michel Roissard +2:44.0s

5. Fabrice Bect – Arnaud Michal +2:48.5s

6. Grégory Fontalba – Stéphan Hermet +3:23.7s

7. Jérémy Crétien – Xavier Rouchouze +4:45.8s

8. Éric Royère – Gilbert Dini +4:57.8s

9. Bertrand Fassio – Jean-François de Montredon +5:01.0s

10. Loïc Panagiotis – Maxence Mangeot +6:23.1s

11. Romuald Lamboley – Aurélien Benzal +12:43.6s

General clasification

1. Pierre Roché 40 points

2. Jean-François Mourgues 37 points

3. Vincent Leduc 35 points

4. Fabrice Bect 28 points

5. Ludovic Godard 27 points

6. Jérémy Crétien 22 points

7. Éric Royère 16 points

8. Grégory Fontalba 8 points

9. Bertrand Fassio 8 points

10. David Ferraro 6 points

11. Éric Giannini 6 points

12. Romain Haut-Labourdette 4 points

13. Philippe Baffoun 3 points

14. Loïc Panagiotis 2 points

15. Élodie Gines 1 point

16. Romuald Lamboley 0 point