Charles Roussanne wins Alpine ELF Cup Series title*

After battling at Nogaro, Portimão, Spa-Francorchamps, Barcelona, and Le Castellet, the competitors met once again at the Autodromo Nazionale Monza to conclude season seven of the Alpine ELF Cup Series.

RACE 1: JOUSSET WINS, ROUSSANNE CHAMPION

Charles Roussanne arrived in Italy at the top of the general classification. The French driver got his weekend off to an ideal start, dominating the first free practice session in the rain before doing it again in drying conditions. On Saturday, the showers returned just before qualifying. Léo Jousset showed all his skills late in the session to claim pole position ahead of Louis Méric (Race Cars Consulting) and Charles Roussanne.

Conditions remained wet for the race. Louis Méric's return to the category saw him take the lead from Léo Jousset, who Thibaut Bossy threatened for a while. Aware that only victory would allow his teammate to keep his title hopes alive, Louis Méric offered no resistance to Léo Jousset and let him pull away at the start of lap two.

Once in the lead, Léo Jousset quickly extended his advantage while Louis Méric and Charles Roussanne engaged in an exciting battle for second place. After exchanging positions several times on a soaked track, Charles Roussanne gained the upper hand for good on lap six. Two laps later, contact between Pierre-Laurent Figuière (Chazel Technologie Course) and Pierre Macchi (Schumacher CLRT) at the Primera Variante resulted in a safety car.

The action resumed on the last lap. After seeing his lead annihilated, Léo Jousset kept his cool to take his third win of the year. Runner-up Charles Roussanne nevertheless secured the title ahead of the season finale. Challenger Louis Méric completed the podium, followed by Thibaut Bossy.

Initially fifth, Sami Dhahri (VPS Racing) was penalised five seconds for gaining an advantage off track. Starting last, Lukas Papin (Schumacher CLRT) charged forward to finish in the top five ahead of Florian Coruble (Chazel Technologie Course Junior), Gosia Rdest (Chazel Technologie Course Junior) and Frédéric de Brabant (Chazel Technologie Course), who won the race and the title in the Gentlemen category.

RACE 2: JOUSSET WINS AGAIN, BOSSY AND VPS RACING CROWNED

On Sunday, Léo Jousset was the fastest in a drizzle to claim the final pole position of the season ahead of Charles Roussanne and Lukas Papin. Three Challengers, Louis Meric, Florian Coruble and Thibaut Bossy followed in that order, as the class crown was still in the balance.

The sun returned for the final race. Unlike the day before, Léo Jousset held off his pursuers and quickly opened up a gap of more than two seconds thanks to the battles waged behind him among Louis Méric, Lukas Papin and Florian Coruble. Lukas Papin eventually took the lead of the chase group before Charles Roussanne gradually made his way up the field, overtaking Louis Méric, Florian Coruble and then Lukas Papin on lap seven. The race also featured the duel between Thibaut Bossy and Florian Coruble before Romain Monti (Chazel Technologie Course Junior) and Louis Méric got in between the two to enter the fight for fourth place.

Léo Jousset was unchallenged, while Charles Roussanne resisted the attacks of Lukas Papin. Fourth-placed Romain Monti was ahead of Louis Méric after Florian Coruble aggressively attempted to overtake Thibaut Bossy at the entry to the Parabolica. However, Thibaut Bossy retained his advantage to win the Challengers title. After Florian Coruble was penalised for his part in the collision, Gosia Rdest, Sami Dhahri and Gentlemen Frédéric de Brabant and Pierre Macchi closed the top ten.

Charles Roussanne joins Pierre Sancinéna, Gaël Castelli, Jean-Baptiste Mela, Lucas Frayssinet and Lorens Lecertua as an Alpine ELF Cup Series title-winner. The 18-year-old driver also won the Junior category and will receive a grant to help him move up to GT4 with Alpine. Thibaut Bossy (Challengers), Frédéric de Brabant (Gentlemen) and VPS Racing (Teams) complete the honour roll of the 2024 class.

The Alpine ELF Cup Series will release its 2025 calendar on its social networks on Tuesday on Facebook, X, Instagram and YouTube!

QUOTES

Charles Roussanne (Alpine ELF Cup Series and Junior Category Champion)

This is my second season in motorsport and my second title with the VPS Racing team. This year, the keys to success were hard work and discipline to give our all and achieve this result. Being supported by Matthieu Vaxiviere, Aurélien Panis, and Raphaël Serrano has helped me enormously. Their advice and experience are precious, both on and off the track. Right from my first laps behind the wheel, I felt incredibly comfortable in the Alpine A110 Cup. It handles extremely well and is a lot of fun to drive, especially in the rain, as we've seen on several occasions this year. I adapted quickly and felt confident about my chances of getting a title. But I couldn't lose sight of my objective. After the summer break, I went into each meeting knowing I had to manage without making any mistakes. That's what we've done, and I'm delighted. I'm now open to all opportunities and proposals, so I'm not closing any doors for the future!

Thibaut Bossy (Challengers Category Champion)

I'm extremely thrilled to win the Challengers title. It will allow me to return next year thanks to the prize-money. This weekend, I was frustrated with my pace in the rain and couldn’t make it work in the final sector. I felt more at ease in the dry with some great battles. It got intense with Florian Coruble towards the end of the race. He tried everything he could, but that's racing! I've improved my race pace a little this season, but I still need to work on qualifying to start towards the front of the field and make things easier for myself in the race. In any case, I'm still having just as much fun behind the wheel of the Alpine A110 Cup, a great car with slick tyres and a sprint format that I particularly enjoy.

Frédéric de Brabant (Gentlemen Category Champion)

I'm delighted to win this title, even if it hasn't sunk in yet. Despite being 49 years old, it's a childhood dream come true, especially at Monza, and I would never have believed it when I started racing again a few years ago. We did a lot of work after testing, and Saturday was simply magical as we managed to line up everything. All the same, I was a bit anxious at the restart before the last lap, as I was aware that I could win the title if the positions didn't change. Perhaps I would have preferred not to have known that, so I wouldn't have been under so much pressure! We held on after a great moment side by side in the Parabolica with Philippe. I'd like to take my hat off to all my rivals in this tough championship. I'm probably not the fastest or the most talented, but I know I can get there if I work hard enough. What's next? Most likely with this superb car, the Alpine A110 Cup!

CLASSIFICATIONS

Race 1

1. Léo Jousset (Race Cars Consulting) 12 laps

2. Charles Roussanne (VPS Racing) +0.284s

3. Louis Méric (Race Cars Consulting) +1.236s

4. Thibaut Bossy (Herrero Racing) +2.542s

5. Lukas Papin (Schumacher CLRT) +3.355s

Pole position: Léo Jousset (Race Cars Consulting) – 2m06.894s

Fastest lap: Charles Roussanne (VPS Racing) – 2m08.346s

Race 2

1. Léo Jousset (Race Cars Consulting) 14 laps

2. Charles Roussanne (VPS Racing) +8.934s

3. Lukas Papin (Schumacher CLRT) +9.284s

4. Romain Monti (Chazel Technologie Course Junior) +17.881s

5. Louis Méric (Race Cars Consulting) +24.141s

Pole position: Léo Jousset (Race Cars Consulting) – 2m06.654s

Fastest lap: Léo Jousset (VPS Racing) – 1m58.104s

General classification*

1. Charles Roussanne – 223 points

2. Léo Jousset – 194 points

3. Lukas Papin – 114 points

4. Thibaut Bossy – 79 points

5. Florian Coruble – 72 points

* subject to final technical scrutineering