Var Rally to close a historic 2022 rallying season for Alpine
Since its return to the special stages in 2020, Alpine has steadily gained momentum with the A110 Rally, designed and developed by Signatech.
From its very first campaign, the car established itself as the reference in its category by winning the French 2WD Rally Championship in the hands of Manu Guigou. Twelve months later, Pierre Ragues echoed this triumph by winning the FIA R-GT Cup and Alpine’s first international title since the inaugural season of the FIA World Rally Championship in 1973.
Far from resting on their laurels, the crews who chose to place their trust in the A-arrowed brand scored a historic and unprecedented double in 2022. Still controlling the sharp end of the order, the Alpine A110 Rally repeated the feat in the FIA R-GT Cup, this time with Raphaël Astier, while his countryman Cédric Robert did the same on the national scene.
Setting the benchmark time on all the special stages of a tricky route at the Critérium des Cévennes, Cédric Robert already claimed his tenth consecutive victory – the eighth in as many starts this year – with the A110 Rally to win the French 2WD Rally Championship*.
“Matthieu and I are extremely pleased and proud to have won this title for the Team Bonneton-HDG and Alpin, said the French driver while his performances with co-driver Matthieu Duval earned him three overall podiums against France’s best four-wheel drive competitors. It is a fitting reward for the work done by our team of enthusiasts. The Critérium des Cévennes was not the best-suited for the Alpine, but we did it right and had a lot of fun!”
Alpine will be at the Rallye du Var this week to conclude this exceptional year of rallying. The venue for the French Rally Championship season-finale, the event will also host the sixth and final round of the Alpine Elf Rally Trophy.
With Cédric Robert focusing on the quest for the team crown his Team Bonneton-HDG squad, the Alpine Elf Rally Trophy competitors will aim to extend his fantastic winning streak in the two-wheel drive category, and ensure a 100% success rate for the Alpine A110 Rally in France this season!
Already crowned in the trophy at the Rallye Coeur de France, Grégory Fontalba is eager to finish his campaign on a high. However, he knows that his closest rival Fabrice Bect will do everything in his power to claim his maiden victory and clinch the Gentlemen category title. Romuald Lamboley will also do everything he can to be part of the fight at the front while experienced drivers as Jean-François Mourgues, Loïc Panagiotis, Kévin Portal and Pierre Roché will also be present, as will Belgium’s Armand Fumal, who will be back in a car with which he won his category at the 2021 Spa Rally.
The 68th Rallye du Var, contested around Sainte-Maxime, will see the competitors compete from Friday onwards through four timed sectors, including the two longest on the route. The following day, the crews will run the Gonfaron, Pignans and Collobrières stages twice and make single runs on the Circuit du Var and Puget-Ville. Three more timed sectors will follow on Sunday, bringing the event to 221.92 km of action.
