The Alpine A290 Rallye returns to the iconic special stages of Rallye Mont-Blanc Morzine
Following stops in Le Touquet and the Vosges, the Alpine A290 Rally Trophy was due to continue its tour of France at the Rallye Rouergue Rodez Aveyron Occitanie. However, the cancellation of this round brought forward the summer break, and the competitors in this all-electric competition will eventually reach the halfway point of the season next week in Morzine.
Challenges at every level
Whilst Melvin Rabilloud and Enzo Mahinc (Fun Meca Sport / Alpine Store Annecy) have led the general classification since winning at Le Touquet, Aymeric Lenoir and Florian Hosson (FK Express / Alpine Store Calais) brought their dominance to an end in the Vosges. The leaders are determined to fight back to enter the home stretch in a strong position, whilst Aymeric Lenoir – now with Sophie Lallement as his co-driver – hopes to repeat his success to increase the pressure on the defending champions.
With two podium finishes, Denis Ridel and Gaëtan Debec (RDL Développement) have proven themselves to be models of consistency, slotting in between the two crews who have monopolised all stage wins since the start of the year. A newcomer to Rallye Mont-Blanc Morzine, the Alpine A290 Regional Trophy leader nevertheless enters round three ready to seize any opportunity to cement his place amongst the title contenders.
Seventh in 2025, then sixth and fifth so far in 2026, Pascal Janel and Jean-Pascal Berger (BTEC Team Race School Consulting) intend to maintain their momentum. Philippe Janvier and Julie Derory (David Auto Compétition / Alpine Store Clermont-Ferrand), among the most experienced in the service park for this event, aim to do the same. Having climbed back to third place in the Alpine A290 Regional Trophy this summer, Benoît Mouquet (FK Express / Alpine Store Calais) is also keen to build on his progress alongside Pierre Hermant, who returns to the passenger seat.
Meanwhile, Sandro Negre (FK Express / Alpine Guadeloupe) makes his first appearance of the season. Fifth in the inaugural Alpine A290 Rally Trophy season, this Alpine Cars collaborator hopes to replicate his performance from last autumn on very different playground with co-driver Gilles Gaussens.
A more international and female-led line-up than ever
After their setback in the final kilometres of the Vosges, Emma Chalvin and Amandine Borderie (Rageau Sport Location / Alpine Store Mantes-Le-Vexin) are determined to bounce back in the Alps, a region they know very well. A solid result would see them return to the top five and regain the upper hand over the Turkish crew of Nazan Zorlu and Ozhan Ciplak (Chazel Technologie Course / Alpine Store Nîmes), whose learning curve will continue near Europe’s highest summit.
Following on from Julien Ingrassia and Emma Bonnemort in the Vosges, Meltem Tasan will be driving the Alpine A290 Rallye VIP car. The German sports car entrepreneur and influencer will make her rally debut and share this unique adventure with her community, who will get an inside look at the all-electric model developed by Alpine Racing. For her first outing in the discipline, she will be able to draw on the experience of Hervé Faucher, who partnered Tom Pellerey in Alpine Racing’s official programme last year in the FIA World Rally Championship.
A record course
Just one year after debuting on the French special stages, the Alpine A290 Rallye returns to Rallye Mont-Blanc Morzine with the longest competitive route ever featured in the Alpine A290 Rally Trophy: 12 timed sectors totalling 145.42 kilometres. On Friday, competitors will tackle three loops comprising La Côte d’Arbroz – Essert-Romand – Taninges (14.48 km) and Samoëns – Morzine (14.95 km), followed by three runs the next day on La Vernaz – Vailly (7.19 km) and Lullin – Orcier (10.15 km).
The three fastest drivers on each of the special stages completed on Saturday will be able to score up to three ‘Performer’ points in addition to the points awarded at the finish. Throughout the rally, the field will benefit from a bespoke support package incorporating technical assistance, sustainable charging solutions and a spare parts service. Alpine Racing will ensure sporting fairness through rigorous checks and the allocation of Michelin tyres. The competitors will also vie for a share of the €236,000 in prize money and awards over the season, including an official Alpine Racing programme for the eventual winner.
Entry list
#e1 Melvin Rabilloud – Enzo Mahinc (Fun Meca Sport / Alpine Store Annecy)
#e2 Denis Ridel – Gaëtan Debec (RDL Développement)
#e3 Aymeric Lenoir – Sophie Lallement (FK Express / Alpine Store Calais)
#e4 Pascal Janel – Jean-Pascal Berger (BTEC Team Race School Consulting)
#e5 Emma Chalvin – Amandine Borderie (Rageau Sport Location / Alpine Store Mantes-Le-Vexin)
#e6 Benoît Mouquet – Pierre Hermant (FK Express / Alpine Store Calais)
#e7 Philippe Janvier – Julie Derory (David Auto Compétition / Alpine Store Clermont-Ferrand)
#e8 Sandro Negre – Gilles Gaussens (FK Express / Alpine Guadeloupe)
#e9 Meltem Tasan – Hervé Faucher (Alpine A290 Rallye VIP)*
#e10 Nazan Zorlu – Ozhan Ciplak (Chazel Technologie Course / Alpine Store Nîmes)
*not eligible for points or bonuses
