Clio Cup Europe - Suspenseful season finale in Barcelona 12.11.2021: The time has come for the verdict in Clio Cup Europe. After thirteen events across the continent, the competitors will meet this week at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya for the season’s grand finale. At stake ? Two Clio Cup Europe titles and many more

The time has come for the verdict in Clio Cup Europe. After thirteen events across the continent, the competitors will meet this week at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya for the season’s grand finale. At stake ? Two Clio Cup Europe titles and many more in Groups B and D !



In this closing round, the Catalan stop on the calendar will mark the conclusion of a truly remarkable campaign that has seen more than a hundred drivers compete this year while providing a fascinating spectacle throughout the field.





The final duels for the European titles



With fourteen victories from twenty-six races between them, Nicolas Milan (Milan Compétition) and David Pouget (GPA Racing) have left their mark on the season. In Barcelona, the two final contenders will face off one last time to fight for the European crown, an Alpine A110 and the unique chronograph exclusively produced by BRM for the winner.



After having secured the title for his team, Nicolas Milan arrives in Catalonia as the favourite. With a 29-point lead with the twenty best results of the year, Nicolas Milan has forced his rival to win both races to keep his championship hopes alive… And even in this scenario, Nicolas Milan would have to finish second in one of the two races to clinch the title !



Each contender will also have the support of their teammates in their quest. On the one hand, Nicolas Milan will be assisted by Groups A and C title-winner Marc Guillot as well as Anthony Jurado and Mathieu Lannepoudenx. David Pouget will be seconded by the top two Challengers of the continent, namely Kévin Jimenez and Alexandre Albouy.



The Gentlemen Drivers Cup will be decided between Horn (GPA Racing), who can seal the deal on Saturday, and his countryman Lionel Viguier (TB2S), who has already taken top honours in this category in Group C. In the absence of Alessandro Sebasti Scalera, third-place in the general classification will be decided among Laurent Dziadus (Team Lucas), Quinto Stefana (Oregon Team), René Steenmetz and Stephan Polderman (Chefo Sport).



Barcelona will also provide another opportunity to shine this season for Due (Oregon Team), Jean-Marc Thévenot (Milan Competition), Andrea Argenti (SI Racing Team), Mariano Alonso and Florent Grizaud (GPA Racing) as well as journalists Gian Luca Pellegrini and Alberto Sabbatini (Press League by Oregon Team). Meanwhile, Leo Jousset (Milan Competition) and Juuso-Petteri Panttila (Oregon Team) will make their first appearance of the year and will not be eligible to score points.



Lastly, this weekend will see the debut of the guest Clio Cup car. Proudly bearing the Castrol colours, the number 540 car will pay tribute to the Clio Cup Europe partner’s products and be driven by co-founder of My Gasoline, Valentin Simonet.






Double stakes in Group B



After Nogaro, Magny-Cours, Hockenheim and two meetings at Circuit Paul Ricard, the Group B competitors will also wrap up their season in Barcelona.



As in Europe, the overall title will be another Nicolas Milan-David Pouget showdown. Third in the general classification, Kévin Jimenez will aim for the Europe-Group B double in the Challengers Cup against Alexandre Albouy, but Mathieu Lannepoudenx, Jerzy Spinkiewicz (Uniq Racing) and Paul Cocaign (TB2S) intend to make their life difficult.




Laurent Dziadus, who has already won the Gentlemen Drivers Cup, will hope to end the year on a high while his rivals Horn, Jérémy Bordagaray (Team Borda Rally), Lionel Viguier, Fabien Julia (LR Performance), Javier Cicuendez (Team VRT) and Stephan Polderman will vie for the runner-up spot.



All these contenders will also have to watch out for a final push from Yeraly Ospanov (Milan Competition), Antoine Bordagaray (Team Borda Rally), Mathieu Rigoulet (Vic’Team) or Guillaume Maio and Michel Faye (GM Sport).






Evreything still to play for in Group D



Nicolas Milan and David Pouget will also fight for the Group D crown after their first battles at Magny-Cours, Castellet, Valencia and Monza.



David Pouget is the only driver standing in the way of Nicolas Milan scoring a historic triple that would bring his number of Clio Cup titles to thirteen. Meanwhile, the final battle in the Challengers Cup will pit Alexandre Albouy, Mathieu Lannepoudenx and Kévin Jimenez against each other, while four drivers will battle for the title in the Gentlemen Drivers Cup. Only twelve points cover Horn, Stephan Polderman, Javier Cicuendez and René Steenmetz ahead of this weekend.



Many Spanish competitors eager to excel on home soil will be here, starting with the fast and experienced Alex Royo and Jordi Palomeras (Team VRT). Nicolas Abella and Ivan Riera (Chefo Sport), Erik Zabala (Team VRT), Daniel Nogales, Alex Lahoz and the twin brothers Adrian and Alejandro Schimpf (Cota Automocion) will also be worth keeping an eye on, as will Gentlemen Joaquin Rodrigo (Vearsa Sport) and Gabriel Alonso.



Scheduled for Saturday at 2.55 pm and Sunday at 2.50 pm, the final Clio Cup Europe races from Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya will be aired live on the Renault Sport Series Facebook page and the Renault Sport YouTube channel.





TIMETABLE



Friday 12 November
9h00-9h30 : Collective tests 1
14h30-15h00 : Collective tests 2



Saturday 13 November
11h30-11h50 : Qualifying 1
14h55-15h30 : Race 1 (25 minutes + 1 lap) - Facebook | Youtube



Sunday 14 November
9h20-9h40 : Qualifying 2
14h50-15h25 : Race 2 (25 minutes + 1 lap) - Facebook | Youtube




Renault Sport Racing