A RECORD FIELD FOR SEASON FIVE OF THE ALPINE ELF EUROPA CUP

With its growing success since its revival in 2018, the Alpine Elf Europa Cup has definitively cemented its place in the international motorsport landscape by fully assuring its role as a springboard for its best hopefuls. In the wake of his two titles, Jean-Baptiste Mela is now showcasing his talent in the Alpine A110 GT4 while his former rivals Ugo de Wilde and Lilou Wadoux have moved on to endurance racing.

With their departure, the Alpine Elf Europa Cup is getting ready to experience one of the most disputed campaigns in its history with a field where everything has been re-established, so much so that no surprise can be ruled out!

WHO WILL FOLLOW MELA?

Although it is difficult to pick a favourite for Nogaro, Simon Tirman (Autosport GP) and Edwin Traynard (Chazel Technologie Course) should logically be at the sharp end of the field as they are the only past winners in the field.

The two men will look to confirm their potential from the outset, but they will face formidable challengers, such as Poland's Gosia Rdest (Chazel Technologie Course), determined to take a step forward in her third year in Alpine. The Herrero Racing team, which narrowly lost out last year, will be out for revenge by striking hard at the opening round. To achieve this, the team will count on former Clio Cup race winner Thibaut Bossy and Rodolphe Wallgren, back in the Alpine Elf Europa Cup after competing for the title in the French GT Championship in 2020 and 2021.

Hailing from Senegal, Abdoulaye Diop (Autosport GP) will also hope to spring a surprise in his first race weekend in cars, with only the general classification as his goal. However, many others are also keen to make a name for themselves…

NEW HOPEFULS?

Despite their experience, Simon Tirman and Edwin Traynard will have to be wary of their rivals aiming for Junior and overall glory. After showing great promise, Louis Méric (Race Cars Consulting) and Lucas Frayssinet (Chazel Technologie Course) will both look to establish themselves as genuine contenders for victory.

Meanwhile, Herrero Racing will try to hold onto its crown in the Juniors category, hoping to find with former kartmen Alexis Garcin and Adrien Le Floch the same success as with Ugo de Wilde last year. Tim Mérieux (Autosport GP), who showed great promise in pre-season testing, could also cause a stir while Jules Gougeon (Race Cars Consulting), Margaux Verza (Patrick Roger Autosport GP) and Paul Cauhaupé (Patrick Roger Autosport GP) will do their utmost to join the battle.

Lastly, Code Racing Development will debut in the Alpine Elf Europa Cup just a few months after leading the Alpine A110 Rally to its first overall win in the French Rally Championship. The only team to race all three versions of the A110 will rely on the versatile Romain Brun and Louis Maurice, who has been racing in TTE.

LOYAL GENTLEMEN

With eight drivers at Nogaro, the Gentleman category will be a proper race within the race. Defeated by Stéphane Auriacombe last year, Philippe Bourgois (Chazel Technologie Course) will have nothing but the reconquest in mind. However, his mission will be challenging as he will be up against other Alpine Elf Europa Cup stalwarts in Marc Sevestre and Pierre Macchi, two drivers from Patrick Roger Autosport GP, who have been competing in the category since its revival in 2018!

Anthony Fournier (Race Cars Consulting) and Laurent Richard (Herrero Racing), who finished on the podium in this class last year, will also aim to win while Frédéric Roy and Jean-Paul Dominici, both entered by Chazel, will be keen to demonstrate the extent of their improvement. Newcomers from the world of front-wheel-drive racing, Denis Bernardi and Mickaël Carrée (T2CM), Gentlemen category champion in Clio Cup France in 2017 and 2020, could nevertheless upset the hierarchy as both are full of ambitions for their debut at Nogaro!

During this new campaign where they will compete alongside some of Europe's top GT championships, the competitors will also battle for more than €110,000 in prize money and bonuses spread equally across all the rounds and in all categories.

Scheduled for Sunday at 1.35 pm and Monday at 3.30 pm, the first two races of the year will be streamed and commented live on the Alpine Elf Europa Cup YouTube channel and Facebook page.