A season full of lessons - fighting until the very end

We are slowly entering the final part of the 2026 Renault Clio Cup Europe season.

I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t disappointed with the way things have unfolded since the start of

the season. Still, I’m trying to look at everything from a positive perspective, learn from every

experience, and come out of it stronger and wiser.

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After the season opener at Nogaro, where I was disqualified after the first race despite

finishing an excellent fourth, I went on to take sixth place in Race 2. Despite some minor

engine overheating issues, I set the fastest lap in both races, which gave me even more

confidence heading into the next race weekend at Paul Ricard.

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Paul Ricard – a circuit I love. Fast, technical, and with plenty of overtaking opportunities.

In the first race, I took another sixth-place finish. Although I had started from third on the

grid, I wasn’t disappointed with the final result because I believe it was one of the better

Renault Clio Cup races. The fact that reigning champion David Pouget finished seventh says

enough about just how strong the competition was. Until the very end, no one knew who

would make it onto the podium – and that is exactly what makes this championship so

exciting.

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However, another disappointment followed after the race.

One of the drivers reported me for removing the memory card from the onboard camera

before the end of parc fermé, which lasts for 30 minutes after the race. Eager to review

certain situations from the track as soon as possible, I made a mistake that ultimately cost

me dearly – another disqualification.

Although I felt that reporting me was unsportsmanlike and not something I would ever do to

a fellow driver, rules are rules. I learned a valuable lesson that day.

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Angry and disappointed, I somehow found even more motivation overnight, and the very

next morning I secured the first pole position of my career!

Definitely one of the best moments of my career so far. Half a second clear of the driver in

second place and yet another confirmation of my speed and the progress I had made going

into the new season.

Still, luck was definitely not on my side during the first part of the season. Despite making a

great start, taking the lead and spending the opening two laps out front, a radiator failure

forced me to retire. The incident also cost me the engine.

It was a huge shock.

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A great start at the pre-season race in Spain, the fastest time in testing at Nogaro, the first

pole position of my career, the fastest lap in each of the first three races… and yet I left

France with ZERO points, sitting 22nd in the championship.

What a disappointment for someone who had entered the season with the ambition of

fighting for the championship title!

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Three more race weekends followed. Eighth and sixth at Magny-Cours, fifth and fourth at

Mugello, followed by two sixth-place finishes at the legendary Spa-Francorchamps.

Of course, my ambitions remain the same. I go into every race with one goal – to win. But

after everything that happened at the beginning of the season, an additional pressure started

to build, and it wasn’t helping me at all.

It began to feel as if there was no longer any room for mistakes. Not for me, not for the team,

not for the car. As if this season were our last chance.

But it isn’t.

I realised that and decided to approach things a little more wisely. To collect points and

gradually rebuild my confidence, race by race.

Make no mistake, consistently finishing inside the top six in a championship as competitive

as Clio Cup Europe can sometimes feel like a victory in itself. Still, we are missing that final

little piece – that small step that will bring everything together and finally turn all the hard

work into a podium finish.

I now enter the final part of the season sitting seventh in the championship.

Unfortunately, the chance of fighting for the title is gone, but the battle for fifth place is very

much alive. Considering how the season started and all the setbacks I’ve had to overcome, I

believe that would be a great result.

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Next up is Spain and the Navarra circuit. On the first weekend, we will compete as part of

the Spanish Cup, before returning to the same circuit the following weekend for the

European championship. After that, at the end of November, we head to Portugal for the

season finale.

I’ll give everything I have to get the maximum out of the final four races of the European

championship and turn this season into a good story in the end.

Every lap on track is another experience. Every race brings a new lesson, and everything

that has happened this season is making me stronger, more experienced and more

determined.

The best is yet to come.

And as always, we’ll fight until the very end! ��

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