Melvin Rabilloud and co-driver Enzo Mahinc have mathematically wrapped up the 2026 Alpine A290 Rally Trophy with one round still to run, after winning the e-Rallye Coeur de France Region Centre Val de Loire. It is the Fun Meca Sport crew’s third win of the season and their second consecutive title in the all-electric one-make series. Alpine says the pair now only need to take the start of the final round to lock in an official Alpine Racing programme for 2027.

The penultimate round of the Alpine A290 Rally Trophy took the all-electric field from the hills of the Vosges and the Alps to the flatter, faster roads of the Centre-Val de Loire, ten months after the series was launched nearby at the Rallye de l’Indre. Melvin Rabilloud arrived in Vendome with his first chance to settle the championship, and he took it.

A title decided on the second stage

Rabilloud’s closest challenger, Aymeric Lenoir, started the weekend strongly and led after the opening stage at Celle. The picture changed on SS2 at Besse-sur-Braye, where Rabilloud set the fastest time and Lenoir made a mistake. From there the Fun Meca Sport driver, supported by Alpine Store Annecy, strung together stage wins and ended the first leg more than a minute clear of Denis Ridel.

On Sunday, Rabilloud was quickest again through Mazange-Fortan while Lenoir restarted to chase Performer points and keep a slim title hope alive. The first run through Sarge-sur-Braye was cancelled after several crashes among competitors in the ICE-powered rally running alongside, which left Rabilloud needing only a clean run to the finish. He posted one more best time in Mazange-Fortan before pacing himself on the closing stage.

“Mission accomplished! In the end, we’ve had a nearly perfect season. I think we can be extremely proud of our campaign,” said Rabilloud. “It feels great that we’ve mathematically secured the title before the final round.”

Rabilloud also pointed to the car itself as the season’s central challenge, describing the A290 Rallye as very different from anything he had driven before and a machine that sometimes demands a counter-intuitive driving style and constant road analysis. Mahinc called the title the result of a full year of work, with ups and downs the crew had to learn from.

Consistency behind the champions

Denis Ridel and Gaetan Debec finished second, a fourth podium in a row. Enzo Lucotte, back in the all-electric category after retiring from the event last year, took third alongside Anne-Laurence Breton. Pascal Janel and Jean-Pascal Berger scored their best result to date in fourth, as did Benoit Mouquet and Pierre Hermant in fifth, the latter pair also setting the third-fastest time on SS2.

In the Alpine A290 Rallye VIP programme, content creator “Alexandra La Belge” took two top-six stage times on her first rally start, before retiring on SS6 with a damaged steering link after a brief excursion into a ditch.

Still plenty to settle at the Cevennes

The title is done, but the season is not. The finale at the Criterium des Cevennes on 22-24 October carries a 1.5 points coefficient, and Rabilloud can still add the Performer classification and the Alpine Store Challenge with Alpine Store Annecy. Ridel and Lenoir are separated by nine points in the fight for second overall, and the remaining places are open.

The championship matters beyond the trophy: for a customer-racing series built around a road-based electric hot hatch, a works drive is the prize at the top, which gives the A290 Rally Trophy a clearer career ladder than most one-make rally cups.

Facts: e-Rallye Coeur de France Region Centre Val de Loire

  • 1. Melvin Rabilloud – Enzo Mahinc (Fun Meca Sport / Alpine Store Annecy), 1h03m03.4s
  • 2. Denis Ridel – Gaetan Debec (RDL Developpement), +1m37.6s
  • 3. Enzo Lucotte – Anne-Laurence Breton (FK Express / Alpine Store Dijon), +4m31.3s
  • 4. Pascal Janel – Jean-Pascal Berger (BTEC Team Race School Consulting), +4m59s
  • 5. Benoit Mouquet – Pierre Hermant (FK Express / Alpine Store Calais), +5m33.3s
  • Standings: Rabilloud 172 pts, Ridel 113 pts, Lenoir 104 pts
  • Alpine Store Challenge: Annecy 172 pts, Calais 117 pts, Clermont-Ferrand 40 pts

The Alpine A290 Rally Trophy closes its season at the Criterium des Cevennes on 22-24 October.

Source: media.alpinecars.com