2023-12-19 05:33:50
Winner, at the beginning of October, of the coveted Clio Trophy France Terre, Châtelleraudais Mattéo Chatillon has offered himself the right to meet, from 2024, the world elite of junior rallying: the JWRC.
At the table of confessions as at the wheel of his destiny, his confidence embraces the evidence. Mattéo Chatillon is not one of those who procrastinate. Straight to the point could be his motto. However, he is not from Marseille. Not even a footballer. “That was when I was young. » Well, younger. At the time of collective outpourings on the green meadows of SW Châtellerault or Oyré, its cradle. Another time. “When I had to make a choice between football and car racing, I didn’t hesitate for a single second,” he says. I wasn’t strong enough in one and I had spent my whole life in the other. For the record, you should know that the day I was born, my father won the Rallye du Clain. It’s in the veins. »
In contact with this champion dad, Loïc, a departmental figurehead of the discipline in the 90s, the child and adolescent observed a lot and learned a lot. Until the time of the big jump. In 2019. “When I was 16, I had the chance to be my father’s co-driver on the Vienne rally. When I was 18, my parents offered me an entry in the La Rochelle Autumn Rally. I had the license for three weeks. It was on that day that it clicked. From then on, I built everything around the rally. »
Partners on the call
Just four years have passed and the ARL Sport protégé is starting to make a name for himself in the industry. This is evidenced by this title obtained, in the face of fierce competition, on October 8 in Millau, on the Rallye Terre des Cardabelles, the final stage of the Rallye Tour Clio Trophy. A coronation which opened wide the international doors for Mattéo and his co-driver and lifelong friend, the Naintréan Maxence Cornuau. In this case the Junior WRC, the antechamber of the WRC 2 senior world championship and the Grail, the WRC of Ogier, Neuville and others. “With this official steering wheel offered by Alpine Racing, we will be able to compete in rallies, but without hope of scoring points in the championship, this privilege being reserved, for one last season, for the Ford Fiesta,” explains Mattéo. It’s not a big deal, because they always say that it takes three years to make your mark in the category. The first year is that of learning, the second that of performance and the third that of victories. So let’s start by learning. »
The duo is perfectly aware of this: their new 260hp, 4-wheel drive Clio Rally 5 will not be able to attend all the rounds of the championship, eight in total between January and September. “It’s very expensive and that’s why we need sponsors, as many sponsors as possible,” harangues the young driver. First meeting assumed, from January 25 to 28, at the famous Monte-Carlo. And after ? Who will want to help Matteo and Maxence see further?
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