Conner Martell finished second at Rally Terre de Vaucluse in his regular 2C Škoda
Words by Luke Barry
Conner Martell demonstrated both his, and the American Rally Association’s, pace with second place on his European rallying debut.
Taking on the final round of the French Gravel Rally Championship, Rally Terre de Vaucluse, Martell and co-driver Alex Gelsomini won three stages in their 2C Compétition Škoda Fabia RS Rally2 to secure the runner-up position.
Emmanuel Gascou won the rally by 39.6 seconds in his Fabia to seal second in the championship behind former Junior WRC driver Laurent Pellier who sat the season finale out.
“This was one of the toughest and most stressful events I’ve ever done in my life,” Martell said. “I can’t thank Laurent Pellier from 2C and the entire 2C team enough for such a great weekend. They gave me an amazing car and helped me a lot throughout the event.
“It’s a very different style of racing here, only one-pass recce and not much time to review video, so Saturday was super stressful, really tough and technical. Sunday was a bit more American-style, with faster and flowier stages, so I felt more comfortable and was able to win three out of four stages. I’m really stoked about that.
Martell and Gelsomino flew back home to America with hardware
“I hope we can come back, but for now I’m looking forward to getting back to America and starting next season. Huge thanks to everyone – Kubota, DirtFish, Michelin, and everyone involved. Thank you so much.”
Gelsomino, who had never competed on French gravel despite starting over 350 rallies in his career, added: “It’s great to finish so well on Conner’s first European rally.
“[On] Sunday we looked for more precision during our single-pass recce, which allowed us to push harder, netting three stage wins and second overall. The stages deteriorated a lot on the second runs, but thanks to our Michelin tires we were able to keep a fast pace without worrying about punctures. Additionally, we improved the setup of our Škoda Fabia RS Rally2 with every loop, with the help of our event engineer, Arthur Pivato, and 2C Compétition driver and current French champion Laurent Pellier, whom we thank for his important feedback all week long.
“All the work done with our team, 2C Compétition, this week in the pre-event test really paid off, and I want to thank them, along with our amazing sponsors, for making this result possible.”
Having finished second this year, Martell is among the favorites for the 2026 American Rally Association National title.
Words:Luke Barry
Tags: Alex Gelsomino, ARA, Conner Martell
Publish Date November 12, 2025 DirtFish
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