Martell podiums at first french gravel rally of the 2026 season!
Upon finishing his 2025 Rally season with a second place finish at his first ever European race “Rally Terre de Vaucluse”. Conner Martell has kicked off his 2026 race season in Europe placing 2nd at the very first round of the French Gravel Championship “Rally Castine Terre d’Occitanie”. Martell was expected to be a top contender for the 2026 ARA championship but new opportunities manifested that he couldn’t turn down. The chance to race more of the French Gravel Series as well as some select WRC Rounds. Martell is focused on progressing as a driver at some of the most highly regarded races in Europe.
Photo: Bastien Roux
Adapting to an entirely different format of race reconnaissance “recce” at the French Gravel series has been a hurdle that himself and Co-Driver Alex Gelsomino have embraced and adapted to with no time to lose. Same day recce hours before the race and doing so in the rally car has given the two competitors a steep learning curve but one they have adjusted to rather quickly.
Photo: Bastien Roux
Martell had this to say about the first round of the French Gravel Championship :
“It was great to be back with 2C Competition for the first round of the French Gravel championship. Alex and I came away with a second place finish and felt like we had a good pace. Its a lot of work to get used to the one pass recce as it makes things difficult when you don’t have complete trust in your notes and little to no time to review onboard video. The event itself was very challenging with extremely narrow and technical roads. The upcoming round Rally Terre de Causses seems like it will be more fitting for my driving style as it’s a much faster rally. Our pace notes should be even more dialed in for the next round and we are looking forward to coming back to Europe for our second race of the year”
Photo: Bastien Roux
Gelsomino had this to say:
“It was a great event and very challenging. In my opinion we stepped up our game to the next level considering we are still getting familiar with the process of One pass recce using the rally car. Our speed and consistency was very good throughout the entire rally and we really enjoyed battling with the top competitors on both days. It was very rewarding to finish on the podium again and the vibe and support we got from the locals including the other drivers was great. Many of our competitors had done these stages last year, but they were obviously new for us so we are looking forward to building momentum and going on to the next round of the French championship. Big thanks to the team as they are planning extensive testing for us this year which is now already paying off for us”
Photo: Bastien Roux
The duo will be flying back to France in the coming weeks for the second round of the French Gravel Championship and the sky is the limit as they become more familiar and experienced in an entirely different and unique format of Rally racing. You can watch the event recap on Martell’s Youtube channel linked below!
Video: Justin Jenny