The win means that Clermont consolidate their position at the top of the league with five rounds of matches remaining and are guaranteed of a top four finish.
The match in Biarritz was a nip-and-tuck affair, with both sides scoring one try apiece. The away side struck first, with an early try from centre Marius Joubert in the sixth minute, with Biarritz replying just before half-time with a try from US flyer Takudzwa Ngwenya.
However, it was the kicking of Clermont fly-half Brock James that made the difference, with the South African pivot converting Joubert’s try before going on kick three penalties on 25, 55 and 61 minutes. While Biarritz's try went unconverted and and Dimitri Yachvilli and Julian Dupuy could only add a penalty apiece.
While the win maintains Clermont’s impressive momentum, the defeat dents Biarritz's hopes of a Heineken Cup spot for next season as they slip to sixth position in the table, courtesy of Castres win against Brive.
Elsewhere, Stade Francais remain on target for a place in the semi-finals with a big 43-20 win over Albi.
The Parisian outfit put on an excellent attacking display, scoring four tries through Guillaume Boussès, Djibril Camara, Sergio Parisse and Juan-Martin Hernandez, whose try was included in a personal tally of 28 points.
The win was Stade’s seventh on the bounce and they are hitting great form as the season enters its business end.
On Sunday, fellow high-flyers Toulouse suffered a shock 17-15 defeat at the hands of Montpellier.
Toulouse, who face Irish province Munster in the Heineken Cup Final later this month, came up short in their third game in eight days and were caught cold with Montperllier notching two tries in the opening seven minutes.
Louis Picamoles and Fulgence Ouedraogo gave the hosts a 12-0 lead and early in the second-half they extended their their lead to 17-3 thanks to a third try from Manoel Dall'lgna.
Toulouse rallied with a converted try from Yves Donguy closing the deficit to 17-10 and looked odds on to complete the comeback when Shaun Sowerby dotted down.
However Jean-Baptiste Ellissalde missed the conversion that would have levelled the scores and despite some plate pressure they were unable to overhaul their hosts.
The win keeps Montpellier's slim hopes of Heineken Cup qualfication alive.
Also on Saturday, third placed Perpignan slipped up on the road at Montauban going down 28-22.
Jacques Brunel’s side hang onto third spot though, but have a tough match at leaders Clermont-Auvergne next weekend.
It was Fabien Fortassin who did the damage for Montauban, keeping the scoreboard ticking over to great effect with five penalties and two drop goals.
Elsewhere on Saturday, Bayonne won away at bottom placed side Auch 19-23, with tries from veteran centre Ricahrd Dourthe and Alvaro Lopez.
In Saturday's other match, Bourgoin moved up the table into eighth spot after their seven try, 50-14 thumping of Dax.
On Sunday, Castres notched a big bonus point 41-10 over Brive, a result that sees Castres leapfrog Biarritz to take fifth position in the table, just one spot off the automatic qualification places. Castres scored five tries including a brace from winger Mathieu Bourret.
Click here for all the results and latest table
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