Spa Rally Cédric Cherain and Damien Withers win the 2025 Spa Rally

With just 13.2 seconds separating Cédric Cherain (Porsche 992 Rally GT) and Tom Heindrichs (Citroën C3 Rally2), the second leg of the 2025 Spa Rally promised to deliver. Especially with the harsh weather in the region and the Theux and Ster stages to be completed three times, Sunday’s program was nothing short of challenging!

Young Heindrichs struck first, setting the fastest time on both stages of the opening loop. As Cherain spun at Ster, the gap between the two leaders was reduced to 5.1 seconds.

However, things became complicated for Heindrichs during the second run through Theux, with a puncture cost him six seconds… followed by a spin right at the start of SS13 Ster 2! The matter was settled…

As a consequence, Cherain only had to manage the charge from Dutchman Bernhard ten Brinke (Skoda Fabia RS Rally2), who kept stringing together strong performances to close the gap with the leader to 21.8 seconds before the final loop of the event and the 2025 season. The last run through Theux proved tricky for the various Porsches, allowing ten Brinke to get within 9.6 seconds before the final stage of the weekend!

Cherain nevertheless handled the Ster finale perfectly, conceding only half a second to ten Brinke. In so doing, the Porsche 992 Rally GT driver saw his name added to the winners’ list of the event for the third time!

“It was tight, but we didn’t give anything away and we stayed focused”, Cherain commented before celebrating his victory. “This win is a delight to the BRC fans, who want to witness this kind of spectacle. It’s been a long time since a Porsche last won in Spa, and this victory is certainly one of the finest of my career! The car finishes without a scratch despite the extreme difficulty of the stages and the risks we took! One thing’s for sure: I’ll be driving a Porsche again next year!”

The standout performance of the weekend, coupled with the ‘Driver of the Day’ award given by the BRC, came from Tom Heindrichs, who set seven fastest times, making him the weekend’s top performer! All at the age of just 21 and driving a Rally2 car for only the second time! Thierry Neuville's half-brother is clearly the future of Belgian rallying, and the best is yet to come…

Just off the podium in this Spa Rally was Tom Rensonnet (Hyundai i20 N Rally2), who delivered a solid result for the Lifelive Motorsport team after Cédric De Cecco’s rally-ending off in Theux 2! As for Thomas Martens (Citroën C3 Rally2), the other highly anticipated young gun in this finale, he impressed with a stunning fastest time in Saturday’s final stage, the rainy and dark Fays Show, and repeated that performance on Sunday, ultimately completing the top five.

In his first appearance behind the wheel of the Porsche 992 Rally GT, Romain Delhez grew stronger stage after stage, dealing brilliantly with the extremely delicate conditions. He finished sixth overall, ahead of a very solid Thibaud Mazuin (Skoda Fabia RS Rally2), John Wartique (Porsche 992 Rally GT), who focused on making his Bavarian machine as effective as possible in these conditions, German Björn Satorius (Toyota GR Yaris Rally2), who was impressed by the challenges of this Belgian finale, and Emile Breittmayer (Citroën C3 Rally2), who experienced a weekend of ups and downs.

One of the performances of the weekend came from German Colin Dünker (Ford Fiesta Rally4), who not only dominated the RC4 class but also finished an impressive 11th overall, ahead of the RC2 drivers Loris Nuyts (Skoda Fabia R5 Evo), Harry Bouillon (Skoda Fabia R5 Evo), Richard Pex (Skoda Fabia RS Rally2) and Manu Gonay (Citroën C3 Rally2)!

At the wheel of his Opel Corsa Rally4, Lander Depotter did not need to focus on Dünker to secure the title in the Stellantis Motorsport Rally Cup Belux – after already taking the Junior BRC crown – especially since German Lukas Thiele (Opel Corsa Rally4) ended up retiring after going off in Theux 2! Worth noting is the second place in the category for the new Lancia Ypsilon Rally4 driven by Hugo Cravillon.

Although Pierre Hubin (Renault Clio Rally3) led RC3 for a long time, he encountered technical problems on Saturday evening, forcing him to restart under Super Rally rules. This played into the hands of Benoit Verlinde (Renault Clio Rally3), who took the class win while finishing inside the overall top 15.

Antoine Luxen (Renault Clio 2 RS) stood out with victory in NAT2, ahead of the top drivers in the historic categories: Guino Kenis (BMW 325i E30), winner in Historic BRC, who finished ahead of Jo Muylle (Subaru Impreza), winner in Youngtimer BRC, in the overall classification. Julien Collette (Peugeot 208 Rally6) confirmed his form in RC6, winning ahead of Claire Schönborn (Opel Corsa Rally6), Smail Haddouche (Peugeot 208 Rally6) and Bob Whormann (Lancia Ypsilon Rally6).

The curtain falls on an exciting edition of the Spa Rally, which concluded in the best possible way a 2025 Belgian Rally Championship that certainly delivered its share of highlights. This final weekend was unmistakably one of them.