There’s always something going on at the Spa Rally! The afternoon and early evening of Saturday’s stages were packed with incidents, starting with a 10-second penalty awarded to C\u00e9dric Cherain (Hyundai i20 N Rally2). He warmed up his tyres before a checkpoint, which is forbidden by the regulations!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Jos Verstappen (Skoda Fabia RS Rally2) took advantage of the situation to grab the lead in the overall standings, before rounding off the day with two fastest times in Bruy\u00e8res and Fays Show! But as Max’s dad also inherited a 10-second penalty for the same reason as C\u00e9dric Cherain, it was the latter who was finally declared leader at the end of the first day, with a 7\u201d3 advantage over Jos Verstappen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In other words, the driver from Li\u00e8ge can almost smell the Belgian Rally Championship title, especially because Niels Reynvoet (Citro\u00ebn C3 Rally2) spun off the road in SS10! Although his car was intact, the considerable loss of time prompted the driver from Ghent to throw down the gauntlet. Game over!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Having lost time at the start of the day, Maxime Potty (Citro\u00ebn C3 Rally2) climbed back up to 3rd position, 1’04\u201d2 adrift. If the situation remains unchanged, the PH Sport driver will not be able to repeat his national title. It should be remembered that the second leg of the Spa Rally will feature five special stages, three times in Trois-Ponts \u2013 including the Power Stage where extra points can be scored \u2013 and two stages in Chevron. Nothing is decided yet…<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Behind the three overall leaders, John Wartique (Skoda Fabia RS Rally2) ended a strong day in fourth place, 1’32\u201d0 down, with Tom Rensonnet (Citro\u00ebn C3 Rally2, 2’35\u2018\u20194) in his wake, a driver who wasn’t expected to have such an impact on the overall standings at the end of the first day. The provisional top 10 is completed by Bernhard ten Brinke (Skoda Fabia RS Rally2, 2’49\u201d5), Charles Munster (Hyundai i20 N Rally2, 2’56\u201d2), who went off the road in SS10 Bruy\u00e8res 2, Thibaud Mazuin (Skoda Fabia RS Rally2, 4’18\u201d5), Romain Delhez (Porsche 991 GT3, 4’39\u201d6), leader in RGT, and Enzo Ide (Toyota GR Yaris Rally2, 5’11\u201d5), who continued to learn the art of rallying in extreme conditions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
While Pierre Hubin (Renault Clio Rally3) benefited from Harry Bouillon’s retirement (engine) to take the lead in the RC3 class, Maxim Decock (Opel Corsa Rally4) continued to impress in the Stellantis Motorsport Rally Cup Belux. He maintained his lead over Tom Heindrichs (Opel Corsa Rally4, 23\u201d1), who has made no secret of the fact that his priority is the title, especially as Pierre-Manuel Brasseur (Opel Corsa Rally4) suffered a puncture in SS9 Renouprez 3, allowing Lander Depotter (Opel Corsa Rally4) to take provisional third place.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Threatened by Thomas Martens (Renault Clio Rally5) on the second loop, Nard Ippen (idem) retained the lead in the provisional overall standings, but only by 4\u201d2! More to come tomorrow. Leny Cols, who was too cautious at the start of the day, is provisionally in 3rd spot at 3’30\u201d8, having got the better of Jo Muylle and Lyssia Baudet, who both suffered a puncture in Bruy\u00e8res 3, a stage which caused a great deal of damage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Geoffrey Leyon (Ford Escort Mk1) is the clear leader in Historic BRC, while Guino Kenis (BMW 325i E30) is second, on conventional winter tyres, 3’14\u201d back. Raphael Beaufort (Ford Escort Mk2) completes the provisional top 3.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As for the competitors in Division 2, they completed their 2024 Spa Rally on Saturday evening. Antoine Luxen (Renault Clio RS) was leading the way at the start of the final loop, but he too suffered a puncture in Bruy\u00e8res 3, handing victory to Laurent Vanton (Renault Clio R3). David Bomblet (Opel Corsa A) completed the podium, while J\u00e9r\u00f4me Septon (Peugeot 208 Rally4), who also had to change a wheel in SS10, clinched the Belgian D2 title!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The second stage day gets underway at 7.57 a.m. on Sunday morning. It will be the final rally day of the 2024 season, at the end of which a new Belgian champion will be crowned. Will it be C\u00e9dric Cherain? Or Maxime Potty? We are holding our breath…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
There’s always something going on at the Spa Rally! The afternoon and early evening of Saturday’s stages were packed with […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":22307,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[73],"tags":[],"acf":{"vhrs":false,"show_group":false},"yoast_head":"\n