The pace was high during the opening night of the 6th Ypres Historic Regularity. Two Closed Road Stages in Boezinge, a service on the Rodeberg and 8 challenging RTs greeted the crews. It was dry, but the cold temperatures made the asphalt treacherously slippery on some sections.
It remained tight at the front throughout the evening. It was Kurt Deklerck and Aswin Pyck who made the best of the conditions at the start in their Porsche 914/4. The specialists from the region led the field with four RTs, but they then had to give in to Christophe Baillet. Last year’s winner has our compatriot, Patrick Lienne, in the navigator’s seat. In his Ford Escort, he closed the opening night in Diksmuide with a 1.1 second lead over Michel Decremer and 7.9 seconds over Yves Deflandre. However, Michel Decremer and 32 other drivers were given a time penalty for using spotlights in a speed zone, which is prohibited. This 15 second penalty dropped Michel Decremer to 3rd place, behind Baillet and Deflandre.
“We had a great time and the stages were great to drive,” said leader Baillet with a broad smile. Yves Deflandre, who was on the road with Yves Noelanders, also got into the rhythm as the evening progressed. “At the start, we weren’t that sharp and we lacked some precision. We both have a bit of a cold. But once we found the rhythm, we were able to move up nicely, although Christophe is very strong. In any case, we did better than last year, when we slid off the track on Friday evening,” said the Porsche driver.
Michel Decremer and Jennifer Hugo, on the road with a repaired engine in the Opel Ascona 400, were hot on Baillet’s heels thanks to a strong comeback after the first service on the Rodeberg. Geert and Cédric De Jaeger follow, 22.5 seconds behind after an evening that did not go entirely as hoped: “We mainly had problems due to the calibration of the trimester. Very frustrating…”
Kurt Deklerck dropped back to 5th place in the second part of the evening, after being surprised for a moment, while Mario Varrewaere and Pablo Cracco hold a fine 6th place with the Alcatel Nissan Sunny. “However, we are driving here without taking any risks, because for me it is important to finish this race without any problems. Next week we will drive the Spa Rally in VHRS, in which we can still have a shot at the Belgian title. That is a priority. Nevertheless, we are doing very well tonight, which this 6th place proves.” Johnny Delhez never found the desired grip with his snow tyres under the Ford Escort. He is 7th, ahead of a strong driving Michael Demortier, Vincent Legend in the Opel Commodore and father and son duo of Guy and Olivier Dupont in the small Mini Coopers S. They have secured the intended top 10, for the time being at least. Gaetan Van Calster, who is at the start for the first time with a beautiful Porsche 911 SC, had a great opening to the event, but he soon dropped back, sitting just outside the top 10. Patrick Vanremoortel, on the road with Bjorn Clauw, struggled to find his rhythm in the dark. He follows in the Apal in the wake of the Porsche of Daniel Reuter and Robert Van de Vorst. Further back in the field, Willy Lux, former winner of the Ypres Rally, follows in 44th place with his stunning Lancia Fulvia.
“This is my first participation in the Ypres Historic Regularity and I had a fantastic time. We just drive for fun. The stages are challenging, as I remember the course of the Ypres Rally, which I have driven about fifteen times. The organisation is also very tight and of a high standard. I like that. I am already looking forward to the continuation of the long first stage,” Willy Lux concluded enthusiastically.
Today, the participants will first stay in the Westhoek for a while longer, after which a long loop towards Hainaut will follow this afternoon. They will arrive back in Ypres shortly after 4 p.m.
