It was a truly eventful Saturday morning in the FIA Ardeca Ypres Historic Rally. Leader Jari-Matti Latvala seemed set to extend his run of top times from Friday when he opened with a stage win in Watou. However, in the very next stage in Westouter, the Finn’s Toyota Celica ST165 had to pull over due to technical problems. For a brief moment, the path seemed clear for Pieter-Jan Maeyaert to add his name to the list of winners. But the engine of the BMW M3 decided otherwise. Maciej Lubiak was forced to retire following an accident on the liaison. Steve Perez bent the rear axle of his Lancia Stratos and lost a significant amount of time on the opening stage.
It all meant that after the first Saturday round, the English duo Tomas and Eurig Davies unexpectedly took the lead. “Although we did have some hairy moments on slicks,” Tomas said.
With their MATS_BMW M3, they have a 36-second lead over their teammate Wouter Lievens. “This is a truly mighty car,” Lievens laughed. “Apart from the regional ORC Rally, where I served as the zero car, I had never driven the BMW before. An unexpected second place, despite the fact that we slid straight on three times on slicks.”
Stefaan Stouf is still not 100% satisfied with the brakes in the Porsche 911 Carrera, but the fishmonger from Nieuwpoort has nevertheless climbed to third place. The top five is rounded out by Guillermo Bruneel from Ypres, another MATS veteran, and the Italian Renato Travaglia (BMW M3), who misjudged a few corners due to problems with the intercom. It has been 25 years since he last competed in Ypres.
In the BRC Historics, Claudie Tanghe is still the leader. “The front suspension of the Ford Escort MKII is too open, causing the car to float too much at the front. In Dikkebus, we briefly slid straight into the corn, but what frustrates me most is that we are constantly being hindered by a slower competitor who never moves aside when we are held up,” Tanghe said.
Louis Tytgat (Opel Ascona A) ended a good run with a dive into a Zillebeek ditch. Tom Boonen also saw his podium spot slip away due to transmission problems.
Philip Barbier was battling at the front but had to resign to Tanghe’s supremacy. Barbier chose his own pace, and settled for second place in his Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VI. Bram Fonteyne is 3rd, and, like many others, complained about the heavy downpour they had to endure in Dikkebus and Zillebeke. “Driving over the stage at 30 km/h and not being able to see anything; you really had to guess where the road was.” Kenny Verstraete (BMW) is in fourth place, while Koen Verhaeghe (Ford Escort MKI) can do consolidate his position in the championship standings following Boonen’s retirement.
