Only Pieter Tsjoen has the honour of winning the Ypres Rally as a driver and as a co-driver. He could take his record further this year, as he could be victorious as team boss. Together with Freddy Loix he will campaign for PTR Racing, the team he founded after his active driving career came to a close. In theory, Pieter Tsjoen’s record can be equaled this weekend, because Fred Miclotte will be at the start in Ypres for the first time as a driver. In the past he won three times in Ypres three times as Loix’s co-driver. Miclotte also has had his own team, SXM, for some time now. So, in short, Frederic Miclotte is a jack of all trades.
“Someone who wears many hats,” is how Frederic Miclotte describes himself. That is because he is the driver who navigates regularly, or a co-driver who sometimes wants to drive himself? Or is he at the head of the tuner/rental company who promotes his own rally cars in a unique way?
“I had been a co-driver all my life, and experienced just about everything and in fact had seen even more of it. Only with Jourdan Serderidis do I get into the right seat again, because it remains fun as a navigator. Especially because I am usually active with Jourdan on gravel, which remains special.”
This year Fred Miclotte will be at the start in Ypres, in the driver’ seat, for the first time.
“As a driver, a completely new world opened up for me. In the beginning it was limited to one rally per season, and this soon expanded to three regional competitions. In consultation with co Nicolas T’Joen and the sponsors, we decided to to drive the full BRC this year, to become an even better pilot. It remains a hobby anyway, but we approach it very professionally. Every rally requires almost extreme preparation, in terms of organisation, exploration, onboards, etc. I am only on my 20th rally as a driver in the Westhoek, so I still have to discover everything.”
Indeed, Miclotte no longer has experience and course knowledge, as his last entry in Ypres dates back to 2013, the last time he won year. “My memories are quite distant, but you can always remember mythical special stages such as the Kemmelberg or Watou. Personally, I think I will adopt Freddy Loix’s way of driving, from which I have learnt a lot, and with whom I won Ypres in 2010, ’11 and ’13. He mainly concentrated on the changes of direction, such as the T-junctions. He looked for the ideal setup for this. In the faster sections, you can go flat out, so you can’t make a difference there, were his words. And that was the key to success for Freddy many times.”
“Ypres still remains Ypres. For me and many others, this is still the largest rally in Belgium, both driving and at an organisational level. In the Friday section you have to ensure a mix between keeping up with the large group, and still keeing in a certain margin. Because during the first evening of the Ardeca Ypres Rally there is often a lot of competition. On the second day you can choose to maintain the same rhythm or possibly step it up a notch. I am carefully aiming for a place in the top 10, and hope that the other SXM Compétition competitors Gilles Pyck, John Wartique, Philip Barbier and Etienne Verbeke will do just as well. If any of these guys have any problems, I won’t feel bad about being a mechanic during the service to dive under the car ourselves. Our customers come first.”
