The 59th Ardeca Ypres Rally will start on Friday. The 8th round of the Belgian Rally Championship is also the third round of the British Rally Championship. It sees a strong entry list, with 103 crews and no less than 29 cars in the top RC2 class. The favourites are two Frenchmen, who grew up a stone’s throw from the Westhoek, although the local drivers will not give up easily.
The number 1 has been assigned to Stéphane Lefebvre, who will start as the reigning Belgian champion, although the Nordist has entered the British Championship this time to be able to drive with Michelin tyres. Last year he outclassed all Rally2 drivers in the WRC round, but he was unable to celebrate that victory properly after a complaint from his competitor Mikkelsen for cutting too deep.
“That complaint meant that we were not sure about victory until late at night. We were therefore not able to celebrate the victory properly. That is why I am fully aiming for the overall victory this year, again with the Citroën C3 Rally2. I think I the first time I visited the Ypres Rally when I was two years old, together with my dad. I haven’t missed a single edition since then,” says the Citroën driver.
Adrien Fourmaux, who leads the British Championship with two victories in a Ford Fiesta Rally2 from M-Sport, has the same ambition. “I have less fond memories of Ypres, because I went off the track twice, but of course I’m aiming to win in the context of the British championship. The speed on the narrow lanes in Ypres is very high and you have no margin for error, which is why every mistake is punished mercilessly,” says Adrien Fourmaux.
The two French favourites both compete in the British Championship portion of the event. The third international reference is Chris Ingram who chooses a Volkswagen Polo GTi from Wevers Sport. Ingram was the fastest privateer in Ypres last year with a Skoda Fabia Rally2 Evo and he is also aiming for a victory this year. “Ypres is definitely one of my favorite rallies,” said Chris, who had the honor of reading the official tributes to the deceased troops at the Last Post ceremony at last year’s WRC round. “The intention is to take the first step in Ypres towards a return to the WRC.”
But, our compatriots will make their mark in the battle for victory. Maxime Potty has been dominating the Belgian Championship all season and with his Citroën C3 Rally2 he seems confident for a top result in Ypres. Niels Reynvoet comes in on a high after his great victory in Wervik. John Wartique is well on his way with his Citroën and we are curious to see how fast Bjorn Syx will be in his first rally with the Citroën C3 Rally2. And what about Davy Vanneste, the winner of the Monteberg Rally earlier this year. He aims for the podium in his Volkswagen Polo GTi.
After his victories in Bertrix and Tielt, Cédric Cherain needs to continue his good form in Ypres to reinforce his title ambitions. The Hyundai colors are further defended by Charles Munster, who took a solid second in Bertrix, and Gilles Pyck, who knows the course well as he is local to the region.
The Skoda Fabia RS has already proven its speed several times in recent competitions. With that potential, Freddy Loix and Jos Verstappen might be able to take fight for a top spot, or can ‚Fast Freddy‘ even dream of adding to his record of eleven victories in Ypres?
At Ford, Bernd Casier may be able to produce a surprise, despite his lack of rhythm. Master champion Jimmy D’hondt and a series of local drivers who have opted for a Fiesta Rally2, such as Steven Dolfen, Etienne Verbeke and Steve Bécaert and will be gunning for Masters’ success.
And then there are the top British drivers, such as the rapid James Williams, who also has experience at the stages in Ypres.
It will also be interesting to see whether Amaury Molle’s Alpine A110 RGT can compete with the fastest Porsches, such as Glenn Janssens’ 991 GT3, Tuur Vanden Abeele’s 997 GT3 ex-Lefevere and Tuur Vanden Abeele’s 997 GT3 or that of Tim Van Paris.
In short, together with the fast pioneers in the best historic cars, there is a lot of beautiful machines to make rally fans mouth water. The spectacle starts on Thursday evening with the Clarebout Potatoes Qualifying Stage in Nieuwkerke from 6 pm.
