Monteberg Rally
Entries for the 54th edition of the Bernard Degroote Monteberg Rally are not yet closed, but with already more than 138 confirmed crews, the fight for the final starting spots is intensifying. It’s clear that Monteberg is increasingly being recognised as the perfect preparation event for the Ardeca Ypres Rally. That explains the presence of several international frontrunners, including Grégoire Munster, Czech ace Erik Cais and reigning Belgian champion Jos Verstappen.
Munster chasing rhythm
The entry of Grégoire Munster, naturally at the wheel of a BMA-run Hyundai i20 N Rally2, adds serious prestige to the line-up. After two seasons as an M-Sport factory driver in the WRC, Munster will make his first appearance at the Monteberg Rally. In Poperinge, he will be co-driven by Diederik Pattyn, who last season called the notes for fast Estonian Romet Jürgenson.
“During the Safari Rally Kenya, things immediately clicked with Diederik Pattyn and we already discussed teaming up for the Ardeca Ypres Rally. We’ll now start together at Monteberg. Since I haven’t driven a Hyundai i20 N Rally2 since 2022, these kilometres will be very useful to regain my rhythm with the car ahead of the big appointment in Ypres in June. In the meantime, I’ll already get some seat time in the Canary Islands, where I’ll be driving the zero car. So I won’t arrive completely short of rhythm, but it will still mainly be a full-scale test,” explained Munster, who continues working on his future at the highest level of the World Rally Championship.
Cais on MRF tyres
Another international name discovering the Monteberg stages is Erik Cais, also competing in a Hyundai i20 N Rally2. The 26-year-old Czech already contested the Spa Rally in 2018 with an Opel Adam. Since then, he has built up seven years of experience in the FIA European Rally Championship, including the last two seasons with Hyundai. This weekend, he is competing in the Andalucía Rally – Sierra Morena, an ERC round in Spain. For Cais, Monteberg provides the ideal stage to showcase the performance of MRF asphalt tyres in a highly competitive field.
Verstappen and Syx ready for battle
There will be no shortage of benchmarks at the front, as reigning Belgian rally champion Jos Verstappen has also entered the event, just one week after the Rally of Wallonia, to fine-tune his preparation for Ypres. After narrowly losing out to Davy Vanneste in 2022, he claimed victory at Monteberg in 2023.
Verstappen will face strong opposition from local favourite Bjorn Syx, who lines up with a newly built Toyota GR Yaris Rally2. The winner of the last two editions is pleased to see more and more international stars finding their way to his home event. “Strong competition only makes you better, even if it gets harder every year to win in front of your home crowd. After our outing in Haspengouw, we carefully analysed our times and onboard footage and compared them with Stéphane Lefebvre. It’s clear that we need to adjust the Yaris setup to really fight with Jos Verstappen. That’s something we’ll start working on at Monteberg to be ready for Ypres,” said Syx. He will also go up against a second Yaris Rally2, driven by former two-time Dutch rally champion Jeroen Swaanen.
Lancia Ypsilon Rally2 makes Belgian debut
All eyes will also be on Christophe Merlevede, who is eagerly anticipating the start of his home rally after fulfilling a dream last week when his brand-new Lancia Ypsilon Rally2 was delivered. The Poperinge driver will give the car its Belgian competition debut. “I felt really comfortable in the Renault Clio Rally3, but it was now or never to take my chance in the Rally2 category. This Lancia is truly a dream come true, even if Monteberg will mainly be a test event to get to know the car,” said Merlevede.
The list of frontrunners already looks impressive, with Gilles Pyck also set to take on the Belgian elite in a Citroën C3 Rally2. And there’s more to come, as two-time Belgian Junior champion Jonas Dewilde is expected to announce his programme later today. With names such as Jimmy D’hondt, Roger Hodenius, Etienne Verbeke, Thomas Martens, Jasper Van den Heuvel and Martin van Iersel, to name just a few, the Rally2 field already looks outstanding. In Historic, the battle promises to be just as exciting, featuring Paul Lietaer in his Subaru Impreza WRC S5 against the BMW M3 E30s of Pieter-Jan Maeyaert and Cedriek Merlevede, as well as the Mitsubishi Lancer Evo3 of Jim Van den Heuvel.
In short, the 54th Bernard Degroote Monteberg Rally is shaping up to be an unmissable top-class edition!
