The battle for the 60th Ardeca Ypres Rally got underway on Thursday with the Qualifying Stage in Nieuwkerke. The crews were given one practice run to familiarise themselves with the stage before having one flat-out attempt to set their qualifying time. The qualifying attempt would set Friday afternoon’s starting order.
For Jonas Dewilde, it would be a challenging session. He made a small mistake in free practice but put in a solid time to finish 18th in qualifying, just behind Davy Vanneste. Unfortunately, the Junior champion forgot to visit Parc Ferme. The resulting punishment cost him almost 10 places in the starting order, and Dewilde will start 27th.
Another unlucky driver in qualifying was Nicola Stampaert, who missed a breaking point. The resulting error had put him to the back of the pack, behind Bert Coene in his Ford Fiesta and Koen Wauters. The latter is starting his rally career with necessary caution in the Skoda Fabia RS of SXM.
The Skoda Fabia RS featured at the top of the standings as well. Jos Verstappen set a lightning-quick time to lead the standings, and the BRC leader was almost a second faster than the second placed Hayden Paddon. The New Zealander did not disappoint in Nieuwkerke with the BMA Hyundai. Third and fourth places went to the Skoda Fabia RSs, both driven by experienced Ypres specialists. Bernd Casier clocked the third fastest time, ahead of Freddy Loix, who once again emphasised his ambition to win remains. Cédric Cherain set the fifth fastest time and was the fastest Porsche in the field, in his 992 Rally GT. Last year’s winner, Stéphane Lefebvre, was next in his Toyota GR Yaris. The Frenchman was pleased with his time.
Dani Sordo drove a great 7th fastest time in his introduction to the Porsche 992 Rally GT and on his debut in Ypres. He was just 0.1 seconds behind Lefebvre and just ahead of Niels Reynvoet. Reynvoet, back in the Citroën, was pleased with his time: “We drove a good pace. The car feels good and confidence is growing. We are not yet at the level to win, but we do have the pace to be at the front.”
The top 10 is completed by Vincent Verschueren and Charles Munster, both 5.6 seconds off Verstappen.
Bjorn Syx finished in 12th place, in the wake of fellow townsman Gilles Pyck. Steven Dolfen surprised many with a great stage to take 16th, ahead of Davy Vanneste.
