After Friday evening’s heat, drivers were caught out by a heavy rain shower on the opening stage in Watou. Most had opted for medium slicks, leaving conditions extremely treacherous. Hayden Paddon was caught off guard at the very first braking zone, losing 1 minute 23 seconds to Stéphane Lefebvre. A later puncture ended any remaining podium hopes, leaving the New Zealander to focus on bringing his Hyundai to the finish without taking further risks.
Stéphane Lefebvre, who started from Ypres with three Michelin rain tyres on the car, fitted two slicks just before the start in Watou. A miscalculation. The Frenchman thought he would lose a lot of time, but he drove an astonishing fastest time, no less than 22 seconds faster than Jos Verstappen and 28 seconds faster than Davy Vanneste. “Sometimes it is hard to judge whether your pace is high enough. I saw Hayden lying in the ditch, but I feared Maxime Potty’s time, so I kept pushing in extremely difficult conditions,” said leader Lefebvre.
Maxime Potty has moved up to second place with strong, consistent times, 1 minute 12 seconds behind Lefebvre. However, he must keep attacking to hold off Verschueren, Casier, and Verstappen, who are staying close by. Vincent Verschueren, who is feeling good, has the podium in sight, but Bernd Casier follows at a mere 8.6 seconds. Jos Verstappen has already moved up to fifth place. “Things are going a lot better today. The car feels good and I feel better myself too. With 8 stages to go, a lot is still possible. It’s not over yet.” Bjorn Syx, who started very cautiously in the rain on hard slicks in Watou, set his first fastest time in Ypres in Mesen-Wijtschate. A performance in which the driver from Poperinge can be very proud. The Toyota driver is in 6th place, ahead of Davy Vanneste, who has also moved up strongly, and then comes the unfortunate Hayden Paddon. Thomas Martens, who suffered a puncture and lost a minute and a half, follows in ninth place, ahead of Emile Breittmayer.
Christophe Merlevede went off the road hard in Watou with his new Lancia Ypsilon. Grégoire Munster, who missed the first loop yesterday after going off track, set two fastest times, but the Hyundai driver suffered a puncture in Dikkebus. He is now only aiming for points from the Power Stage on the final stage.
Lander Dhaene (Opel Corsa) remains the undisputed leader in Rally4 and in the Stellantis Motorsport Rally Cup. Maxime Decock (Lancia Ypsilon), who only learned on Thursday evening that he would be starting, had climbed to 2nd place. However, the Lancia went off the road heavily at Mesen-Wijtschate. This means that second is now in the hands of the German Lukas Thiele (Opel Corsa). The brothers Chesney and Kenny Deroo (Peugeot 208) are secure on the final step of the podium. Lény Cols also went off the road with his Lancia on the first stage of the second day.
Mathias Ver Eecke is in a league of his own in Rally5, having built a lead of nearly three minutes over fellow Renault Clio driver Charles Perrard.
Brent Boudrez set three consecutive fastest times in the Juniors on Saturday morning. However, the Lancia driver lost too much time on Friday, due to a flat tyre, to trouble leader Emilien Allart (Opel Corsa). The latter, however, feels his teammate Nolann Lejeune breathing down his neck as he has closed the gap to within 3 seconds.
