More than 130 drivers have registered
Yesterday, Club Superstage was hit with the sad news that Patrick Dumortier, barely 64 years old, suddenly passed away. Behind the scenes, and preferably far from the spotlight, Patrick was always one of the driving forces at Club Superstage and in recent years he was the Clerk of Course for the Monteberg Rally. During the Ypres Rally he was the responsible officer at the shakedown in Nieuwkerke and at other tests. He also worked as an official timekeeper at numerous BRC and VAS competitions, and last weekend Patrick helped out at the TAC Rally. The fact that there is so much enthusiasm among the drivers for the 52nd Bernard Degroote Monteberg Rally is certainly to his credit and, on the other hand, a nice tribute to the years of dedication Patrick put into the sport and for his hard work to make year’s edition a success.
When we see how many registrations have already been received for this year’s event, due to held on 5 May, we can already call it a success. With more than 130 participants who have already confirmed and another 30 who have registered, it promises to be a huge spetacle. Participants who have paid yet are advised to do so quickly, as priority will be given to paid registrations.
Niels Reynvoet and Kris D’Alleine, leaders in the Belgian championship after their victory last weekend in Tielt, confirmed their registration for the Monteberg Rally. The surprising news is that Niels Reynvoet will not drive his Citroën C3 Rally2, but with his new Skoda Fabia RS, prepared by PTR Racing. Niels did confirm that he will drive the Wallonia and Ypres with the Citroën.
He will face stiff competition as Kurt Boone will be present with his Ford Fiesta Rally2, along with Dutchman Erik Moree with a Skoda Fabia R5, Brit Richard Weatherley (Citroën C3 Rally2) and Richard Weaver (Ford Fiesta R5). There are also a few more top drivers in the queue.
It also promises to be a very interesting battle in Historic, where Pieter-Jan Maeyaert will be there with his BMW M3 E30 to cross swords with Paul Lietaer in his Opel Ascona 400 and Geert Lacour with the Porsche 911. We will also see numerous Clios Rally3, including Xavier Dekeyser’s copy, which will be countered by Jim Van den Heuvel, Willem Wouter Overbeek and Ben Van de Laar, who will be at the start as part of the Dutch Clio Trophy.
Anyone who wants to be part of the Bernard Degroote Monteberg Rally on Sunday, 5 May in Poperinge should hurry! Club Superstage is doing everything it can to give as many participants as possible the opportunity to participate but don’t leave it to late. We will compete with thanks to and in tribute to Patrick…
