“No Tips & Tricks”
Both father Pieter Vyncke and son Arthur will appear at the start of the Ardeca Ypres Rally on Friday 23 June. Pieter will take his normal position Bernd Casier’s codriver, whereas his son, Arthur, will act as navigator of Frederic Berville in an Opel Adam. Where Pieter can already count on a lot of experience, it is the great baptism of fire for Arthur.
“My first participation in Ypres dates back to 2003, when I was at the start of the Ypres Historic Rally together with Mathias Viaene. In 2010 we drove for the first time in the modern event, where in 2012 we were even good for 7th place with a Peugeot 207 S2000. Later, in 2016, I was even on the final podium with Bernd with the Ford Fiesta R5, and a year later we just missed it. Also this year we want to go all out for the podium in this beautiful rally. Our disadvantage may be the lack of match rhythm. To date, we drove our only rally of the season in le Touquet a few months ago, where we couldn’t go flat out due to a technical problem. That is why we opt for a relatively quiet first day in Ypres, and then pull out all the necessary stops on the second day of competition. Although the factor of luck still plays a major role in the whole. Let’s just think about our retirement last year, when luck let us down for a while.”
Arthur wants to finish his first Ardeca Ypres Rally. “I’ve only been active for two years as a co-rider of Frederic Berville, and so far, everything has been limited to a few regional competitions. Now I do feel that the preparation for Ypres is much more intense, and yet also a lot more exciting. Fortunately, I can count on the experience of my pilot, who has been at the start of this classic more than 15 times. ‘Fred’ is a longtime friend of Dad’s, and the ideal teacher for me. Even during the rally, he will not fail to point out to me the points that could possibly be improved or where something needs to be adjusted.”
“Between the rallies I can always go to my father with a question, but it’s not like I’m going to push the necessary things under his nose every time.”
“I don’t give Arthur a package of tips & tricks for every rally,” Pieter responds, “I want him to learn and experience it all himself. People learn by doing, but after the rally I will listen to Frederic to hear how he did. He has been one of my biggest supporters since I was little, and went to every rally with my dad. That is where his love for rallying started.”
