This 51st edition of the Kenotek Ypres Rally will sure have been a fascinating one. As always around the City of Cats, the race will have been eventful although this time the pace will have been calmer... until the end at least. We have witnessed a sensational rally. But in Ypres, rallying clearly is a sport that lasts 17 stages and et the end, Freddy Loix wins. For the tenth time and this after participating to his 20th Ypres Rally! The victories to participatio ratio is amazing, as is the record and the fact he was the best performer of the weekend again. For the Czech manufacturer, this is the sixth consecutive success in the City of Cats, the third consecutive conquered with Freddy Loix.
Pointed Friday evening in 5th position after the first leg of the Rally of Ypres Loix never gave anything, considerably raising his voice, to the point of accumulating scratches, proof that the Skoda Fabia R5 is very well born, and already well adapted to the Belgian roads. While Fast Freddy was angry, others have fallen one after the other. Road exit for Kevin Abbring on Citroën DS3 R5, road exit and overheating for Craig Breen on peugeot 208 T16 R5, puncture for Stéphane Lefebvre also on peugeot 208 T16 R5, puncture for Bryan Bouffier on Citroën DS3 R5. If we add the withdrawal of the unfortunate Kris Princen on Peugeot 208 T16 R5 for health reasons, we get... a red carpet for a tenth victory of Freddy Loix!
Finally, the only one to get away with all the honors, is Vincent Verschueren, which nobody really expected the Citroën DS3 R5 in 3rd final position despite worries with his gearbox (no more first) behind the similar bolide from Bryan Bouffier, but ahead of the Peugeot 208 T16 R5 of Bruno Magalhães and Stéphane Lefebvre.
The cascading incidents striking the tenors allowed ousiders to finish enviable ranks! Czechs Jaroslav Orsak and Jaromir Tarabus and Englishman Martin McCormack hoisted the venerable Skoda Fabia S2000 in the top 10, framing the Ford Fiesta R5 of our compatriots Didier Duquesne and Davy Vanneste. We further notes the success of Patrick Snijers in a Porsche 997 in GT after the withdrawal of Romain Dumas and a very detrimental puncture for François Delecour.
Aleks Zawada says he couldn't imagine winning the FIA European Junior Rally Championship category on the Kenotek by CID Lines Ypres Rally, after spending a minute stuck in a ditch at the start of the final day. Co-driven by Cathy Derousseaux, the young Polish driver spun his MSZ Racing-run Opel Adam R2 twice on SS8 - at one time getting the car beached off the road with its front wheels in the air, with spectators coming to his rescue. Having set fastest ERC Junior time on six of the remaining nine stages, Zawada was third entering the final stage. and when Marijan Griebel on Opel Adam R2 lost two minutes with a puncture and Diogo Gago on Peugeot 208 R2 crashed, no one was more surprised than Aleks to find out that he had won!