Ghislain de Mevius – “I needed to be clever”

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We talked to Ghislain de Mevius after the Rally van Haspengouw where he wasn’t quite satisfied with his his fourth place finish. He promised to challenge for the podium at the Spa Rally.

#5de Mevius Ghislain&Jalet Johan//Ice Pol Racing Team//Škoda Fabia R5

That is exactly what he did – coming home in a strong third position.

“It is nice to be on the podium,” he said

“It is only my second podium ever in the Belgian Rally Championship. I was not very consistent but sometimes fast, sometimes not. I podium is a great result. I couldn’t hope for more. I am pleased with that.”

He is perhaps a little too hard on himself as the rally offered very tricky and changeable conditions. Heavy rain, sun and snow all greeted the drivers through the rally.

For De Mevius, he won one stage – that of SS23 Fays Show. While for the others, he wasn’t on the outright pace for the win, he never finished outside the top 4.

It became a mission to manage the rally on the Sunday. He had built a gap over the Volkswagen of Patrick Snijers, while being too far behind Adrian Fernemont for second.

#5de Mevius Ghislain&Jalet Johan//Ice Pol Racing Team//Škoda Fabia R5

Not always the easiest of situations but de Mevius managed.

“I am doing rally for a long time now so I can manage it. I had quite a gap to Patrick Snijers so I didn’t need to push too much and make mistakes.

“I needed to be clever.”

He will be out next time in the TAC Rally, one back in Flanders but the Spa Rally was definitely a fun one.

Such is the natural phenomena of the landscape and the weather, it creates something quite different from other rallies. 

Which means setup is never optimal, everything has to be taken into consideration – almost bring memories of Monte Carlo to mind.

“We had everything!”

“Heavy rain, mud, dry sections. Even in the final loop, half was heavy rain, then we came Spa and there was no rain. It was always a compromise, with mud, dry, wet. It was a proper rally.”

He now sits second in the Championship 14 points behind Cedric Cherain.

#5de Mevius Ghislain&Jalet Johan//Ice Pol Racing Team//Škoda Fabia R5

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By Sam Tickell

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