Bad luck struck three weeks ago in the Omloop van Vlaanderen for Adrian Fernémont but at the East Belgian Rally he was sublime. The Skoda driver from Namur dominated the rally in the East Cantons from start to finish. Fernémont has underlined his title ambitions, as he approaches eight points from Kris Princen, the title defender.
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Adrian Fernémont started at a scorching pace at the East Belgian Rally with a stunning time in the rain at the opening test in Bullingen. The gap he struck there, 7 “on Ghislain de Mevius and 12” on Kris Princen and 19 “on Sébastien Bedoret, his closest rivals.” This victory is a huge joy after the disappointment of a few weeks ago in Roeselare, “said Fernémont, who won 15” 5 ahead of the Mevius. “It was a perfect match. I now know what to do in the Condroz: win!”
Ghislain de Mevius was very happy with his second place. “We kept pace with Adrian, who is currently very strong for almost the entire day. This second place, on a very nice and fast, but also difficult course, is a boost, because there has been a very fast drive.”
In the final phase it became very exciting for third place. Sébastien Bedoret lost that position due to a 10 “penalty time for cutting a chicane, albeit involuntarily. Despite that penalty and a spin in a field in the final test, the Skoda driver still finished in third place. A good result after a too cautious start. Kris Princen, the leader in the championship, also went off the track for the last stage, now 8 points ahead in the title fight in the final round, the Condroz Rally. “You know, I’d prefer go full to victory in the Condroz Rally without thinking of the title. As a result, I did not take all the risks here and we only finished fourth, because I definitely had to finish, “said Princen. I do feel that in the meantime I have mastered the new Skoda Fabia. This morning I was still looking for the limit. “
Cédric De Cecco had a great rally with a fifth place. Strong, because the Skoda driver has driven only a few times at national level with the Fabia R5 this season. Junior champion Grégoire Munster broke the power steering of his Skoda Fabia R5 in the final test, which cost him 45 “and fifth place.” Too bad. We hit a pole where the others just went straight ahead. I think I’ve shown myself. This was only my first race in Belgium with an R5 and I was already able to compete for the Top 5 on a very fast and difficult course. “
Hans Weijs, former VW factory pilot, finished just under a minute from the Junior champion with his VW Polo R5. For the Dutchman it was an educational competition to adjust the Polo R5 better for its customers. Niels Reynvoet finished in 8th place, ahead of Patrick Snijers, who won the battle at the Porsches after a nice duel with Romain Delhez, who made a mistake on SS8. Because Pieter-Jan Michiel Cracco had to give up due to technical problems, Jean-Luc Berleur finished his debut with a Citroën C3 R5 in 10th place, for the local brothers Kevin and Marco Hommes in a VW Polo R5. Cédric Cherain, who had a chance to win the title beforehand, had to stop early due to electronic problems on the Ford Fiesta R5 MkII.
In R2 the Belgian title went to the Dutchman Timo Van der Marel. For the second year in a row, Tobias Brüls was the strongest in the Juniors’ home crowd. In the M-Cup, Gunther Monnens was not only allowed to celebrate the victory, but also the overall victory in the BMW brand cup. And in the Historic BRC, the podium was completely taken by the Ford Escorts of Arthur Kerkhove, who is consolidating his leader position in the championship, Patrick Deblauwe and Sascha Oosterlinck.
