Monteberg Rally proves that a covid proof rally can be organised!
With the Station Le Seau Monteberg Rally, rallying in our country started again after the health crisis. The organization proved that rallies can be organized perfectly Covid-proof. Fans who had secured one of the 1,200 tickets took place in six demarcated, safe and spacious public areas. Each of them was pre-registered, subjected to a temperature measurement and had to disinfect their hands. The teams remained in bubbles, the service park was closed, and every visitor, participant and employee wore a mouth mask. Club Superstage proved that it is possible to organize covid-proof rallies and the rally fans also respected the new rules in an exemplary manner.
On a sporting level, the changeable weather made it an extremely treacherous edition of the 48th edition. Many drivers were surprised, such as Sébastien Bedoret, who slipped off the track on the very first stage. Followed on the third test by Davy Vanneste, who was in the lead after two tests. In the very last lap two more clappers fell out. Gilles Pyck, at that time brilliant fourth in his debut with a Ford Fiesta R5, had to put his car with mechanical problems aside on the penultimate test. And it wasn’t over yet, because in the very last corner Vincent Verschueren, navigated for the first time by Filip Cuvelier, lost his nice second place by a slider.
Cédric Cherain was not caught making a mistake all day long. He steered PTR’s Skoda Fabia R5 Evo to a stunning victory. “I started the race carefully to get rhythm and I like difficult conditions and rainy weather. Most importantly, I won the race without getting a scratch on the car,” said Cédric Cherain. “The Dikkebus stage was familiar territory from my participation in the Ypres Rally, but I was not familiar with the Dikkebus stage. The course was very treacherous, with a lot of mud on the track. It was a great test for the World Cup. heat in Ypres in November. ”
Due to Vincent Verschueren’s slide, Melissa Debackere moved up to second place. A great result for the lady from Wervik, who lost time in the opening loop due to a flat tire. Third place went to Historic winner Paul Lietaer with his Ford Escort Cosworth. The fast Mustache had to acknowledge his superiority in the first half of the race in Stefaan Stouf with his Ford Sierra Cosworth, but the mechanics of the Sierra gave up prematurely.
Andy Lefevere finished in a handsome fourth place with his Porsche 997 GT3. “Without my mistake, where I was sliding backwards in a field this afternoon, I would have been on the podium. The driver made a mistake, but the most important thing is that the Porsche did it again flawlessly,” laughed Andy. Gunther Monnens, his Porsche colleague, ended in 7th place after clutch problems.
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The fifth place seemed to go to Kurt Boone, but the pilot from Reningelst had bad luck on the penultimate stage. “We were held up in Dikkebus by Gilles Pyck who had technical problems. That was why Steve Bécaert just passed us in the standings,” said Boone. So fifth place went to local specialist Steve Becaert.
Bjorn Syx was happy with his eighth place in the well-known BMW M3. “It was special that the rally moved to my hometown of Poperinge this year. I enjoyed it, although the weather was certainly not optimal for my BMW,” said Syx.
Niels Reynvoet, 11th behind Jourdan Serderidis and Jeoffrey Lerminez, lost a lot of time in the opening lap due to faulty windshield wipers. In the final phase, the young East Fleming asserted himself by putting all the fastest times of the second half of the match on the tables. Promising for the follow-up to the Jobfixers BRC. Steven Dolfen, 12th overall, was the fastest of the leaders all day long.
The next organization of Club Superstage is the Aarova Rally in Oudenaarde on October 10-11, also the second race of the Jobfixers Belgian Rally Championship 2020.
