This morning 100 teams started in the Condroz Rally. This morning at 7 am, Stéphane Lefebvre was allowed to celebrate the Belgian title after crossing the starting podium.

The 30-year-old Frenchman then had to acknowledge his superiority in Nikolay Gryazin who, with his Skoda Fabia Rally2 Evo, is in the lead with 2″5 lead. Adrian Fernémont, the fastest Belgian, follows in third place at 15″3.

Nikolay Gryazin started the match cautiously, but on the second lap the WRC2 champion picked up the pace to finally end the day as the surprising leader.

“This morning, while it was still wet, I was shocked by the lack of grip on these stages. But, as the rally progressed, I gained more confidence. This course is very fast. They are tests for men with guts,” he laughed.

Stéphane Lefebvre, who won the Condroz Rally three times in a row, follows at just 2″5. Everything remains possible, but it is clear that both Gryazin and Lefebvre are at the limit. The same goes for Adrian Fernémont, the two-time Belgian champion who Fernémont held the lead until halfway through the opening day, but in the second loop he had to let the WRC2 guns go for a while.

The surprise of the day was Cédric Cherain, who took the August Porsche 997 GT3 to a sublime fourth place, partly thanks to two fastest times in the Villers-le-Bouillet test.

“This Porsche gives me so much confidence. The car has a lot of grip and the track was fairly dry today, so that offered opportunities. I hope it rains tomorrow during the day. We are not giving up yet,” said Cherain.

Gino Bux is fifth at 53″0, 10″5 behind the Porsche driver. “We are in our position. With my experience, I’m just a bit short of competing with the frontrunners in these stages,” admitted Gino Bux.

Xavier Bouche, by far the fastest “Master” (50), sent the Citroën C3 Rally2 to a handsome 6th place. “This Citroen surprises me. I would almost dare to say that it is the best car I have driven. Citroën has always brought me luck,” laughed Xavier Bouche, who won the Challenge Saxo in 1997.

Maxime Potty, who lost a few seconds due to a puncture, is still 0″7 behind Xavier Bouche. 8th place is in the hands of Jos Verstappen, who is navigated for the first time by Renaud Jamoul.

Emeric Rary and Bastien Rouard, who made a move this morning, complete the top 10. In the Junior BRC, Gilles Pyck went off the track. Tom Rensonnet, who was already in the lead with his Renault Clio Rally4, took advantage to cement his lead.

In the Clio Trophy, Pierre-Manuel Brasseur is in the lead in his home rally, while Pieter-Jan Maeyaert is the fastest halfway through the race in the Historic BRC with his BMW M3 E30. The final day of the Condroz Rally still has 8 special stages.