Potty takes first BRC win in the South Belgian Rally

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Three weeks ago he missed the victory in Haspengouw with a difference of barely 6 tenths of a second, but this time Maxime Potty, navigated by Renaud Herman, secured his first victory in the Kroon-Oil Belgian Rally Championship after an exciting final. With this victory, the Citroën driver retains the maximum points in the Kroon-Oil Belgian Rally Championship.

The South Belgian Rally was not only the second round of the Kroon-Oil BRC, but also the first competition with the Cup label. Almost all tenors started in Vresse-sur-Semois and in the first loop Maxime Potty immediately confirmed that his leading position in the BRC was no fluke. In difficult conditions, on wet stages, he immediately took the lead. The young Citroën driver remained clear, while the competition made mistakes and dropped stitches.

That already started on the second special stage, where both Gino Bux and Cédric Cherain went around in a slippery descent and lost time. Still they kept chasing Potty, but on the second pass at Les Hayons things went very wrong for Gino Bux, who went off the track at high speed in his VW Polo GTI Rally2. “In a left turn at more than 200 km/h, I was surprised by water on the track. We went around 5, 6 times at high speed, but miraculously we hit almost nothing. We were very lucky,” said Gino Bux, disappointed . Cédric De Cecco, engaged in a fantastic race with his Citroën C3 Rally2, had approached 6″7 after two laps, was taken off course after a speeding violation. This left only Cédric Cherain as a potential threat to Maxime Potty, but the Hyundai rider stranded with an ultimate attack on the final stage at 10″5 from the winner.

“This is the culmination of all the work we did last year. I entered rallying in 2019 and I never dreamed that I would be leading the Belgian championship with the maximum points after two races Of course I’m going for the title now,” Potty laughed.

“Really, we drove hard all day. I am impressed by Maxime’s performance, because this South Belgian Rally course is for men with a big heart. I certainly didn’t give it to him as a gift. We are already progressed in the right direction with the Hyundai i20 Rally 2, but there are a few small details that could be improved, and in that respect I am happy with this second runner-up,” said Cherain.

Adrian Fernémont drove a large part of the race cramped, with his sortie from Haspengouw still in mind. The two-time champion did not find the confidence to go all out and ended up in third place at 41″. Bastien Rouard finished fourth with the second Hyundai i20 N Rally2. After a difficult opening lap with a clocking error, a slide and a flat tire , Rouard was able to pick up the pace when it got drier. Niels Reynvoet finished his first rally in the Citroën C3 Rally2 with a fifth place, although he still had to discover the Citroën. Roger Hodenius was the first Master in sixth place, ahead of Tobias Brüls and Romain Delhez, the first of the Porsche drivers with his Porsche 991 GT3, had to acknowledge the mastery of Christophe Daco until the final lap, but he was able to surprise Les Hayons on the test, resulting in a big slide.

In the Cups Marijan Griebel was the strongest in the Stellantis Rally Cup, while Franky Boulat crowned a spectacular final in the M-Cup with a victory, after the leaders Brecht Hoorne and Loïc Pirot retired with mechanical problems. Tom Heindrichs was the best in the Junior BRC, Sébastien Incardona in the Historic BRC and Laurent Mottet celebrated victory in the 2WD Trophy.