BRC: Ardeca extends successful Ypres Rally partnership

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Ardeca has enjoyed three successful years as the naming rights sponsor of the Ypres Rally, and the relationship will be extended for a further three years, in what is a win for rally fans. The relationship between the Belgian oil and lubricant manufacturer, operated by the Vandecasteele family, and the rally, run by Club Superstage was mutually beneficial.

Ardeca Ypers Rally. 2024 Kroon Oil Belgian Rally Championship. Shot by Sam Tickell for www.racerviews.com

The company from Vichte has been a partner of the Ypres Rally for many years before committing to the title sponsorship and the familiar ‘Ardeca Ypres Rally’ name three years ago. Ardeca and Ypres Rally came together for the WRC round in 2022, a moment in Belgian rally history. They have continued the positive relationship over the 2023 and 2024 and the three-year extension of the relationship demonstrates the success and mutual value brought between the two Belgian organisations.

“We are very enthusiastic about the collaboration with the managers and volunteers from Club Superstage, who organises the rally. The Ypres Rally remains a top event with national and international resonance. We are very satisfied with the return we received in terms of brand awareness, but our commitment went much further. We have organised a major networking event for our customers, employees and other business relations around the Ardeca Ypres Rally, where we were able to offer more than 1,000 guests a unique experience in our Ardeca Arena, our own spectator area, during the Ypres Rally. This was clearly appreciated by our stakeholders,” says CEO Arne Vandecasteele.

The company has achieved continuous growth over the past 10 years. In a world in where environmental sustainability is of utmost importance, Ardeca is forging an important path, for example by developing oils that contribute to lower CO2 emissions. The company now has around 60 employees in Vichte. Ardeca has also made a name for itself in the rally world.

“Over the years I have come to know Thierry Neuville well. We have become friends and, in the meantime, Ardeca has also become a partner of his company LifeLive, which produces and runs Cross Cars, among other things. That is why Thierry Neuville was happy to be a guest at the Ardeca Ypres Rally during the previous year,” says Arne Vandecasteele, who grew up in Zandvoorde, along one of the special stages of the Ypres Rally.

Together with Ardeca and thanks to this extended commitment of the name sponsor, Club Superstage host the worldclass ‘Ardeca Ypres Rally’ for the next three years.