After a morning of high drama at the 2025 Spa Rally, young Tom Heindrichs (Citroën C3 Rally2) set the early pace, edging ahead by 2.2 seconds over Cédric Cherain (Porsche 992 Rally GT). The second loop got underway with Dutchman Bernhard ten Brinke (Škoda Fabia RS Rally2) claiming the opening stage — his tyres now perfectly suited to the conditions.
But Heindrichs quickly struck back, taking stage wins in Chevron and Trois-Ponts to stretch his advantage over Cherain to 13.3 seconds. The calm didn’t last. As darkness and rain descended on Wanne, Cherain produced a masterclass behind the wheel, beating Heindrichs by 9.1 seconds and slashing the gap to just 4.2 seconds ahead of the final Fays Show loop.
Then came the twist. During the night run, Heindrichs hit — incredibly — a stray headlight left on the landing of a jump, puncturing a tyre and losing 21.3 seconds. The mishap handed the lead back to Cherain, who ended the day 13.2 seconds in front.
The epic duel now moves into Sunday’s decisive three stages around Theux and Ster. Behind the leading pair, ten Brinke holds third, 29.9 seconds adrift but still within striking distance. Tom Rensonnet (Hyundai i20 N Rally2) sits fourth, 1:02.7 behind, just ahead of Thomas Martens (Citroën C3 Rally2). Martens ended the day on a high, setting the fastest time on Fays Show 3 and overtaking Romain Delhez, who continues to improve with each kilometre in his Porsche 992 Rally GT debut.
Rounding out the top ten are Thibaud Mazuin (Škoda Fabia RS Rally2), consistent all afternoon; John Wartique (Porsche 992 Rally GT), slowed by a less-than-ideal setup; Björn Satorius (Toyota GR Yaris Rally2); and Manu Gonay (Citroën C3 Rally2).
Elsewhere, Emile Breittmayer (Citroën C3 Rally2) endured a tough day with two mistakes that dropped him behind Harry Bouillon (Škoda Fabia R5 Evo) and Loris Nuyts. Cédric De Cecco (Hyundai i20 N Rally2) also lost time changing a wheel mid-stage and ends the day 15th.
In the RC4 class, Germany’s Colin Dünker (Ford Fiesta Rally4) continues to lead, while Lander Depotter (Opel Corsa Rally4) has one hand on the Stellantis Motorsport Rally Cup Belux title. Pierre Hubin remains the top Renault Clio Rally3 runner ahead of Benoit Verlinde, as Jo Muyle (Subaru Impreza) and Guino Kenis (BMW 325i E30) still control the Youngtimer BRC and Historic BRC categories, leading Olivier Breittmayer (Lancia Delta HF Integrale) and Johnny Delhez (Ford Escort Mk2) respectively.
After Christian Jupsin (Lancia Ypsilon Rally6) went off on SS8 Wanne 2, Julien Collette (Peugeot 208 Rally6) now leads the RC6 class ahead of Smail Haddouche and Bob Wohrmann.
