Guino Kenis carried his Spa Rally momentum straight into Haspengouw, once again setting the tone in Belgium’s Historic ranks with a measured but authoritative drive in Sint-Truiden
Kenis and Boonen’s BMW Double
In Historic, the weekend belonged to G&A Racing and its BMW 325i Group A pairing. After his win in Spa, Guino Kenis dominated again in Haspengouw, with team-mate Tom Boonen converting early pace into a neat one–two for the Limburg-based squad. The decision to add Haspengouw to the programme was made barely a fortnight ago, yet both BMWs ran faultlessly all day – a pointed contrast to Kenis’s early exit on the Legend Boucles. “These cars are close to home, reliable and a lot of fun,” Kenis joked at the finish, clearly enjoying the return on his late call to start.
Boonen, who opened the rally as initial leader and banked two fastest times to Kenis’s nine, played the perfect supporting role in G&A’s clean sweep. Behind the twin BMWs, Christophe Kerkhove guided his immaculately presented 1972 Porsche 911 to third, though the result came with a familiar frustration. Lining up air-cooled heritage against modern BMW machinery remains a talking point in the service park, and Kerkhove was blunt about the imbalance in pure performance.
Depth in Historic
The points-paying positions told their own story of perseverance. Benoit Scheen salvaged a strong fourth in the absence of reigning champion Thomas Carlier, nursing a gearbox that gradually surrendered ratios – first gear early on, then third as the rally wound down. “We were counting down to the finish,” he admitted, already eyeing a more representative duel with Carlier at the Rallye des Ardennes in two weeks’ time.
Further down the order, the Escort Mk1 still had its say. Koen Verhaeghe emerged as the quicker of the two Ford drivers, beating Etienne-Philippe Courtin in a matching Escort and, crucially, finally reaching the finish in Haspengouw after previous near-misses. For Verhaeghe, it was an ideal way to open the season, with a programme that will cover at least the first three rounds before decisions are made about the rest of the year.
Olivier Breittmayer hustled the ex-Lietaer Opel Manta 400 to seventh after losing more than five minutes on one stage with a broken throttle cable. The delay did little to dampen his enthusiasm: the big Opel remains as rewarding as it is physical, and Breittmayer freely admitted he could barely feel his arms and shoulders by the end of the day.
There was also a welcome return in the Escort ranks. At 63, Peter Frans came back to the stages after a 17‑year absence, his last outing ending in retirement on the 2009 Ypres Rally. This time he shared his self-built Ford Escort Mk2 with his daughter Melissa on the notes – a family comeback that underlined the enduring pull of Belgian rallying’s historic scene.
Slim but Spirited Youngtimer Field
If Historic offered depth, the Youngtimer Championship trade was more discreet, with just three starters in Haspengouw. Guy Grosjean proved the class of the field in his well-known Peugeot 205 GTi, a car he has campaigned for years and now knows intimately. Reigning champion Eddy Buntinx brought his own experience to bear but could not match Grosjean’s pace, finishing second yet more than twelve minutes adrift. Both men opted for conventional tyres and ran concurrently in the 2WD Trophy, adding another layer of competition to their day. Philip Rombouts, meanwhile, failed to reach the finish, leaving Grosjean and Buntinx to split the spoils in a quietly competitive but numerically thin category.
Would you like this Historic/Youngtimer piece blended directly under the main Haspengouw rally article as a side-bar segment, or kept as a standalone feature focused on the classic classes?
