Grégoire Munster’s return to the Belgian Rally Championship at the Sezoens Rally was always going to be a test of rhythm as much as outright pace. On paper, second place and a handful of stage wins suggest a strong comeback. In reality, it left the former WRC driver wanting more.
Munster finished just nine seconds shy of victory, setting six fastest stage times and taking four stage wins across the event. It was a performance that underlined his speed, but also one shaped by small setbacks that proved decisive over the rally’s narrow margins.
“We came for the win,” Munster admitted afterwards. “So to finish second is a little disappointing.”
The foundations of that result were laid before the rally had even properly begun. A late impact during the final shakedown run went largely undetected at the time, but soon revealed itself as a braking issue once the stages got underway. On an event like Sezoens—where confidence under braking is critical across mixed surfaces—that problem quickly became costly.
Munster estimates the issue alone contributed significantly to his time loss, but it also triggered a chain reaction. Struggling to find consistency under braking, he clipped a stone in one corner, leading to a puncture that worsened over the closing kilometres of the stage.
“Initially it was a slow puncture,” he explained. “But with five kilometres to go, and especially in the last three, it started to deteriorate. That’s where we lost quite a bit of time.”
In total, Munster believes between 15 and 20 seconds slipped away through the combination of brake trouble and the puncture—more than enough to swing the result in such a tightly contested rally.
From there, the focus shifted to recovery. Sezoens, with its blend of gravel sections and more straightforward tarmac stretches, offers limited opportunities to claw back large chunks of time. Munster pushed where he could, particularly on the looser surfaces, but the nature of the event restricted any dramatic comeback.
“I was trying to make a difference on the gravel,” he said. “But on the tarmac it’s mostly straights and junctions, so it’s difficult to gain a lot.”
That challenge was compounded by context. This was only his second outing back in a Rally2 car, and he was up against a proven benchmark in Jos Verstappen—better known as “Potty”—a former Belgian champion with strong form heading into a European campaign.
Even so, Munster’s pace was evident throughout. Managing brake issues mid-stage, adapting his technique, and still delivering multiple fastest times highlighted both his adaptability and underlying speed. At times, he even resorted to compensating with the handbrake, a reminder of how fine the margins were between control and compromise.
The result, then, sits somewhere between frustration and encouragement. The raw speed is clearly there; the execution, disrupted by small but crucial issues, is what ultimately denied him victory.
Next up is Ypres, a rally that presents a completely different challenge. Where Sezoens demands adaptability across surfaces, Ypres is defined by its tight, technical tarmac and unforgiving precision.
Munster knows the roads, but not recently. His last competitive experience there dates back several years, meaning preparation will be key.
“It’s been a while,” he said. “We’ll have to prepare a lot with onboard footage and everything. But I think we can be really competitive there.”
If Sezoens was about rediscovery, Ypres may be where Munster’s Belgian championship return truly takes shape.
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Video, photos and interview by Sam Tickell
