The TAC Rally returns to Tielt with renewed vigour, promising a spectacle in the Kroon-Oil Belgian Rally Championship Division 1. With entries still open, the field already dazzles, drawing top talents to Flanders’ twisting asphalt roads.
Revamped Stages
Organisers from the Tieltse Automobiel Club have shaken up the classic route, reversing the Schuiferskapelle stage and altering large sections of familiar names like Ondank, Oosthoek and Poelberg. Three loops of four tests total 142.59km, from an 8:30am start to a 19:47 finish podium. The media zone shifts to Tielt’s Markt, under the shadow of the Hallentoren and near lively terraces—a smart nod to spectators and locals alike.
These changes, as announced by club president Boudewijn Baertsoen, counter calls for more variation while preserving the rally’s character. Expect technical twists, fast straights and slippery surprises, especially with variable weather influencing tyre choices over four-stage loops.
Skoda Fabia R5 – RC2 / R5
Debuts and Defences
Jos Verstappen, the reigning Belgian champion, makes his TAC debut after testing Citroën C3 Rally2 and Škoda Fabia RS cars locally. He’ll decide on the data, facing stiff competition from Cédric Cherain—2023 Tielt winner now back in top form—and Vincent Verschueren, the defending victor here with three prior wins.
Championship leader Bastien Rouard, fresh from victory at Rallye des Ardennes, joins late in his Citroën C3 Rally2 for his fourth Tielt outing—where he took third in 2023. Verschueren, switching to a Škoda Fabia RS, eyes a podium: “Jos and Cédric are favourites for rhythm, but Tielt feels like home,” he says, citing childhood memories and past triumphs.
Class Battles
Koen Wauters, the singer-presenter, enters the Masters class in an SXM Škoda, prioritising experience after a Moorslede rollover: “We’re building rhythm calmly, for fun—rally remains fantastic.” Maxime Potty returns in Citroën colours, joined by Emile Breittmayer and Roger Hodenius; Nicola Stampaert and Steven Dolfen bring Škoda pace.
Lander Depotter, last year’s podium-finisher, tests a PTR Škoda post-Italian training. GTs pit Porsche 992 Rally GTs from Glenn Janssens, Pieter-Jan Michiel Cracco and Stefaan Prinzie against Chris Vandamme’s Alpine A110 RGT. The M-Cup fields Andy Lefevere and local hero Kurt Braeckevelt.
Tielt’s Homecoming
For Verschueren, now in Harelbeke but raised in East Flanders, it’s “my home rally”—site of his 2017 national debut win. Early rounds like this often hinge on local knowledge and tyres in fickle conditions. As Thursday’s scrutineering looms in De Ratte, Tielt braces for a Division 1 showdown elevated from last year’s Division 2.
