Adrian Fernémont delivered a masterclass in control and consistency to claim his third victory at the Rally van Wallonië, emerging as the only frontrunner able to combine outright speed with a clean run across a chaotic weekend.
The 43rd edition of the Namur-based event quickly turned into a war of attrition, but Fernémont kept things tidy. Despite arriving without much recent mileage, the two-time Belgian champion leaned on his experience and deep knowledge of the stages to dictate the pace in his Škoda Fabia RS Rally2, run by PTR Racing.
The 37-year-old local secured victory by 28.6 seconds over Maxime Potty, who leaves the event as the new championship leader.
“This is a beautiful victory,” Fernémont said, visibly emotional at the finish. “I started as an outsider, without much rhythm and with a very young, inexperienced co-driver. Martin Lefevre is just 18 and this was only his second rally, but he did an incredible job.”
Fernémont knew where the rally would be won.
“I had to attack straight away, because only in the first loop could I really use my knowledge of the stages. Mentally, I had to push myself to maintain that level. After the first stage, Martin joked that I was completely crazy,” he smiled. “After that, we were helped a bit by the problems of others. Once we had the gap, we controlled the race. This one really feels good.”
Those “problems of others” defined much of the weekend.
Championship leader Cédric Cherain had already dropped out before the start following a testing crash and internal disagreements within the team. Jos Verstappen’s weekend was just as turbulent before it even began, as regular co-driver Renaud Jamoul underwent surgery for a double ankle fracture. Jasper Vermeulen stepped in at the last minute — notably the usual co-driver of Cherain — in a solution agreed between title rivals.
But Verstappen’s rally never truly settled.
A 40-second time penalty for speeding on a road section before the start immediately put him on the back foot. While he showed strong pace on Saturday — even marginally faster than Fernémont at times — he struggled to claw back meaningful time.
“We pushed hard,” Verstappen explained. “But a small mistake in Wartet on the exit of the gravel cost us a few seconds. Otherwise, we were at the same pace as Fernémont, who was very strong and knows these roads perfectly.”
Any hopes of a comeback ended early on Sunday. A braking error in Loyers cost around 20 seconds, before a second mistake sent the Škoda into a pole and into a roll. Retirement followed.
Maxime Potty looked like the most consistent challenger to Fernémont and matched his pace for large parts of the rally, but a loose damper in the second loop proved costly. Forced to stop and fix the issue on a road section, Potty incurred a 30-second penalty — ultimately the difference between fighting for victory and settling for second, 29.2 seconds adrift.
“I’m happy with our pace, but of course I would have preferred to win,” Potty admitted. “A small technical issue probably cost us the victory. With the Power Stage win, we still take five extra points, so overall it’s a good result for the championship.”
That result puts Potty at the top of the standings — and may even influence his upcoming schedule.
“We might add the Sezoensrally to our programme,” he added with a smile.
Behind the leading duo, Bastien Rouard endured a more subdued weekend. Opening the road on Saturday and struggling for confidence with the setup of his Citroën C3 Rally2, he never quite matched the pace of the Škoda drivers and had to settle for fourth.
The fight for third went the way of Romain Delhez, who led the Porsche charge in the Porsche Rally Trophy Benelux. After a cautious start, Delhez grew into the rally and impressed on the faster stages around Namur. He initially had to fend off French driver Thomas Anacleto, who later retired with broken suspension, allowing Delhez to secure a strong podium finish.
Tom Rensonnet followed as the second Porsche runner in sixth overall, just behind Rouard, with Dylan Henrard completing the top eight.
Steven Dolfen looked set for a solid sixth-place finish after a consistent drive in an older-generation Škoda, despite receiving his pace notes in French. However, a small error in Loyers damaged the radiator, forcing him to nurse the car through the final stages and ultimately drop to seventh.
The top ten was completed by the Porsches of Sébastien Incardona and Harry Bouillon, along with Richard Pex, who also claimed victory in the Masters category.
Elsewhere, Emilien Allart dominated Junior BRC, while Tom Boonen claimed his first win in Historic BRC with a BMW 325i Gr.A after Guino Kenis retired late on.
Next up, the championship heads to Bocholt for the Sezoensrally — where, if Wallonië was anything to go by, survival may once again be just as important as speed.
