The Stellantis Motorsport Rally Cup Belux played its second round on Saturday as part of the Sezoensrally, an event with an atypical route as a third of the stages are on gravel. It was an opportunity for Lander Depotter to hand out his business card straight away…
He came, he saw, he conquered… but this victory was not a straightforward one for Lander Depotter, who was making his debut at the wheel of an Opel Corsa Rally4, with Jasper Maelfait at his side. Although the newcomer claimed the fastest time on SS1, getting the better of Tom Heindrichs, Pierre-Manuel Brasseur and Jonas Dewilde, Dewilde reacted by setting three consecutive fastest times, which enabled him to finish the first loop 5’2 behind the leader Depotter. Unfortunately, on SS6, Dewilde made a small mistake which had serious consequences, as the Corsa Rally4 tipped onto its side, costing the crew more than 5 minutes!
Meanwhile, Tom Heindrichs went on the offensive with Jonas Schmitz, to the point of coming back to within a tenth of Depotter at the halfway stage… before suffering a puncture on SS7 and losing 14 seconds on the leader
Lander Depotter and Jasper Maelfait didn’t ask for much, and despite the final rush from Heindrichs and Schmitz in the last loop, they won with a 6’1 advantage! We had a really great day, and above all we learned a lot about this Opel Corsa Rally4,” commented Depotter at the finish. In the end, we never lost the lead. We can’t wait to see what happens next!
Tom Heindrichs confirmed that he has his sights firmly set on the title this year with a fastest time on the final special stage of the Sezoensrally. He collected as many points as winner Lander Depotter, and is now in the driving seat in the provisional standings after this second contest, with a small one-point advantage over the first winner of the season, Pierre-Manuel Brasseur, who is still accompanied by Hugo Cravillon. Hugo Cravillon drove a consistent race, even though he clearly lacked experience on such a surface. The driver from Liège finished ahead of Maxim Decock and Kurt Declerck, whose engine showed signs of weakness in the run-up to the finish, Slovenians Mark Skulj and Rebeka Kobal, who are still learning the Belgian route, the unfortunate Jonas Dewilde and Jens De Splenter, as well as the Peugeot 208 Rally4 of Irishman Niall O’Sullivan, co-driven by Bert Feys on the one hand and Steven Spittaels and Gilles Hendrickx on the other. The German Lukas Thiele was less successful, suffering a technical problem on the very first stage.
At the end of the Rallye de Wallonie and the Sezoensrally, the Stellantis Motorsport Rally Cup Belux 2024 is well underway, and while Tom Heindrichs (50 points) and Pierre-Manuel Brasseur (49 pts) have made the break in the standings, the counter-attack by Maxim De Cock (29 pts), Jonas Dewilde (28 pts) and Lander Depotter (26 pts) is already underway. The debates will continue on the prestigious Ypres Rally, on the famous Westhoek special stages, on June 21st and 22nd…
