Without a doubt, the Belgian round of the World Rally Championship 2022 left the DG Sport Compétition team smiling this weekend. In the Westhoek, Stéphane Lefebvre perfectly mastered his Citroën C3 Rally2 to claim victory both in WRC2 and in the Belgian Rally Championship rankings, while Maxime Potty, Davy Vanneste, Jos Verstappen and Roger Hodenius all had good reasons to have a smile on their faces at the end of a weekend made particularly delicate as the result of a tricky course …
Native of Béthune, in northern France, Stéphane Lefebvre quite simply feels ‘at home’ in the Westhoek. A rally he attended numerous times as a spectator when he was young, and which he made a point of mastering throughout the weekend. With such renowned competitors as Andreas Mikkelsen and Yohan Rossel in WRC2, the northern France driver quite simply produced an impressive and constant turn of speed, clinching scratch times to finally come out on top … twice in fact!
Brilliant winner of WRC2, excellent 6th place overall, Lefebvre, co-driven for the occasion by Andy Malfoy, definitely left his mark at the Ypres Rally Belgium
“This in fact is my second victory in WRC2, and I waited a long time for it, Stéphane commented and relieved and the end of the final TCR. I would truly wish to dedicate this success to the team, and in particular to Alain. Once again, they produced an incredible job. My thanks to them! The pressure was enormous, but now we can let off steam …
When it comes to satisfaction this was also the case for Maxime Potty and Renaud Herman. The duo was aiming for a good result in BRC, and by finishing in the top 6 the mission was perfectly accomplished!
“The objective first and foremost was to avoid making mistakes and driving the neatest possible race, the young driver explained. I believe we managed that, notwithstanding all the traps one can come across on such a course. On the apprenticeship front we quite clearly learnt a great deal which will come in useful in the future. Thanks to the entire team who did a perfect job
Traditionally competitive on the Westhoek roads, Davy Vanneste, co-driven by Kris D’Alleine, experienced a more complicated race this year, and not helped by the changing weather conditions during the first day of the rally. Following that he put in strong performances to reintegrate the overall top 10 on a Belgian level. In comparison with previous years the field of this Ypres Rally Belgium 2022 was substantially more qualitative in the ranks of the Rally2 cars
Highly awaited by the fans, Jos Verstappen and Harm van Koppen were leading the BRC Master CUP category on Saturday, prior to being caught out by one of the numerous traps on the Flemish course. Having landed, like so many others, in a ditch, the father of the Formula 1 World Champion set off once again on Sunday to complete the job, and enjoy the Citroën C3 Rally2 to the full. And as we have seen since the beginning of the season, his top speed is likely to surprise more than one!
The same should be noted for his compatriot Roger Hodenius and Belgian co-driver Davy Thierie, the gentleman-driver acquiring experience throughout the weekend, and enjoying every moment. Enough to motivate him to compete in other rounds of the Belgian competition. For a first appearance in a world championship rally, and moreover on such a course, to reach the finish is certainly a great satisfaction and a small victory in itself
Within the DG Sport Compétition team, everyone was delighted at the end of this ‘world’ weekend … “Following the 2017 victory in Ypres with Kevin Abbring and the Peugeot 208 T16, which remains one of the team’s greatest successes, I must admit that this double victory of Stéphane Lefebvre is truly exceptional, Alain Georges, the team manager commented. I’m even more satisfied seeing our five cars reached the podium, demonstrating the quality of our preparation, but also the level of performance of our Citroën C3 Rally2. This success is over and above all the fruit of an impressive team effort, and I wish to thanks the 32 people involved this weekend, who did not make a single mistake. I’m also delighted with the steady progress of our regular drivers, namely Maxime, Jos and Roger.”
At the end of this demanding Ypres Belgium Rally, DG Sport Compétition will hardly have time to take a breath, as in less than a fortnight, the Belgian national competition will be back in action, once again in the same region, with on the programme the Omloop van Vlaanderen based in Roeselare
