Already crowned Belgian Rally Champion as from the start of the Condroz, Stéphane Lefebvre concluded an exceptional 2022 season with a further success during the final round of the Belgian Rally Championship at Spa. This brings the total number of victories in one single competition to seven. Without a doubt, this year, DG Sport Compétition left its mark
He was already the champion, and now has added a cherry to the crowning cake! This last weekend, at the Spa Rally, Stéphane Lefebvre once more emerged victorious from a nail-biting duel with Grégoire Munster, enabling him to clinch a seventh success at the wheel of the Citroën C3 Rally2 DG Sport Compétition. Over and above the performance it was the northern France’s masterful total control and handling that impressed more than one observer …
“The key to victory here was over and above all to avoid mistakes on special stages that were both technical and difficult, with many grip variations, Lefebvre commented. Theux alone included numerous traps, and there was no room for mistakes. At certain moments I held back, which allowed Greg to put in several scratch times and keep the pressure on. But together with Xavier Portier we never got carried away, and once again the Citroën C3 Rally2 ran like clockwork. The season has now come to an end and I would truly wish to thank DG Sport Compétition and Alain Georges, who provided me with all the ingredients to excel and build up the victories. It is still too early to have an idea of the programme that awaits us in 2023, but my greatest wish is clearly to continue with the same team
As for Jos ‘The Boss’ Verstappen, once again teamed up with Renaud Jamoul, he quite simply amazed the crowd from one end to the other of the weekend. Before making a small mistake with costly time consequences in the first run of Charneux on Sunday morning, Max’s father produced some excellent times, also lying provisionally in 3rd place for a long time, in front of far more experienced drivers …
“One year ago I told journalists that my project was to tackle rallying in a serious way, Jos Verstappen explained. Now twelve months later we are at the end of the Spa Rally, and so much has gone on. I learned a great deal throughout the season, and together with Renaud, I especially listened to what the co-driver was telling me. This has allowed me to progress over the season. I made a small mistake, but who hasn’t made one on such a course? I’m still learning, and that is part of the game
Another Dutch driver who is continually putting in a strong performance, Roger Hodenius was already lying in the top 10 on Saturday evening, prior to the final run through by far the most treacherous Spa stage. He also made a mistake, ‘’landing’ his Citroën on an embankment
As for the eternal enthusiast Richard Pex, he competed on through to the end of the adventure avoiding the numerous traps. Worth recalling that his rally experience is rather limited. But the fun was quite clearly there.
Special mention for the regional Pierre Hubin, who had also entered a C3 Rally2 DG Sport Compétition. On home ground he put in a strong performance, finishing the first stage in 8th place overall. Position he retained up until the first run at Bruyères on Sunday morning, where he was caught out by one of the numerous traps of the course, where at a low speed his car landed on its roof having hit an embankment. There was limited damage, but for him the rally came to an end there. Frustrating! Nevertheless, the speed was on hand…
At the end of this incredible season, DG Sport Compétition can but draw up a highly positive balance sheet: “Victories and performances built up, and the team was able to handle an important contingent of Citroën C3 Rally2 machines, as was the case again this weekend, Alain Georges, the team Manager explained. I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate Stéphane, Jos, Maxime, Roger, Richard and the others over the different events, and to especially thank all the members of the team. The C3 Rally2 has quite clearly become the reference in Belgian competition, and it is not by chance. The team did not hold back in their efforts, and it paid off, almost beyond our expectations. Rendezvous next season, for a programme that as yet has to be determined. But one thing is for sure, we will see the Citroën C3 Rally2 DG Sport Compétition again in BRC!”
