We have to admit right away that the ‘historic’ category of the 2024 Belgian Rally Championship has not reached high peaks this season. Koen Verhaege, who secured the title before the penultimate round in Sankt Vith, will not even be present for the final event at the Spa Rally.
However, don’t think for a moment that the ‘oldies’ will go unnoticed on November 30th and December 1st! Quite the opposite. The Spa Rally is an exception to the rule. On the starting podium at the Place Royale, we can expect a bit of a queue for the top teams in the historic category, all eager to end the season with a celebratory toast!
Among the favourites are Olivier Breittmayer and Pierre Sibille, whose BMW M3 E30, adorned in the famous Fina colours, will be one of the newest cars in the HBRC category, together with the E30 325i of Guino Kenis and Bjorn Vanoverschelde. Challenging these Bavarian contenders will be the Toyota Celica GT-Four of Jean-Pierre Vannerum and Stéphane Lambion, the Opel Ascona A driven by Jimmy Grommen and Renaud Mattart, and the Porsches 911 of André and Guillaume Lausberg, along with the Luxembourg duo Aly Kridel Jr. and Luc Kalmes
Then there’s the formidable Ford Escort lineup. This includes Mk1s driven by Geoffrey Leyon, the recent winner in the ‘PH Classic’ at the Rallye des Crêtes, and Loris Elst. Also in the mix is the duo of William Reyntiens and Alexandre Jadot.
As for the Escort Mk2s, the lineup features Rainer and Angelo Feltes, Christophe Daco and Jonathan Lemaire, Raphaël Beaufort and Marie-Laure Brouir, Julien Elleboudt and Hélène Bourdon, Rudi Remilly and Guy Burniat, Johnny Delhez and Vincent Duchesne, Vincent Prégardien and Yoan De Mol, along with Philip Waterschoot and Annick Folschette.
The battle for victory in the historic category promises to be thrilling, especially since reliability will be crucial to navigating the stages set out by DG Sport!