Max Verstappen won the first two races of this Formula 1 season, but father Jos also has a taste for racing. The now 52-year-old driver won the Rally of the Ardennes on Saturday, together with Renaud Jamoul (Skoda Fabia).
The duo had a wide lead of 37.5 over Belgian champion Maxime Potty and his co-driver Renaud Herman (Citroen C3). The Dutchman Roger Hodenius and his Belgian co-driver Robin Buysmans (Skoda Fabia) finished in third place.
It rained lightly on Saturday morning at the start of the 70th edition of the Rallye des Ardennes. Verstappen won the first stage and immediately made it clear why he had come. But the Dutchman had a bad customer in home driver Bastien Rouard (Hyundai i20), who was barely a tenth of a second slower than Verstappen. Rouard knew the course like the back of his hand and went on to win three stages, returning to the assistance zone after the first loop of four stages with a bonus of 13.9.
Tire choice kills Rouard
Rouard had rain tires installed for the second loop. A wrong choice on a drying course. And it could have been even worse, because during FP6 the leader made a mistake and suffered two punctures. When he had another puncture in KP8, he had to give up because his two spare wheels were used up. A bitter end for Rouard who was keen on victory for his own people.
During the third loop of four stages, Verstappen and Potty shared the fastest times. Verstappen won the rally, Potty finished second. They share the lead in the BRC standings after two games. Jonas Dewilde (Opel Corsa) finished ninth and took the lead in the BRC Division 2.
The next BRC round is the TAC Rally. That match will be organized on April 6 and will also count towards the Division 2 championship.