Jos Verstappen out of Ypres Rally

Published on 27 June 2026 by Florence Cobben

Jos Verstappen and his copilot Renaud Jamoul are out of the Ypres Valley. The Škoda Fabia RS Rally2, prepared by Sarrazin Motorsport, met its Waterloo in the fifteenth stage.

The Verstappen Racing crew had started the Saturday part of the Rally in eighth place after a difficult day on Friday. Saturday’s leg start with the ninth special stage, Watou. For the first loop (five stages) tyres cannot be changed, and with rain pelting down, the choice of tyres will be critical. Championship leader Hayden Paddon immediately discovers the consequences of making the wrong choice when he ends up in a ditch, losing more than a minute to Stéphane Lefebvre, who started the stage on wet-weather tyres.

 In the stage Verstappen sets the second-fastest time, and says after crossing the finish line: “It’s unbelievably slippery, on some sections you can’t hit the brakes at all or else you’ll lock up immediately. It was treacherous driving but we’re pleased with the result.” Verstappen cand Jamoul climb two places in the standings and proceeds to stage ten, Westouer, in sixth.

In Westouer, Verstappen sets the fifth-fastest time, meaning Team Verstappen stays fifth in the overall standings. He secures the fourth-fastest time on SS11, Dikkebus, but he still remains fifth overall.

Verstappen completes SS12, Zillebeke, with the fifth-fastest time. He finally moves up one place overall after Hayden Paddon drops out of the leading group with a puncture. On the final stage of the first loop, Mesen–Wijtschate, Verstappen sets the third-fastest time and remarks: “We’re in the fight now and will have a look how far the podium still is. The stage went well, the tyres were a little too soft but it wasn’t bad overall. I am satisfied, especially about our tyre choice.”

The second loop begins with Watou, a stage that had been wet earlier in the day. Disaster strikes for Jos in the very first corner when he hits a rock and is forced to change a wheel. The incident costs him almost three minutes, ending any realistic hopes of a podium finish. “In the first corner I hit a rock, I got a puncture, and when I turned in for the next turn and I just went straight on,” the Dutchman explained.

The following stage proves to be the end of the rally. The No. 1 Škoda leaves the road and ends up in a ditch, preventing the crew from continuing and dropping out of the timing screens. Verstappen and Jamoul are unhurt, and that marks the premature end to their rally.