Jos finishes 14th in ERC Rally Sierra Morena: 'Quite satisfied'
Published on 06 April 2025 by Misha van der Kroon
Jos Verstappen and co-driver Renaud Jamoul made their debut this weekend in the FIA European Rally Championship (ERC). The 53-year-old participated in the Rally Sierra Morena in his Škoda Fabia RS Rally2, competing against some of the ERC’s top contenders. After thirteen demanding stages covering a total of 210 competitive kilometres through Andalusia, in the south of Spain, the duo ended the weekend in 14th place overall.
Sunday featured three different stages, each driven twice, bringing the total number of stages to thirteen by the end of the rally.
The day began with Cerrobejuelas, stage eight of the Rally Sierra Morena, stretching 19.89 kilometres. Jos clocked the 15th-fastest time (+37.2s), holding 13th in the overall classification at that point. “It went well,” Jos commented after the finish of stage eight. “There was a lot of grip early on, but towards the end it became more slippery. We’ll review the notes and onboard video to see where we can improve.”
Stage nine is Pozoblanco-Villaharta, stretching 25.22 kilometres, winding through the Spanish mountains. Jos set the 17th-fastest time (+56.1s). “It was a long stage with constantly changing grip levels,” Verstappen explained. “I really had to focus on Renaud’s notes and be careful with the brakes. The amount of notes coming at you in such a long stage is completely different from what I'm used to in the Belgian rallies. There, we only have a handful of notes compared to here. That’s something I’m still getting used to.”
On stage ten, Ermitas-Trassierra (12.43km), Jos finished 15th (+20.9s). “This one suited me a bit better,” he said. “It’s a more flowing stage, and I’m starting to get used to the rhythm. We had chosen medium compound tyres, but I think they were a bit too soft for these long stages. We struggled with understeer. We’ll switch that up for the second loop.”
In the second run of Cerrobejuelas, Jos recorded the 16th-fastest time (+36.0s). “There was a lot more dirt on the road, which made it tougher,” he explained. “It’s about having the confidence and going for it. That’s the experience we’re gaining now. I’m quite satisfied.”
Stage twelve, another run of Pozoblanco-Villaharta, brought a solid P13 finish (+36.3s). Jos went seventeen seconds faster than in the first round, showing clear improvement. “We keep learning and trying to improve step by step,” he said. “The notes are coming through more clearly now, but there’s still a lot to fine-tune if we want to gain more time.”
The final stage of the rally, the second pass of Ermitas-Trassierra, saw Jos finish strongly in P12 (+13.4s). That result secured 14th place overall for Jos and Renaud, finishing the rally 5 minutes and 25 seconds behind the winner. “We’ll do everything we can to keep improving,” Jos concluded. “We’re planning more testing sessions to prepare for the gravel rally in Hungary. It’s a steep learning curve, but that’s exactly why we’re here.”
Victory in the Rally Sierra Morena went to Nikolay Gryazin and co-driver Konstantin Aleksandrov. The Bulgarian duo finished comfortably ahead of Frenchman Yoann Bonato (+46.0s) and Spaniard Jose Suarez (+1:24.0).
