Jos ninth in Rally La Nucia: 'I had fun and learned a lot'

Published on 04 November 2023 by Stefan Meens

Jos Verstappen and navigator Renaud Jamoul finished ninth in the Rally La Nucia. Competing in a Skoda Fabia RS Rally2, it was the duo’s first rally in Spain. “It was a fantastic rally to drive and the level is very high. The drivers at the front also compete at the sharp end in the World Rally Championship”, explained Jos to Verstappen.com. “I’m happy with what I learned and with the result, especially because I’m not familiar with the stages. Everything went well and the collaboration with Renaud was good. Once again, the car was superb.”

The Dutchman added: “I had a lot of fun. The stages were very different to what I’m used to. You’re up and down mountain stages with turn after turn. I must’ve driven more corners in two days then I’ve done in total the rest of the year. I had to get used to it, especially in the dark on Friday evening, but I’ve learned a lot.”

The Rally La Nucia took place in the mountains in the Spanish province of Alicante with six timed stages spread across two days. Ahead of the event, Jos remained realistic about his competitiveness. “It will be difficult because these stages are nothing like the ones in Belgium and the Netherlands.” Nevertheless, Jos and Renaud enjoyed a solid start with P13, P11 and P9 at the start of the rally, followed by P14, P13 and P9 on Friday evening.

On the second and final day of the event, Jos opened with a ninth and tenth place. On stage nine, another participant crashed, resulting in the stage being neutralised and Jos and Renaud being granted P10. Jos consolidated his ninth place overall by clocking the eighth, ninth and tenth fastest time in the final three stages of the rally. Jose Suarez and Alberto Iglesias took the victory.