Jos second after first day of Spa Rally: 'It's going well'

Published on 30 November 2024 by Misha van der Kroon

Jos Verstappen ends the first day of the two-day Spa Rally in second place, after a strong performance on Saturday. Together with his navigator Renaud Jamoul, the 52-year-old driver is competing in his Skoda Fabia RS Rally2 car in the final round of the Belgian Rally Championship (BRC).

“When I first started rallying, I had a lot of catching up to do, but now we’re in the fight for the podium. The competition takes me seriously, and that’s a great feeling. It was dry but very cold, which made certain sections tricky,” explains Jos.

After showing his pace on Friday evening with a second-place finish in the qualifying stage, Saturday’s program featured four different stages: Renouprez, Bruyeres, Fays Show, and Wanne. However, Wanne was skipped during the fourth round, resulting in a total of eleven stages on Saturday.

On the first stage, Jos clocked the third-fastest time, 9.3 seconds behind Cédric Cherain, who clocked the fastest time. “We took it easy to start with, but it went well,” says Jos. “We still need to find some time.” In the following stages he took P2, P3, and P2, leaving Jos in second place after the first loop, 16.0 seconds behind Cherain. “There was still some ice in certain spots,” Jos explains. “You have to be cautious in those areas, and maybe we were a bit too cautious. Overall, it didn’t feel bad, but we lost some time. I’m quite satisfied.”

In the second round over the same four stages, Jos turned the tables, claiming three stage wins and one second-place finish. This reduced the gap to Cherain to just 6.1 seconds. “It was very tricky, but it felt good,” says Jos. “Where there was ice in the morning, there was now a lot of mud and water. We didn’t have any close calls. We drove on the limit but kept it controlled. It’s going well, we’re in a good rhythm.”

The final three stages of the day took place after sunset in the Belgian Ardennes. Jos finished P3, P1, and another P1, ending Saturday’s eleven stages in second place, 7.3 seconds behind Cherain.

The Spa Rally continues on Sunday with five more stages, after which the final standings will be determined.