Jos convincingly wins Rallye des Cretes

Published on 17 November 2024 by Kees-Jan Koster

Jos Verstappen, alongside co-driver Renaud Jamoul, has claimed a decisive victory at the Rallye des Crêtes, held near Malmedy in Belgium. The duo set the fastest time on seven of the twelve stages in their Skoda Fabia RS Rally2 car.

On Sunday morning, Jos lined up at the start of the Rallye des Crêtes, close to the Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps and the area where he will compete in the Spa Rally of the Belgian Rally Championship (BRC) in two weeks' time. The Rallye des Crêtes featured three different stages - Lasnenville (8.08km), Cligneval (4.82km), and Thier du Bac (9.78km) - each run four times, making up a total of twelve stages.

During the first run of the three stages, Jos recorded the second-fastest time, a shared fastest time, and another second place. This performance put him in the lead of the provisional standings, but with only a three-second and seven-second margin over Maxime Potty and Cédric Cherain, the current second and third-ranked drivers in the BRC.

In the second run, Jos added two first-place finishes and a third place to his tally. This allowed Potty to close the gap to just one second behind Verstappen, while Cherain trailed by 50 seconds. Jos demonstrated his pace in the third loop, setting the fastest times on all three stages. Cherain kept the pressure on, staying close behind, but Potty encountered trouble on stage eight, effectively ending his challenge. By the end of stage nine, Jos held a commanding lead of over one minute ahead of Cherain.

The final run also went smoothly for Verstappen, who secured second, first, and second places on the stages. While Cherain slightly narrowed the gap, Jos Verstappen and Renaud Jamoul were waved across the finish line as convincing winners of the Rallye des Crêtes in the early evening, with a 49-second margin of victory.