Stéphane Lefebvre successfully defended his Ypres Rally title – denying Hayden Paddon in the process.
Paddon, taking on his second European Tarmac rally in as many weeks after a trip to Ireland and Donegal, took the lead after the second stage in his BMA-run Hyundai i20 N Rally2 and held it overnight.
But over the course of Saturday the New Zealander couldn’t quite match Lefebvre’s Toyota GR Yaris Rally2, as the Frenchman grabbed the lead after SS11 of 18.
Though Paddon trimmed the advantage to as low as 1.9s, a strong time over the second pass of the famous Kemmelberg test gave Lefebvre and co-driver Xavier Portier the light reprieve they needed to eventually secure victory by 10.3s.
Lefebvre became the first driver since Freddy Loix in 2015 and ’16 to take back-to-back wins on the renowned Belgian event.
“It feels fantastic,” Lefebvre said. “I would like to congratulate Hayden Paddon on his second place, because he was very strong and pushed me to the end. I dedicate this victory to my daughter.”
Paddon may not have won but he still made Ypres Rally history
Paddon and co-driver Jared Hudson meanwhile became the first non-Europeans to ever stand on the Ypres podium.
Jos Verstappen and Renaud Jamoul finished third in their Škoda Fabia RS Rally2 – 23.9s shy of Lefebvre but once again top of the Belgian championship standings.
The former Formula 1 driver said: “I’m glad we’re so competitive. I never dared to dream that I would be able to compete against greats like Lefebvre and Paddon.”
On his Ypres debut, Dani Sordo came home fourth in a Porsche 992 Rally GT (+6.3s to Verstappen) with Davy Vanneste’s Citroën completing the top-five.
Loix had been in the conversation for a record-extending 12th Ypres Rally win – running as high as second before a puncture meant he had to settle for eighth in his Fabia RS.
Latvala had been leading by 1m30s until disaster struck
Reigning Junior World Rally champion Romet Jürgenson was 10th in a Ford Fiesta Rally2.
Jari-Matti Latvala was odds on to win the Historic event in his Toyota Celica ST185 co-driven by Janni Hussi. But the WRC’s most experienced driver was forced out with a head gasket problem – paving the way clear for Pieter-Jan Maeyart to win in his BMW M3.
Bruno Thiry had been second in the same Subaru Impreza 555 (recently rebuilt by BGMsport) he drove in Ypres back in 1997, but retired with rear brake problems.
