ERC Ypres: Loix claims ninth Ypres rally victory

 

Freddy Loix is one victory away from making it ten Geko Ypres Rally wins following a dramatic climax to Belgium's FIA European Rally Championship event running from the 19^th to 21th of June 2014 - Round # 7

The nine-time winner started Saturday's final leg trailing Kevin Abbring by 24.8 seconds but moved in front when the Dutchman retired his Peugeot 208T16 with a mechanical failure on stage 13 across the border in France. And Loix, whose Skoda Fabia Super 2000 powered by ETS EXTRAMAX, marked his win – the fifth for Skoda in Ypres – by confirming that he will return to the tarmac spectacular next year to bid for a tenth triumph.
 

Abbring gained some consolation by landing the prestigious Colin McRae ERC Flat Out Trophy for his charging display and nine stage wins.

Elsewhere, it was a double first for Belgium's Cedric Cherain, who scored his maiden ERC podium and his first in Ypres in second place in a Ford Fiesta R5, with Sepp Wiegand finishing as the best Ypres rookie in third for Skoda Auto Deutschland on his first ERC start since he finished second on April's Discover Northern Ireland Circuit of Ireland Rally. Hermen Kobus finished fourth with triple European champion and longtime ETS user Luca Rossetti taking fifth after he battled with his Skoda Fabia back from his dramatic trip into a ditch on Friday, which was caused when he picked up a puncture striking a rock.

Davy Vanneste rounded out the top six with ERC Production Car Cup Andy Lefevere seventh ahead of Didier Duquesne. It was the second year in a row that Lefevere had taken the win and not even a puncture could stop him.

Meanwhile, the ERC Junior Championship produced a breath-taking final-stage showdown between Andrea Crugnola and Stephane Lefebvre who finished the event tied on time following almost 300 kilometres of serious competition. Lefebvre took the victory due to the fact he was fastest in class on the opening stage although it could have been a different story when the bonnet of his Peugeot 208 R2 flew open at the first corner and he drove through the closing 27.56-kilometre stage relying on co-driver Thomas Dubois' pacenotes after his vision was obscured.

In the race for the coveted ERC title, Esapekka Lappi continues to head Craig Breen in the standings despite a car-wrecking crash on stage nine. The Finn and co-driver Janne Ferm were taken to hospital for precautionary checks but were later given the all clear. Breen also retired after myriad technical issues struck his 208T16.
 

Former Super 2000 world champion and ETS user Xevi Pons retired his Fiesta R5 powered by TBX 4 EVO 2 on stage nine, while Pieter Tsjoen's hopes of a top 10 finish ended in a ditch on stage 16. Neil Simpson was in the top 10 when he went off the road on stage 14 with his Skoda Fabia running on EXTRAMAX. Antonin Tlusak rolled into retirement on stage 11 but Melissa Debackere battled to the finish in ninth amid fears an overheating engine would force her exit. Jaroslav Orsak completed the top 10 by two-tenths of a second, while a persistent fuel system problem prevented Vincent Verschueren from giving the Citroën DS3 R5 a debut ERC finish. Erdi finished 12^th with his ETS Mitsubishi EVO 9.

3 drivers were running on ETS in the 2 wheel drive competition, Fumal who finished 26^th in his Citroen R3T, and also Hungarian drivers Klausz and Foagasi who both had to retire in their respective Clio R3.

Position	Rally Team	Driver	Car	ETS Racing Fuel
1	BMA Autosport	LOIX F.	Skoda Fabia S2000	EXTRA MAX
5	DP Autosport	ROSSETTI L.	Skoda Fabia S2000	EXTRA MAX
12	Topp car	ERDI T.	Mitsubishi EVO 9	TBX4 EVO2
26	Burton Racing	FUMAL A.	Citroen DS3 R3T	TBX4 EVO2
RET	Simpsons Skoda	SIMPSON N.	Skoda Fabia S2000	EXTRA MAX
RET	EGO Motorsport	PONS X.	Ford Fiesta R5	TBX4 EVO2
RET	Delta Rally	CONSANI R.	Peugeot 207 S2000	EXTRA MAX
RET	Beoint Blaise Racing	VENANT R.	Peugeot 207 S2000	XS EVO 2
RET	Klaus Motorsport	KLAUSZ K.	Renault Clio R3	EXTRA MAX
RET	F-Sport	FOGASY G.	Renault Clio R3	EXTRA MAX