Jos na debuut in European Rally Championship: 'Tevreden'

Published on 04 April 2025 by Stefan Meens

Jos Verstappen and co-driver Renaud Jamoul have made their debut in the European Rally Championship (ERC). The duo are contesting the Rally Sierra Morena in Andalusia (Spain) in their Skoda Fabia RS Rally 2. On Friday, the pair completed the qualifying stage (seventh) and the first timed stage (fourth).

“Everything is new for us”, said Jos who is taking on all the top names in the European Championship after only three years of rally experience. “It is the first time we’re driving in this area, so we don’t really have the stage knowledge. But we’re not doing this as a one-off; we want to continue. We’re here to gain experience and to raise the bar for ourselves. There are some great drivers entering the ERC, so the challenge is huge. But I really love the world of rally, I’m looking forward to it.”

During the recce, the teams were able to get a feel for the seven stages. “It was difficult to make the right pace notes; there are probably more corners here than all year in Belgian”, joked Jos. “It’s a challenge, but the more often we participate, the better it will be. We’ll give it our best shot.”

The event starts with a 3.8-mile qualifying stage on a twisty tarmac course. Jos sets the seventh fastest time, trailing pace setter Nikolay Gryazin by 4.3 seconds. “It was tricky, because a lot of corners had been cut so there was a lot of sand on the roads. This was our first real run as we had issues with the power steering in the shake-down so we didn’t drive here. All in all, I’m really happy with this start.”

The opening stage of the rally is a short but technical one, featuring a mile on damp tarmac through the streets of Cordoba. “It was the first time I had to do a donut around the bollards, so I didn’t really know what to do. I left a lot of room at the hairpins so there is still a lot to learn. But it went well, so I’m happy”, said Jos, alluding to finishing in fourth place, only 2.6 seconds adrift of Gryazin.

Saturday and Sunday feature three stages on each day, all are contested twice. Together with Friday’s opening stage, the event therefore features 13 timed stages.