Jos far ahead of the competition in the Sezoensrally: 'Real teamwork'

Published on 17 May 2025 by Florence Cobben

Jos Verstappen, together with his navigator Renaud Jamoul, have taken the win in the Sezoensrally after a strong performance. It is the fourth time in a row that the duo have won in the Belgian Rally Championship (BRC), where they hold a comfortable lead. The 53-year-old Verstappen, in his Skoda Fabia RS Rally 2 car, outperformed the competition. Verstappen was first off the starting line for each stage, and finished ten of the twelve stages fastest in Bocholt, Belgium.

“I am very happy, it went very well,” Jos said at the finish. “During the last two runs I went all in. The car felt good and the gravel crew did a good job. We had also adjusted the notes in between the runs based on feedback. It was a team effort. Then it’s up to me to not make too many mistakes, and then the result comes naturally.”

The North Limburg classic, just over the Dutch border, is known for its diverse and varied course. About a quarter of the distance is driven on Maas gravel. The many spectators who came to watch the spectacle enjoyed some nice sunshine.

Jos started first every special stage. Is it actually a disadvantage, driving a course that hasn’t been “broken in” by other cars? “I think so,” is Jos’ answer. “Especially on the asphalt where there is some gravel. There isn’t any path there yet, so you have to test how hard you can push without unbalancing the car. You have to be careful on the gravel, because you don’t have a lot of grip there on the slicks that we’re driving on. But this is the case for everyone. We started well.”

In fact, after the first run over Gerdingen (9,81km), Veldhoven (13,19km), Goolder (14,07km) and Brueghel (9,21km), Verstappen’s name topped the timesheets in all four stages. This gave him a 10.10-second lead over Charles Munster.

Jos explained: “We were immediately quick off the start. I’m beginning to learn the course well here and you can see that on the times, but it certainly wasn’t an easy opening run. There were places where the course was wet, and other places it was dry and very slippery. You have to pay attention still.”

In the second run, Verstappen pulled further away from the competition. Munster retired after hitting a wall and damaging his cooling system. As a result, after eight stages, Cedric Cherain was in second place, with a gap of 29.1 seconds.

“The course is treacherous, everywhere is gravel, and you have to watch out”, Jos explained. “The stages are very changeable. We have to stay focused and not make any mistakes. We drive at our own tempo. The chance of punctures are always high, because there are so many stones in the turns. That makes it very difficult to place the car in a good place. It’s testy, it keeps us on our toes. We’re taking it a little easier now.”

It's a performance that resulted in a P2 (+1.9s), P3 (+1.0s) and two fastest times in the third and final run over the same four courses. Cherain ended the day 36,3 seconds behind Verstappen and Jamoul, who strengthened their lead in the BRC and their title aspirations.