Jos in P15 after first day in ERC Rally of Poland: 'Much to learn'

Published on 14 June 2025 by Florence Cobben

Jos Verstappen and his navigator Renaud Jamoul are in Poland for the fourth round of the European Rally Championship (ERC). The 53-year-old driver finished Saturday in fifteenth.

“It was a big challenge, because we didn’t know the the stages. But I enjoy the driving on sand and gravel and it suits the car”, Jos reflected afterwards. “We’re also gaining a lot of experience and learning a lot, so next year when we return it will hopefully go better. It’s difficult, you need faith, but that’s why we’re here. It’s a great learning process that we have to go through and make the best of.”

The first meters were driven on Friday, when Jos scored P20 during the qualifying stages, and came eleventh (+2,2s) in the first run on the Mikolajki Arena (2,5km).

On Saturday there were seven runs on the agenda, across three different stages and a qualifying stage. In the first run over Swietajno (16,3km), Olecko (20km) and Stare Juchy (13,6km), Jos finished in P19 (+48,9s), P15 (+39,0s) en P16 (+31,0s), placing him sixteenth overall.  

During the second run over the same three stages, Jos applied his newfound knowledge to note faster times, and came away in P16 (+38,0s), P14 (+30,3s) and P15 (+29,9s). On the short Mikolajki Arena circuit, he secured a notable second place (+0.6s). By the end of the Saturday, Jos and Renaud ended in fifteenth in the general rankings, led by Latvian Mārtiņš Sesks and Renārs Francis.

Jos explained: “We have made progress, because in every stage we were about ten seconds faster. It was already a bit better, even though there is progress to be had. I need to adjust a lot of notes, I still am struggling there. There is much to learn.”

On Sunday there are six remaining stages awaiting of the ERC Rally of Poland.