Jos second in BRC TAC Rally: 'We're driving on the limit'

Published on 11 April 2026 by Misha van der Kroon

Jos Verstappen and his co-driver Renaud Jamoul finished second in the TAC Rally in Tielt, part of the Belgian Rally Championship (BRC). The reigning Belgian Champions swapped their Citroën C3 Rally2 for their trusted Skoda Fabia RS Rally2, prepared by Sarrazin Motorsport.

Jos explains: “We tested and the Skoda simply feels more comfortable. We’ve always had strong results with Skoda and we have a lot of information and data on the Belgian rallies, so that’s why.”

Ahead of the start, Jos said: “It’s a tricky rally because of the different types of asphalt, which means varying levels of grip. It will be a matter of finding our rhythm at the beginning. I expect it to be very close, and it will come down to the form of the day. The competition has a bit more experience here than I do, as they’ve driven here more often. We want to perform well. It will be important to stay focused and avoid mistakes.”

During the first round over the four stages, Schuiferskapelle (14.6 km), Ondank (9.76 km), Poelberg (8.45 km) and Oosthoek (14.53 km), Jos set the third (+2.8s), third (+1.3s), fourth (+1.5s) and fourth (+3.2s) fastest times respectively. This put him third overall after the opening loop, 7.9 seconds behind Maxim Potty, who is also competing in a Skoda Fabia RS Rally2. Cédric Cherain was second, 3.9 seconds ahead.

“It went well considering it’s our first time driving in Tielt,” Jos said after stage four. “It feels good, I’m satisfied. We didn’t lose much time to the competition. Now we’ll fine-tune the car and hopefully we can make up some time in the second loop. We know where we can be faster, but when you drive a stage for the first time, it’s always new and a learning process.”

In the second round over the same four stages, Jos started strongly with the fastest time, gaining 5.3 seconds on Potty. That was followed by P2 (+0.1s), P2 (+0.9s) and P3 (+4.0s). He remained third overall after the second loop, 12.2 seconds behind Potty and 2.3 seconds adrift of Cherain.

“It’s nice that it’s so close. You have to push hard to find time,” Jos explained. “We’re driving on the limit, against each other. That’s what we do it for. Now that we have knowledge of the stages, it’s getting better and better.”

Just like in the second round, Jos also claimed the first stage of the third and final round, moving up to second overall at the expense of Cherain. Potty finished that stage just one second behind Jos, leaving the gap at 11.2 seconds after stage nine. The Dutchman held a 1.2-second advantage over Cherain in third. With Lander Depotter 39 seconds back in fourth, it was clear the top three would decide the win between them.

Jos also won stage ten, although the time gain was again minimal, taking 0.4 seconds off Potty, who finished second. Cherain was third, 1.6 seconds down. The top three remained closely matched, and it was uncertain whether Jos could close the 10.8-second gap in the final two stages.

The penultimate stage of the day also went to Jos, again with a small margin over Potty and Cherain. With one stage remaining, the gap between first and second overall stood at 10.1 seconds, making the outcome all but decided. The gap appeared too large to close on the final stage. Cherain was 5.4 seconds behind Jos’ Škoda in third, which also seemed difficult to overturn.

The final stage of the day was a so-called Power Stage, where the top three score bonus points for the championship (3-2-1). Cherain took the three bonus points by winning the stage ahead of Jos, who finished second. Jos gained 2.7 seconds on Potty but was unable to prevent Potty from taking the rally win, with Jos and Renaud securing P2 and Cherain completing the podium in third.

At the finish, a satisfied Jos said: “It was definitely better during the final loop. Once you know the stages better, you improve as well. I’m happy with the car, it’s basically perfect. With the Skoda, everything feels a bit easier, and that’s what rallying is all about.”