Jos third in Haspengouw Rally: 'It will be a challenging year'

Published on 28 February 2026 by Stefan Meens

Together with co-driver Renaud Jamoul, Jos Verstappen finished third in the Haspengouw Rally, the first round of the 2026 Belgian Rally Championship (BRC). It was the first time the reigning champions contested a rally in a Citroen C3 Rally 2 car prepared by Sarrazin Motorsport.

“It was a challenging rally against strong competition. We just made too many little mistakes and on the wet stage we just didn’t have the confidence. But in the end, we’re happy with third.”

Overall winner of the Haspengouw Rally, Stephane Lefebvre, did not register for the BRC, meaning Jos and Renaud effectively took second place, behind championship leader Cedric Cherain. “It’s going to be a challenging and tough year, but I’m really looking forward to it”, said Jos. “It will be a great fight and we’ll prepare even better.”

The first attempt to tackle the four stages  – Kerkom (9,58km), Halle-Booienhoven (13,98km), Gelmen (14,81km) and Engelmanshoven (12,28km) – starts well for Verstappen with a fastest time, followed by a second and two third places. After a third of the rally, Jos and Renaud are second, trailing leader Lefebvre in the Toyota Yaris GR Rally2 and ahead of Cherain in the Skoda Fabia RS Rally2.

“It was very slippery with a lot of mud and some damp patches, which is always tricky”, explains Jos. “It’s tricky conditions and a long day ahead so anything can happen.” And so it did as the drivers took on the same four stages a second time. “On stage five I went too fast into a corner. I had to turn around and lost ten or so seconds, but it is what it is. It’s very competitive so if you’re not prepared well enough or drive one bad stage, you can’t compete for the win. That’s exciting for the rest of the season.” After eight stages following p13 on stage 5, a P2 on stage 6, p4 on stage 5 and a P3 on stage 8, the rally enters its final third with drivers contesting the stages one final time. Jos and Renaud complete the event with a third, seventh, third and second to finish in third overall and second in the BRC classification. Lefebvre took the win, twelve seconds ahead of Cherain and 51 seconds ahead of Verstappen.

Jos concludes: “On stage ten we were on slicks when it started to rain. That was difficult. It was really slippery in the braking zones so it was about survival at that stage. But we’re happy with the result in the end.”