Jos 12th after Saturday in Rally Hungary: 'Tough start, but I am satisfied'

Published on 10 May 2025 by Kees-Jan Koster

Jos Verstappen and his co-driver Renaud Jamoul are competing this weekend in Hungary in the second round of the European Rally Championship (ERC). The 53-year-old driver currently sits twelfth overall after Saturday's stages. Driving their Škoda Fabia RS Rally2, the duo went head-to-head with some of the ERC's top competitors but were primarily there to gain experience on Hungary's challenging gravel stages.

"The day started off very tough," Jos admitted. "It is my first proper gravel rally. I am used to tarmac events, and this requires a completely different driving style. There is so much to learn, that is why we are here. There is definitely more pace to be found, but we are going for it. The main goal is to finish and gain experience."

He continued: "Once you have done a stage once, your confidence grows. We are learning how to push the car in these conditions. It was a good day that started out rough, but I got more and more feeling for the car on gravel. I am satisfied, it is improving and hopefully we can take another step forward on Sunday."

The rally, held about an hour outside Budapest, kicked off Friday with a qualifying stage, where Jos set the 16th fastest time. This was followed by the opening stage, a short 2.05km run near Királyszentistván, where he also finished P16.

Saturday’s schedule featured three different special stages, each run twice. The first pass over Hegyesd (18.75km) saw him finish 19th (+54.0s). On the long Kislőtér stage (25.8km), he lost 1:16.3, partly due to running wide. Várpalota was completed in 18th (+18.3s), putting Verstappen 20th overall after the morning loop.

"The car was moving around a lot, there was very little grip," Jos explained. "We were sliding everywhere. I am trying to keep it as tidy as possible. We are still learning." About the mistake he made, Jos smiled and said: "The corner came a bit earlier than expected. I half-spun and had to reverse, but the engine stalled, so that cost us some time. Up until that point it did not feel bad at all. I am sure the second pass will go better once we have reviewed the onboard footage. It is going okay."

In the second loop over the same gravel stages, Jos went quicker, clocking P13 (+38.3s), P14 (+44.0s), and P14 (+15.3s), showing improvement and cutting down on time loss. However, on Stage 6, Verstappen and Jamoul were unlucky to catch the dust of a car ahead that had suffered a puncture.

"That was very frustrating," Jos said. "I could hardly see anything for the last twelve kilometres because of the dust clouds. I even briefly went off. I lost a lot of time because of it, but that is just how it goes. Nothing we can do about it."

After seven stages and a total running time of 1:05:25.4, Jos is now twelfth overall, +4:07.5 behind rally leader Andrea Mabellini. The Rally of Hungary resumes on Sunday with six more special stages across three routes, bringing the total stage count to thirteen.