ERC – Ypres: Peugeot drivers know what to expect

Le Rally of Ypres, sixth test of theERC (the longest of the season with 294,79km timed), will be the opportunity for the drivers Peugeot to put themselves back in the title race against leader Esapekka Lappi. Craig Breen is the Skoda driver's most serious opponent, scoring 29 points before entering the Belgian event where he took the last step of the podium last year in a 207 S2000. Victory promises to be difficult to achieve against eight-time winner Freddy Loix, but the Irishman intends to try his luck, especially as he is also fighting for the ERC Asphalt Master title, contested over six events including the Ypres Rally, which the Finn also leads with 51 points ahead of the Peugeot driver.

“I had a great time last year in Ypres. So I am very happy to come back for the second time”, comments the driver of the Peugeot 208 T16. “After the few setbacks we encountered, it is very important for us to get back into the title race. Ypres is a difficult rally with very narrow roads and huge narrowings in places. The weather also plays a very important role. The competition will be very tough. But I hope our speed will allow us to fight for victory. »

His teammate Kevin Abbring, who is in tenth place in the Championship, is still in a learning period but the Dutchman achieved encouraging results by missing out on victory at the Azores Rally by only six seconds behind Bernardo Souda. “I drove in Ypres in 2011. Even if the stages are not identical this year, I know the specificities of this rally with its narrowings. I was there twice but in 2 wheel drive. It is obvious that with the 4-wheel drive of the 208 T16 it will be different. The car performs well on the tarmac. But in Belgium it is completely different from other events taking place on this type of surface. The tests at the start of the week helped us to develop the best setting. The 208 is becoming more and more reliable. However, Saturday is a real challenge, both for the driver and for the car with 200 kilometers to cover. I have never done so much in one day of specials. »

The Peugeot line-up will be completed by Stéphane Lefebvre who dominated his category during the Portuguese event at the wheel of the Peugeot 208 R2. “This is our first participation in this rally. We will approach this race with the same objective as the Azores Rally: to win the ERC Junior category. This is the first asphalt rally of the Championship for us and we are waiting to see how we stack up against the other ERC Junior competitors. We are fourth in the Championship and we want to score as many points as possible during this round to get back to the front. »