Haspengouw Review English BMA: Kris Princen wins Rally van Haspengouw. Grégoire Munster top Junior.
This Saturday Kris Princen (VW Polo R5 BMA) won the Rally van Haspengouw, the opening round of the Jobfixers Belgian Rally Championship. At the finish Princen had a 17.6 sec advantage over Cédric Cherain in a similar VW Polo R5. Sébastien Bedoret (Skoda Fabia R5) finished in third place. Grégoire Munster (Opel Adam R2 BMA) finished in 14th place overall and easily claimed victory in the battle among the Juniors. Patrick Snijers (VW Polo R5 BMA) committed a mistake early on and was obliged to retire.
Kris Princen kicked off strongly in his home rally with three fastest times. After the first loop he had a small lead over Cédric Cherain. When in the afternoon the latter lost 20 seconds as the result of a slide and Vincent Verschueren experienced two blowouts, the road to a fifth victory in the Haspengouw was wide open. “The test session earlier this week obviously bore its fruits. Right from the first few metres I felt truly at ease with the VW Polo. The tuning and set-up were good and throughout the rally we fine- tuned our pace according to course of the event. At moments we needed to go into the attack and then fall back and consolidate. Throughout the event we needed to drive fast without taking the slightest risk. We finally ended the day with a victory. This is my fifth ever victory in the Haspengouw, and the fourth in the last five years. With five wins I have equalled the record set by Pieter Tsjoen and Patrick Snijers. I will be back next year just to become the record holder.”
Grégoire Munster arrived at BMA’s assistance zone boasting a big smile. Following the strong performance earlier this season with the four-wheel-drive Skoda Fabia R5 he was today at the wheel, of the two-wheel driven Opel Adam R2. “It did need some adapting, especially during the first runs of the day. The biggest difference is during the acceleration after a bend. You are straight out with a four-wheel-driven R5. With the front-wheel driven R2 you do experience some understeer. In the beginning it was difficult to find the correct braking zones. The Adam is somewhat less stable than the R5. As from the third run we were back on the right pace and we found the braking zones of old. We enjoyed a problem free competition. The team worked hard and my co-driver Louis wisely guided me all along the Haspengouw route. For us it was purely a perfect rally.”
Patrick Snijers’s early retirement was a great pity. “In the opening stage we braked somewhat too early. During the following stage I quite clearly braked too late. The cars just slid straight on and we hit an embankment. The impact buckled the wheel and we had to throw in the towel. I’m truly disappointed. Together with my co-driver Davy Thierie we were really looking forward to it. And then something like that happens. An immature error. It’s a big disappointment. Especially as not only have we missed out on a good result but also not being able to make the most of our experience.”
“It’s a great shame for Patrick” Bernard Munster commented as he looked back on the Rally van Haspengouw. “Earlier this week we had worked so hard at BMA to bring our two drivers fully confident to the start. It worked perfectly with Kris. Unfortunately, we were unable to enjoy the fruits of our test work with Patrick. It goes to show that, apart from the enormous amount of experience he has, one cannot compare it to anything when at the wheel of an R5. He shouldn’t be too harsh on himself but merely take the time required to acclimatise to the car. Once again today Kris has proved that he is the fastest Belgian driver of the moment. He drove a faultless, intelligent and fast competition. BMA kicks off the season with a victory. The first win a of VW Polo in Belgium is a fact. I’m truly proud of my team who in the run-up to the season have given it their all to achieve this result, just as much that as team boss and father I am proud of my son who once again proved to be the best among the young ones. The step from the R5 to the R2 is exceptionally big. He took his time to become re-acquainted with the Adam. After that there was no holding him back.”
The following competition is the Herock Spa Rally. This will be held on 16th and 17th March.