Former Le Mans winner and Formula One racing driver Jos Verstappen will tackle the second round of the Probite British Rally Championship, the Rallynuts Severn Valley Stages on Saturday.
Verstappen, father of F1 superstar, three-time F1 champion and Red Bull Racing driver Max, will make his debut in the BRC and the UK, tackling the world-famous Welsh gravel for the first time. He will drive a Skoda Fabia RS Rally2 with regular co-driver Renaud Jamoul, meaning they will also be responsible for the debut of Skoda’s latest Rally2 example.
The crew will be joined by Wevers Sport teammates Roger Hodenius and Robin Buysmans in similar machinery who have also signed up for the championship, bringing a truly international flavour back to the BRC.
The Severn Valley Stages marks the switch to gravel for the reinvigorated BRC and offers over sixty-two miles of classic Wales Rally GB stages including Myherin, Sweet Lamb and Hafren.
Verstappen has enjoyed a progressive rallying career since his first event on the stages in 2022. Tackling the Belgian Rally Championship, the Dutch driver sealed fourth in the series that season, even managing to contest his very first FIA World Rally Championship round in Ypres (above).
Last year’s transition to a Skoda Fabia proved fruitful, sealing three overall rally wins on the closed roads in Belgium, Germany, and the Netherlands, backed up with two more already this season.
But despite 23 rally starts so far, Verstappen has never contested a loose surface event and will head to the heart of Wales for his first experience of the class British forest stages.
“We are very happy to come to Wales and the British Rally Championship,” says Verstappen.
“Renaud [Jamoul, co-driver] has done Wales Rally GB several times but for me, these stages will be the first.”
“I only started rallying two years ago but only with tarmac events. After two test sessions in the wintertime in the south of France, we have decided to do our first proper gravel rally and as Renaud has some really good memories in Wales, this rally was looking like the best one to start with.
“We will get some good advice from Tom Cave during our pre-event-test in Sweet Lamb and we will try to do our best. There is no plan in terms of performance because it will be my first time on gravel but for sure the target is to improve and be as close as possible to the top guys. The entry field will be again really competitive, so we are looking forward to the rally”.
“The stages are certainly technical in places, so it’s a challenge for a gravel debut, but you’d say it’s a good choice based on enjoyment” says the Fiesta Rally2 pilot.
“Certainly, it’ll be very rewarding if Jos can get a good feeling quite quickly. The stages are on the whole, very enjoyable. I also used them in Wales Rally GB where I felt like it was important to get rhythm, especially in Myherin. You really have to carry so much speed where the road gets wider, but when you get it right it’s very fulfilling. There are quite a lot of logs on the inside of corners this year, so it’ll be important to be neat and tidy at the same time. Judging from his times in Belgium, he won’t be slow, even on gravel!”
The Verstappen entry to the event has received widespread coverage in the national press, but with the sign-up to the coveted championship, the spotlight is expected to be on the popular Welsh forests next weekend.
Clerk of the Course Keith Ashley is delighted to welcome a driver of Verstappen’s calibre to the rally.
“We are very excited to see such a household name head to the Rallynuts Severn Valley Stages this year,” he said.
“Having motorsport stars like Jos, plus our sensational oversubscribed entry can only be good for the sport as a whole and we are delighted with the extra spotlight it brings to the rally. It feels like the shot in the arm that gravel rallying needs right now.”
Probite British Rally Championship Manager Reece Tarren is fascinated to see Verstappen on the stages. “What a name to add to the already remarkable BRC entry this season,” he said.
“We have British, European and World Rally champions on the books this year and now, we have an F1 driver to add to the list. The following that the entire family have is immense and rightly so, they are at the pinnacle of motorsport across the world and I`m really proud that we can attract the attention of someone like Jos to the series. It’s going to be a baptism for him, acclimatising to the gravel but it’s a magnificent event to do it on.”
The Rallynuts Severn Valley Stages kicks off with a ceremonial start in Llandrindod Wells from 18:30 on Friday 12 April, before the action gets underway the following day in the nearby forests.
Fresh from the Legend Fires North West Stages victory, Chris Ingram and Alex Kihurani top the BRC points standings after a flawless performance in their Volkswagen Polo GTi. The frontrunners in the Castrol MEM Rally Team, the duo were the pre-rally favourites from the off thanks to Ingram’s win on the event in 2022, however, the mid-Wales forests are relatively unfamiliar territory for Ingram – meaning a battle royale is most certainly on the cards.
Riding the crews of a wave of late are 2023 Junior World Champions William Creighton and Liam Regan who took back-to-back Irish and British Rally Championship podiums in March. Taking second on the North West Stages, Creighton is still adapting to Rally2 machinery but heads up the M-Sport Ford Rally Team entry in his Fiesta. However, it will be Creighton’s first time on gravel in the car with just the snow of Rally Sweden under his belt so far on a loose surface.
Meirion Evans gave the Toyota Yaris GR Rally2 an ideal UK debut by securing third overall at the season opener and will take the impressive machine onto gravel for the first time. He and co-driver Jonathan Jackson have been concentrating on asphalt of late, so will need to bed in quickly if they are to repeat that feat.
Keith Cronin and Mikie Galvin had a troubled start to the season in their Fiesta Rally2 so will be aiming to right the wrongs of the North West stages. In a competitive field, that is a tough ask but his lengthy experience will certainly come into play. James Williams enjoyed a positive start to his BRC campaign in his new Hyundai i20 N Rally2 with fourth spot and takes his example onto the gravel for the first time with co-driver Ross Whittock.
Osian Pryce was Ingram’s nearest challenger last month before technical gremlins in his Ford Fiesta Rally2 forced him and Rhodri Evans out of the rally, so they will be eager for redemption on home soil.
Callum Black is one of only a few drivers to have contested this event in the past and he and co-driver Jack Morton need a positive result after a trying North West Stages in their Fiesta Rally2. Neil Roskell will be tackling only his fourth gravel rally in his Fiesta Rally2 and Dai Roberts alongside, whilst Garry Pearson and Dan Barritt complete the M-Sport team in their Fiesta and will be another crew to need a strong result.
Elliot Payne [Fiesta Rally2] will return to his preferred surface and as a former winner of the rally, could well be one to watch. Ollie Mellors returns in his Proton Iriz after a positive opener, whilst the JKS Team Northern Ireland of Alan Carmichael [i20 Rally2] and Kyle White [i20] are desperate for a result in Wales after a torrid start to their season.
After three years away, Rhys Yates makes a comeback, also in a Polo and with Craig Drew on the notes, whilst newcomers include James Leckey and Stephen McAuley, giving the Citroen C3 Rally2 its BRC debut.
Junior British Rally Championship, BRC3 and BRC4
The Junior BRC enjoys a stellar list of contenders as the Stellantis Motorsport Rally Cup joins the BRC for its first of four outings. Crews in the Peugeot 208 Rally4 will do battle for an impressive prize fund during the season but heading the Junior BRC standings is a fresh-faced Kalum Graffin. At just 17 years old, he became one of the youngest winners of a round, and will head for Wales on a high, along with co-driver Richard Crozier.
Robert Proudlock/Steven Brown currently ties with Casey Jay Coleman/Lorcan Moore thanks to their Joker bonus point deployment, both crews once again piloting the 208 Rally4 versions.
It was Welsh aces Ioan Lloyd/Sion Williams who took first blood in the Stellantis series and are one of only a few to have experience of the stages ahead. A gaggle of eager drivers join the attack, with Cian Caldwell/Liam Egan currently on fine form and the likes of Kyle McBride/Darragh Mullen, Keelan Grogan/Ayrton Sherlock also on the pace during the Stellantis Cup opener in Ireland. Joseph Kelly/Killian McArdle will also make the trip across the Irish Sea.
BRC4 features the same class as the Junior BRC, but outside of the age cut-off and sees Stellantis contenders Michael Fitzgibbon/Carrie Ryan join the category in their 208 Rally4. In BRC3, Stephen Waugh is joined by Carl Williamson in a Fiesta Rally3 after taking second in class on round one, and Waugh will be aiming for gravel experience on his loose surface debut in the car.
Open Rally Title & National Rally Title
John Rintoul and Ross Hynd will be aiming for a distinctly more positive outing in their Fiesta after a dismal start to the season in the Open Rally Title category for non-homologated Rally2 cars.
The National Rally Title enjoys a dynamic mix of crews and machinery, with newcomer Tom Llewellin, son of two-time British champion David throwing his hat into the ring. Tom and co-driver Will Atkins will use a historic specification Ford Escort MKII.
The Ginetta G40 of Nick Heard and Oliver Mathinson makes its gravel debut, whilst William Mains and Tomos Whittle head back to the gravel, a surface Mains only sampled during his BRC outings in 2022. Multiple FIA European Historic Rally champion Ernie Graham makes a surprise outing in a Mitsubishi Evo X with Robin Kellard.