IRC - Citroen look forward to the Ypres Westhoek RallySimon Jean-Joseph and Jack Boyère's European campaign makes a port of call in Belgium next weekend for the 43rd Belgium Ypres Westhoek Rally. The French crew will be looking for a top result with their Citroën C2 Super
1600 which is built and run by PH Sport in association with staff from Citroën Sport.
Ypres has long been an emblematic round of the European Rally Championship (ERC, Round 5) and this year also counts towards the Intercontinental Rally Challenge (IRC) of which it is the third round.
Much of the all-asphalt action is located near the French border, while the event's main facilities are based in Ypres, including the celebrated, buzzing Market Square service park. The programme features two legs, with very short road sections taking crews out to the nine different stages – all within striking distance of Ypres – which they are scheduled to contest twice each.
Yves Matton, Citroën Sport's Customer Competition Manager, is himself Belgian and consequently ideally qualified to talk about the event: "Probably more than any other ERC round, Ypres is unique. The stages include lots of junctions and are extremely fast, although the roads are narrow and lined with deep, beckoning ditches that never fail to catch out the over-enthusiastic drivers. The constant changes of grip are another important factor that needs to be taken onboard, especially in wet weather. Experience is vital and few drivers get a top finish the first time they come here. It is only after a few visits that it becomes possible to read the lie of the land properly.
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"Simon Jean-Joseph has done this event twice before," continues Yves Matton, "so he should be able put the combination of that prior knowledge, his skill and the speed of the Citroën C2 Super 1600 on sealed surfaces to good effect to perhaps target a top five finish. With all the junctions, it is essential to have a nicely balanced car, but even then it won't be easy against all the four-wheel drive cars. However, there is a chance to secure a top finish in ERC terms against other drivers who have less experience of this type of terrain."
"The pace of this event is just so fast," enthuses Simon Jean-Joseph. "You hardly get time to catch your breath and Saturday's programme features almost 200km of stages. This is a very tough rally and one for the specialists. It is never easy to know exactly how much grip there is, and that can be a real nightmare in the wet. The locals know exactly where they can cut corners so as not to shed too much speed without running the risk of picking up a puncture. I am beginning to feel more and more comfortable with the Citroën C2 Super 1600 but once again we will face stiff opposition from our rivals in four-wheel drive machinery. Even so, I think we have several trump cards in our hand and we could well come away from Ypres with a top result."
Citroen Sport
