Even after the first loop of the second stage, Adrian Fernémont continues to control the 60th ConXioN Omloop van Vlaanderen. After the rainy opening night, the sun is shining in the Roeselare region. On Saturday afternoon, Adrian Fernémont extended his lead to 27″6 over Sébastien Bedoret and 29″3 over Kevin Demaerschalk.
"We started well again today," laughed leader Fernémont. "Of course I made some extra cuts here and there to make the cords a bit dirtier for my chasers. That's part of the game."
Kevin Demaerschalk had to give up a bit of time. "On a dry track, the Fiesta R5 Evo is not yet precise enough. That's just a matter of fine-tuning the settings, which makes sense as it's our first race with this car. I am already very satisfied," said Demaerschalk, who was passed in the zoning by Sébastien Bedoret. Bedoret was pushing throughout the round with the fastest times in Rumbeke and at the Zoning. "I hope we can keep second place because I think Adrien will be hard to catch back," he said.
Kris Princen is still not satisfied with his VW Polo GTI R5: "Yesterday the car was very shaky and this morning, on a dry track, I'm still not finding grip on the slippery parts. It's already better, but not like in the previous races."
Vincent Verschueren, who opted for hard 21 tyres, is 4″4 ahead of the Limburger. "The tyre choice was not ideal, especially as we had too supple a suspension, forcing me off the throttle in the fast fans."
Ghislain de Mevius started the second stage third, but the Skoda driver dropped to 7th place. He too opted for the hard "21" compound for the tyres. PJM Cracco, sixth, does sit in his Skoda Fabia R5 Evo with a broad smile: "It's going excellent. I never believed it, but rhythm is apparently very important in rallying. Driving a lot is the only way to make rapid progression. I do take corners today where I unloaded last year à fond. That feels good!"
Pieter Tsjoen is 8th, ahead of Niels Reynvoet, who left a little time on the fastest tests in Passendale and Houthulst, and Bob de Jong, the leader in the battle for the Dutch championship.
Among the Porsches, Romain Delhez (15th overall) leads the standings ahead of Jochen Claerhout and Chris Debyser. Andy Lefevere had himself surprised at Zilverberg, where he was stuck in a field for as much as 36′.
In the M Cup, Gunther Monnens, leader ahead of Thierry Cokelaere and Wouter Lievens, was unbeatable. In Historic, leader Stefaan Stouf had to abandon the battle with brake problems. Bjorn Syx seems to be on his way to a second consecutive national victory, following his success in Ypres. The M3 driver controls ahead of Paul Lietaer, who is still trying to keep pressure on his rival. 3rd in Historic, Danny Kerckhof is a comfortable leader in the TER Historic.
The fastest Junior remains Gilles Pyck, who is close to 14″ from Timo van der Marel, the leader in R2. Tobias Brüls is 2nd Junior, well ahead of Glenn Snaet and Charles Munster.
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