TER leader defends his lead position in Roeselare

Luxembourger Steve Fernandes leads the standings with his Skoda

The summer holidays are also a time of relaxation for rally drivers. As a result, entries for the ConXioN Omloop van Vlaanderen, scheduled for 6 and 7 September, are getting off to a bit of a slow start. Two weeks before entries close, the big names seem to be quietly waking up.

One of the expected pieces of news was the confirmation that Tour European Rally (TER) leader, Luxembourger Steve Fernandes, will be in Roeselare to defend his lead. Together with his Belgian co-driver Olivier Beck, Steve took the lead in the standings after the previous round of the TER, the Rallye de Ferrol (in Galicia, in the north-west of Spain). That race celebrated its 50th edition this year. Spaniards Ivan Ares (Hyundai i20 R5) and Roberto Blach (Citroën DS3 R5) took the first two places in the TER standings. Fernandes did a good job by staying ahead of the other Fabia R5 of German Stefan Göttig. He now has a total of 38 points, compared to 31 for Göttig, 30 for Ares and 29 for Frenchman Sylvain Michel, the best TER driver in the opening round of the competition in Antibes.

Of the JobFIXers Belgian Rally Championship (BRC), Vincent Verschueren is the first top driver to sign up. In 2017, the team GoDrive pilot took a big step towards his first title of Champion of Belgium in the ConXioN Omloop van Vlaanderen. Last year, he offered the most resistance to his successor, Kris Princen. Vincent, who will be navigated by Stéphane Prévot for the first time in Roeselare, is keen to capture his first victory of the season in early September. And his first together with Stéphane.

Nice people for the Porsche Event!

The Porsche Event, the original and always exciting side race for fans, promises to be a great battle between Chris Debyser, boss of ConXioN, Wouter Muylle, director of the eponymous bodywork company, Romain Delhez and Andy Lefevere, all with 911s GT3. The tastemakers of the British Stage Masters "championship", Peter Lythell and Rikki Proffitt, will be at the start with Historic 911s. And let's not forget Glenn Janssens. He is entered with his powerful 911 SC in the Historic BRC.

As promised, the spectacle will be very varied in the 60th edition of the ConXioN Omloop van Vlaanderen. The absent are wrong, both among participants and spectators. For the participants, we also mention that an advantageous registration rate is applicable until 15 August.

The detailed programme, competition rules and online entry form are available on the website www.omloopvanvlaanderen.be.

(Intro photo: Steve Fernandes, leader in the TER; photo Loïc Nautet - Photo below: Chris Debyser in the 2018 Omloop van Vlaanderen; photo Lorenz Lefere)