A challenging day of racing awaits participants in the 63rd A&D Omloop van Vlaanderen today. On the programme is 139 km against the clock, spread over 15 tests in three laps. Jos Verstappen got off to the best start on the first lap and takes over the lead from Niels Reynvoet. It remains an exciting battle as the difference between the two is barely 3"2 seconds. Both Andy Lefevere and Vincent Verschueren had to deal with bad luck so Bjorn Syx enters the top three.
Jos Verstappen, competing in Roeselare for the first time, immediately went on the attack with the fastest time on the first test of the day, KP Houthulst. It puts the Dutchman in the lead of the 63rd A&D Omloop van Vlaanderen. Albeit narrowly, Niels Reynvoet follows at 1/10th of a second. For Vincent Verschueren, the day could not have started worse. The Skoda Fabia Rally2 already lost power after the first corner. Andy Lefevere completes the provisional top 3 at 16"9 from the leader.
Also on the longest stage of the day, KP Passendale, Jos Verstappen recorded the fastest time, leading 4"6 ahead of Niels Reynvoet. Andy Lefevere is not following the leaders' pace, his gap meanwhile counts 20"3 seconds. At 49"5 of the leader follows Bjorn Syx with the Citroën C3 Rally. Quite a good result as the 63rd Omloop van Vlaanderen is only his second race with a 4×4 driven car.
Another fastest time for Jos Verstappen on the third FP of the day, de Ruiter. Niels Reynvoet follows at barely 1 second, Andy Lefevere at 1"5 seconds so there are no changes to note in the top 3. The three leaders ride away from Bjorn Syx who now follows at 57"6 seconds. Our northern neighbours Bernhard Ten Brinke and Roger Hodenius are in an exciting battle for fifth place. The time difference between the two drivers is only 0"7 seconds.
Niels Reynvoet is not giving up yet and takes the fastest time on KP Zilverberg. The gap to leader Jos Verstappen now stands at 3"2 seconds. On Zilverberg we note the second unlucky driver of the day. Andy Lefevere makes a mistake and has to park his VW Polo GTI Rally2 with a broken rear wheel. This moves Bjorn Syx into third place at just under a minute. Bernhard Ten Brinke takes fourth place and seems to be distancing himself from Roger Hodenius. The difference between the two is now 4"4 seconds.
Jos Verstappen closes today's first round with an ex aequo time at KP Zoning. A handsome result for Niels Reynvoet against the former F1 driver with his track experience. The difference between the two ruffians remains barely 3"4 seconds. In provisional third place at 1'2 from the leader follows Bjorn Syx. Bernhard Ten Brinke follows 1'17 from the leader and increases his lead over Roger Hodenius who is 1'22 behind. In places 6 and 7, we find Nicola Stampaert (1'46) and Thibaud Mazuin (1'58). In 8th place overall, Pieter-Jan Maeyaert who leads authoritatively among the historics with his BMW M3. Jimmy D'Hondt and Bert Coene complete the top 10.
Among the tenors, Niels Reynvoet is not yet letting his shoulders drop: "This morning our set-up was too optimistic, so I lost some confidence on a wet track. Between tests we adjusted the set-up a bit and the good feeling came back. I'm going to push a bit more to see if I can still put Jos Verstappen under pressure."
However, the Dutchman is not letting himself get crazy. "You know, winning is always nice, but winning or coming second, it won't change my life. I'll keep riding my pace. It can still be a bit faster..."
Maxime Potty, the championship leader, started again this morning, but he has decided to park the car in the service park for good after this first loop.
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