57. Renties Ypres Rally Belgium 2021
WRC #8 • WRC2 #8 • JWRC #4 • WRC3 #8 • RGT Cup #4 • Belgium #3 • Belgium Junior #3 • Clio Trophy Belgium #2
13. 8. – 15. 8. 2021, Ypres • Superstage • asphalt 295.78 km - (cancelled 9.45 km) • total distance including road sections - 951.89 km • Other years
Info
SS20
"I mean, we had a lot of pressure coming here, but I felt quite comfortable all the weekend and I could rely on my team and the car. It was a pleasure for me to give this first win to Martijn here in Belgium. It should have come earlier, but we were unlucky. It feels good here now."
"All the ingredients are around us. It's just a pleasure to drive one of these cars, I know I always bang on about it. Thanks to everybody for a top job this weekend. I've enjoyed every second of it."
"I am feeling really good. We can clearly see that there are two guys who have done the event before and they were really fast. But I am really proud that we could be the best of the guys who were here for the first time."
"Disappointed, of course. There was a big battle all the way through, but today it didn't work out. I was trying, but I just couldn't deliver the times today. We obviously need to have a look at why there was a big drop today, but it's not ideal."
"I am feeling really good. We can clearly see that there are two guys who have done the event before and they were really fast. But I am really proud that we could be the best of the guys who were here for the first time."
"I don't know if it's work that we need to plan. For sure, we have been quite unlucky with the conditions of the roads and I didn't expect it to be so tough. The set-up was not the best at the start of the rally, but we came away from here with some more points which is good."
"It's quite complicated. It's tough, but that's like it is."
"It wasn't a good weekend for sure. My mistake this time. It was hard to find a rhythm after that, just not really being quite where I wanted to be. The car's in one piece, and we managed to learn the conditions which is nice."
"I don't know, I didn't touch anything. I have no idea."
"Honestly, I feel like I have just won the world. I want to thank my team and my co-driver Alex, it was an amazing weekend for me and for the championship. It's a good result.
changing a puncture
"Very special. I really wish my father was here - he passed away last year. He was a big rally fan and it would have been very good for him to see this."
"It's very nice. I didn't need to push anymore, but just for fun it was so nice. It was a very good weekend for us. We made some nice steps and we're happy to be on the finish."
"Not an easy rally and it didn't go how we wanted, but I am happy that the car is here. It's sad for Oliver, but I am happy we are here."
"There was a reason - I can't tell you, I'm sorry, Okay, we are here and it was important to make the finish."
power steering issue
technical issue
SS19
"It's one more stage to go, and I am looking forward to that one. It's going to be a tough one, but I hope we can secure the first win for us together this season. To do that in Belgium would be really nice."
"I was trying to back off everywhere and be as neat and tidy as we could. One more to go."
"We have to just go as hard as we can in the power stage. Disappointed obviously to lose that again."
"I started to have quite a lot of understeer, much more than the first pass. It was not such a clean run, so I'm not happy."
"For sure we have to try and finish this rally well. It was not such an easy weekend so far."
"These ones are quite tricky. Generally it has been quite nice with the stages all very compact and close to each other."
"I think the only reason we went a little bit quicker is because the road is a lot dirtier than it was this morning. I think after my Friday exit I'll just make sure the car comes home in one piece."
"It was good. To finish on such an amazing track is enjoyable."
SS18
"I tried to avoid the cuts and the stones. I had a clean run through, but I was quite careful."
"I'm very happy to do a clean stage. That was very silly what I did this morning, I should have been so much more alert there, but we survived."
"Nothing in particular, I was just too wild in the previous one and tried to tidy it up, but obviously not pushing hard enough now. We'll keep going."
"It was quite good. A really difficult stage, but I just tried to be clean. Let's see what Elfyn does, but I think for me it was a quite okay run."
"We will see. Unfortunately, I had a puncture on the first one, and now we have to focus on the power stage. It's a special place - of course on the track it's a bit slow with this kind of car, but it's nice to be here."
"To drive in this place would be on the bucket list, but I would say in something with 500 more horsepower would be a bit better."
"It was very tricky. I was very, very cautious, but again, there was a lot of pollution on the road, so you've got to be careful in there."
"At the beginning it's going to be tricky. You have a lot of mud parts, so even when you are on the road it's quite slippery. Very nice."
SS17
"The feeling is good, the car is working fine. I loved the bit on the circuit - the grip was quite high, and it was enjoyable to drive."
"I just got caught out - we have to be very careful."
"I had a bit of a moment at the start and lost my momentum. A bit tricky on the circuit, I was not able to lean so much on the car. Not easy."
"It's still not too much. Let's see what we can do compared to Elfyn. I tried to drive well, it was quite a tricky stage, but I think it's quite okay."
"A lot of time lost. There was a section which was much narrower in recce. They resurfaced it and made it wider, so it was hard to estimate. I went slightly wide."
"It's about doing our job, and doing our job is driving."
"Pouhon's not flat in these WRC cars! It was a nice little stage to be fair, I enjoyed that one."
"It's an amazing place, so I am really happy to be able to continue today."
SS16
"I have done 85km without power steering now, and I tell you, it's absolutely crazy. The junctions are the worst! It's extremely hard, I have to say. It's a shame we lost a good position in the overall standings, but the main thing is for Hyundai to be in a good position in WRC2, and we are leading it."
"Pleased to finish the day. We knew it was going to be a challenging day and there is one more to come tomorrow in a different area. The car is working well and I am happy with the performance so far. Of course, it's always nice when you go flat-out, but we need to manage it and we need to be clever."
"It's been a nice day. A little bit sad this is the end of this part of the rally, but it's a new day tomorrow. Lots of kilometres and some new stages, but I am super happy with my performance. We've taken another big step."
"It was still good to do all the day. It's a new rally and I need to learn the stages. That's the best we can do at the moment.
"I am not giving up that easily. The weather [tomorrow] will be tricky and the stages are completely different to what we have here. Let's see, it's going to be tight."
"We almost did the same yesterday. I think we were closer to him in general, it's just a shame we had one really bad one. It's close."
"I am pleased. It's just frustrating to see we lose so much on the first pass. The grip is so low on the first pass that I can not do anything. When I have a bit of grip on the second pass I enjoy it much more."
"Just can't get stage mode. All the buttons seem to be working, just not the important one! I'm not sure, but we're at the end of the day now."
SS15
"All okay..."
"The Toyotas are in a big fight between themselves, but we have to control the speed. I had another clean run."
"They're (Toyota) obviously fighting their own battle between themselves now, so it's hugely important that we keep it on the road now. It's a good rhythm."
"It was quite clean, but it was quite slippery with a lot of gravel in a few places. I was not daring enough I think."
"We had a moment actually in quite a fast place. It just stepped out on a bit of gravel and took quite a bit of hanging on to."
"It's okay. I think the afternoon loop is going well. When I have grip, I enjoy much more!"
"We clipped something halfway through the stage and I was asking Chris about what I'd hit."
SS14
"This one was a little more dirty, but I had a clean run through. We did some changes on the car in service, and I did some adaptations now before this one to get a little bit more grip. It seems to be working better."
"Of course, the main target is to bring the two cars home. But the other side is saying that Dikkebus is a stage I've done so many times and I don't know whether we'll be back here again. I've got a big PlayStation in front of me, and I'm just trying to enjoy it."
"The stages are nice, especially the second loop with the tyre grip. For sure, it's more enjoyable."
"It's a nice fight between us three. Everybody is really close all the time, so I am just enjoying the fight. It's going quite well."
"I didn't have a great stage. I lost some time on the first corner when I went a bit wide."
"I keep the same. For sure, the conditions are better than the morning. This one I am not so sure what the time is going to be."
"I made some changes at service and they seemed to be better. On one of the jumps, I don't know what came in the car, but it seemed like sparks!"
SS13
"It's not really like running first on the road anywhere else. There's a very fine layer of dust which does kill the grip, but the grip was much better."
off road
engine issue
"A good clean run. I really enjoyed it because I don't need to take any risks. We need to control the speed and the only thing that's important is to get big manufacturers' points from the weekend."
"It's tricky. I'm just trying not to make any mistakes, and keeping the car on the road is a difficult task in its own right. We'll get through."
"I have no idea why I am losing so much. The feeling was good and I can not do much more."
"I'm just focussing on doing the best job we can."
"I tried to drive well. This morning I was not happy with my pace, but now the road conditions are better, and I had a good stage. Let's see what happens."
SS12
"Happy, but the afternoon will be as difficult, if not even more difficult with all the gravel. We are following our plan. I felt a little more comfortable because the grip was more constant. We are going to do some small changes for the afternoon loop and carry on."
"I was very cautious at the start of the stage. Last time I was driving around kerbs I took a wheel off. We're just towing the party line now."
"Every stage you do is a stage to learn more. You get the knowledge, but to get the knowledge you need to do the stages."
"I tried to push a bit, but the feeling was not so good. On the last junction before the finish I lost maybe 1sec going wide, but otherwise it was good."
"It was alright, but it’s a difficult little stage. There's a few places where I just hesitated and that cost a lot down the straights."
"Not too bad, but still missing a little bit. Not a great start position for me, and we missed one stage also. We will have to see what we can do this afternoon."
"We had the issues all morning. We swapped things around then and I could hear Chris but he couldn't hear me."
SS11
power steering issue
puncture
"I need to train my arms! Okay, we just have to survive."
"We will continue in our rhythm. So far the feeling is okay, so we need to carry on."
Quite okay. Lots of gravel in places and I think it was getting worse with every car, but we're still here and still in the fight."
"If you want to stay alive, you need to be focussed. The stages are fast and bumpy and tricky."
"It was just a tricky stage. I tried to push, but there is many tricky places, so I tried to be wise also and not take any huge risks. Not a good stage for us."
"The feeling was okay. A bit more bumpy than expected and I was caught out a little by the car bottoming out quite a lot."
"It's been a difficult start to this one for me. We had cold tyres after waiting for a few minutes and the start and it's very fast."
"I had intercom issues all morning. We had to drive safely but I can't hear anything."
SS10
"It was difficult to start with the cold tyres. I think this stage was quite tricky with a lot of grip changing, but it was an okay run."
"At the beginning of the stage, there was a high-speed corner and some bumps. We knew this would be a bad corner, but at the same time you can go pretty high-speed because the angle is not so tight. I took it flat, and when I landed I couldn't turn because of some kick-back I felt from the steering. I went wide and there was a big ditch. In this rally there is no chance to make this kind of mistake."
"The gap is not the issue. The main gap we have to look at is the gap behind Craig. I am maybe avoiding the cuts a little bit too much because I am really afraid about the punctures."
"It was tricky, but I really enjoyed that stage. Dikkebus is the epiphany of the Ypres Rally, so I enjoyed that one and had a nice rhythm."
"Generally it's nothing new. It's just about learning now."
"Tricky. It was difficult to get the rhythm with the cold tyres. Quite a lot of bumps and there.
SS9
"I was happy with my performance, The road was quite slippery, and I didn't take any risks. I had a clean run through, but the road is getting quite dirty as well with a lot of leaves on the road."
"When the wheels were turned I just clipped something. Then the jack was broken, and we couldn't change."
"He physically wasn't in front of me for a long time, but he was flicking up all the dust in the road."
stopped
"It's been okay. Still struggling a bit in the junctions to be honest, but otherwise it's okay."
changed a puncture
"The only thing I can do is try. The feeling was not too bad. Unfortunately Loubet is in a ditch already - I would like to have had more cars in front because we know how much we struggled yesterday."
"He went off after a tight corner. The conditions are very tricky - some Tarmac has no grip at all. I think it's going to be another big day."
off road
SS7
"I pushed like hell in there. It was my best stage on Tarmac ever. It's not too bad."
"I don't know. I think it's a slow puncture and we thought it was better to keep going."
overheated engine?
"I thought I had a good stage. I'm trying the best with what I've got now, and I guess compared to the others it's not terrible."
puncture
puncture
stopped
"I am low on boost, so just lacking general power."
"I am driving quite well, I don't really know so much how to take the time out. Let's see what we can do, I will try to push a bit."
"Another clean run to be honest. I tried to follow the road and stay in the clean line. There were no surprises for me so far, and hopefully it's going to stay like this. Hopefully we can do the next one in the daylight."
"Quite okay this afternoon, I would say better than this morning. The times are just not coming, so we need to look into that."
"In some places, it's shiny in the road, and you have very low sun. It's okay and it was not disturbing me too much. The grip for me the whole afternoon feels higher, so I hope we can keep improving."
SS6
"I enjoyed the stage. I tried to brake a little bit later here and there, but our run the first time was perfect. Just trying not to make any mistakes, and we'll see what we can do."
"I think everything is working well. The problem is my confidence a bit. I am taking care too much, but it’s okay on this kind of rally to take it step-by-step."
"We have some issue with the engine, so we are trying to get through. Luckily it's driving okay, so it's not so bad."
"It's nice. Many places are cleaner now and the grip is higher. That was quite a good stage for me, I can not take much more out of it."
"Some places there is a little more grip than this morning, but generally I had an okay stage. I could have been a bit later on the brakes and maybe more aggressive in the junctions, but it's working like this. There's no need to push more."
"I also thought I had a really good run. My feelings are obviously lying to me!"
SS5
"We're trying. It's still very difficult. The grip is higher in some places, and in other places worse where you have more gravel."
"I think in the fast section, I hit something, but it was on the line."
"That's the trickiest stage for me. So many concrete lips everywhere, and I was for sure dropping a lot of time. I like the next two."
"The gravel crew have been a big help and our relationship is very good, so I can trust them. After Croatia we had a meeting and it's getting and better each rally."
"I have no grip, so we are struggling a bit."
"I was still lacking a bit. In the beginning I was too careful."
"We're trying. It's still very difficult. The grip is higher in some places, and in other places worse where you have more gravel."
"We are trying things. The grip is definitely better for me and in general I see the dust is going away. I have to get the feeling, so let's see what we can do."
SS4
"That was the worst stage of the loop for me. I took some silly references from the R5 car and you need to be much more confident with the aero in some places. It was a nice first loop."
"It has been okay. We didn't have any big mistakes. A bit frustrating about the times, but it comes by experience so it's okay."
off road
"The long stages are quite demanding and in places it is difficult to know where you need to drive and find the junctions. I am quite happy we are here, but it's a challenge to be here the first time."
"I lost too much time in the beginning again, so I am not happy for that, but let's try to improve for the afternoon."
"Very good loop for us. Everything is under control. We could go faster, but there is no need yet - I just want to keep it smooth and clean and enjoy it."
"Not a lot better to be honest. It's difficult to be very comfortable everywhere - the grip is quite unknown and there's a lot happening. It's not been an easy start, but we'll keep trying."
"It hasn't been a very beautiful start for us. I didn't expect to suffer that much being first on the road, but it’s very, very low grip and I struggled to go fast. We have to try and find some solution."
SS3
Off road
"It was a lot smoother. I made some set-up stages which made the car easier to drive. It will be going really well, but then I give away shed loads of seconds with hesitation, so I need to sort that out."
"I didn't think I had a good run. I just tried to be so clean - the last time I was here was in 2013 and 2014. I was just trying to remember where the grip is and where it isn't. So much fun, it's amazing."
off road
"Tyre choice was not a big issue. For me, they are really hard stages and gravel is coming more. In some corners I am not sure on the level of grip."
"It was a clean rhythm. It's difficult and slippery in places, so we are careful."
"I have no idea. The driving is quite good. I think in many places I am on the limit of the grip, but from the pace notes it is difficult. This one I am not too happy with."
"The car is working quite nice. This one is a little trickier, a few grip changes which even I didn't have in my pace notes. The rally is long and we all know how tricky Ypres can be"
"I didn't feel so comfortable in there. Not ideal."
"Not to long, only 2 kilometres. It's a lottery."
puncture
SS2
"I missed the junction. I braked too late on a long left and went straight. It's my mistake, sorry.'
"The first stage was really dirty in the corners, but this one was more clean. I was maybe over-driving on the first one, so I just want to improve and go on the pace."
"That felt pretty smooth in there. Not really taking any risks because there are quite a lot of places to make mistakes."
"I didn't forget how to drive on the black stuff! I love it!"
"It's okay, just taking it quite carefully because they are very tricky stages with a lot of corners.:
"Everything is okay. It was slippery in one place, so I missed one junction and I really struggled with the rhythm after that.
"It's tricky. It feels that we don't have too much grip, and we are sliding a lot."
"The conditions are a little bit different. There was dust in some places, but I had a good clean run. I just want to keep a good rhythm. I was fighting like hell with my glasses - they were slipping all the time! I need to correct that for the next stage."
"If you know these stages, it can make a big difference. It's not just down to that, I seemed to have a pretty decent run, but there are still places I could do better."
"A more clean drive, but the grip is very, very low. A lot of dust on the road, so I really struggled to go faster."
SS1
off road
"It's okay. We did a small mistake at the first junction, and it's still a long weekend."
"I am enjoying, but the road is already really dirty. It's very tricky. The time will be not nice, but we will do our best."
"It's okay. A bit dirty in places, but generally it's not too bad."
"I had a huge bang on a concrete lip that I tried to drive around, and it dropped the rhythm because I was sure I had a puncture. Apart from that it was quite nice."
"It's very tricky and demanding. I really need to get the feeling and experience, otherwise it's easy to go off. To see the time is a bit frustrating because we made no mistakes, but I will try to enjoy and work step-by-step."
"It was a very clean run. There is a lot of dirt coming on the road, some places more than expected, but the car is behaving nice."
"I am happy. Really difficult to be honest, you have to trust the pace notes so much and it's really difficult to remember the stages when you come the first time. I think it was quite a clean run."
"I wanted to do a first clean stage without any mistakes, and we got cleanly through. I am just driving through and trying to keep it in a clean line. The junctions are already getting quite dirty, so the grip is low in some places. I had a good feeling, and we are feeling comfortable."
"It's okay. The grip was a bit better than shakedown, but still quite slippery in some of the junctions."
"Not a very clean stage for us. A couple of small mistakes, and it's very slippery already. Not easy."