ERC ; Loix offre sa première victoire à la Skoda Fabia R5 à Ypres / Loix gives Škoda Fabia R5 maiden ERC win in Ypres

Freddy Loix a su effacer ses 30 secondes de retard pour inscrire sa 10e victoire au Rallye d’Ypres Kenotek by CID LINES, offrant ainsi à la Skoda Fabia R5 des débuts couronnés de réussite.

Copiloté par Johan Gitsels, Loix a su adapter son style de conduite pour compenser un manque de grip avec sa nouvelle voiture. En difficulté à chaque jonction serrée, il était pourtant pressenti comme un des grands favoris… Loix pointait en 5^e position après sept spéciales, à 25,8 secondes  du leader. Son premier temps scratch, le Belge l’a réalisé sur l’ES9. Et progressivement il va réduire l’écart qui le séparait de ses adversaires. La victoire fut assurée quand Craig Breen s’est retiré dans la 12^e spéciale. Loix a également profité des ennuis rencontrés par Stéphane Lefebvre, victime d’une crevaison sur cette même section, et par le leader Bryan Bouffier, contraint de s’arrêter pour changer de pneu dans l’ES15. Cette victoire est aussi synonyme de triomphe en ERC Asphalt Masters.

« Nous n’étions pas très rapides au début. Vu qu’il s’agissait d’une nouvelle voiture, nous avions besoin de nous habituer, a déclaré Loix.Je n’étais pas forcément en confiance avec les changements de direction mais nous avons travaillé dur avec le team et étape par étape nous l’avons fait ! Gagner le Rallye d’Ypres pour une 10^e fois  est quelque chose d’assez spécial. Pour un pilote de 40 ans, face à tous ces jeunes pilotes, ça n’est pas si mal. Ca restera un des moments forts de ma carrière. »

Bouffier a réalisé une très jolie prestation sur sa Citroën DS3 R5 et a su résister au retour de Loix, menant le classement avec 1,4 seconde d’avance à l’entame de de l’ES15. Malgré ce bon rythme, il perd l’équivalent de deux minutes dans un changement de pneus à la mi-spéciale. Il terminera néanmoins 2^e à 1’27’’5.

Vincent Verschueren a pu enfin conjurer le mauvais sort à Ypres en se classant 3^e de son épreuve nationale. Le Belge était un peu tendu sur la fin puisque sa Citroën DS3 R5 n’avait plus de première vitesse. Mais il n’a dévoilé cette défaillance qu’à la fin de la dernière spéciale de crainte que ses rivaux en profitent pour l’attaquer et qu’il ne puisse pas être en mesure de se défendre.

Freddy Loix came from almost 30 seconds behind to score a sensation 10th victory on the Kenotek by CID LINES Ypres Rally, and in doing so gives the ŠKODA Fabia R5 victory on its FIA European Rally Championship debut.

Co-driven by Johan Gitsels, Loix had to adapt his driving style to make up for a lack of mechanical grip with his new BMA-run car, which struggled to find the required grip coming out of the many tight T-junctions. Having been tipped as pre-event hot favourite, Loix was fifth overnight, 25.8 seconds behind the leader after seven stages. His first of five stage wins was only registered on SS9. But Loix gradually closed the gap on the cars ahead, and victory was assured when Craig Breen retired after SS12, Stéphane Lefebvre picked up a puncture on the same stage and leader Bryan Bouffier was forced to stop to change a puncture on SS15. Loix also scored maximum ERC Asphalt Masters points.

“We started not so quick, with a new car that we had to get used to,” said Loix. “It was not such a good feeling to start off with changing direction, but we worked very hard as a team and step-by-step we did it. To win the Ypres Rally for a tenth time is pretty special. For a 45-year old driver, twentieth time here, against all these young drivers, is not so bad! It is a highlight of my career.”

Bouffier had driven brilliantly in his Citroën DS3 R5, and despite the attacked by Loix held the lead by 1.4 seconds entering SS15. Such had been his pace, that even though he lost two minutes with his mid-stage tyre change, he still finished second, 1m 27.5s behind.

Vincent Verschueren put previous Ypres Rally bad luck behind him to finish third on his home round of the ERC. He had a nervous run to the finish, as his Citroën DS3 R5 had lost first gear – although he didn’t reveal that until the end of the final stage, as he didn’t want his rivals to know.

1		5	F. LOIX (BEL) J. GITSELS (BEL) SKODA FABIA R5		2:21:29.9	-:- -:-
2		4	B. BOUFFIER (FRA) T. DE LA HAYE (FRA) CITROËN DS3 R5	T	2:22:57.4	+1:27.5 +1:27.5
3		10	V. VERSCHUEREN (BEL) V. HOSTENS (BEL) CITROËN DS3 R5	T	2:23:32.4	+2:02.5 +35.0
4		9	B. MAGALHÃES (PRT) H. MAGALHÃES (PRT) PEUGEOT 208 T16		2:24:23.0	+2:53.1 +50.6
5		3	S. LEFEBVRE (FRA) S. PREVOT (BEL) PEUGEOT 208 T16	T	2:24:31.8	+3:01.9 +8.8
6		19	J. ORSÁK (CZE) D. SMEIDLER (CZE) SKODA FABIA S2000	T	2:24:50.7	+3:20.8 +18.9
7		12	J. TARABUS (CZE) D. TRUNKÁT (CZE) SKODA FABIA S2000	T	2:25:54.9	+4:25.0 +1:04.2
8		20	D. DUQUESNE (BEL) F. CUVELIER (BEL) FORD FIESTA R5	T	2:27:16.1	+5:46.2 +1:21.2
9		14	M. MCCORMACK (GBR) J. O'REILLY (IRL) SKODA FABIA S2000		2:27:18.1	+5:48.2 +2.0
10		17	D. VANNESTE (BEL) E. SNAET (BEL) FORD FIESTA R5	T	2:27:18.2 [0:20]	+5:48.3 +0.1

Ex-Works Aston Martin leads the way at Bonhams' Goodwood sale

Some 90 cars will go under the gavel at Bonhams’ Goodwood Festival of Speed sale this Friday, held in the environs of Lord March’s stately home. We’ve perused the two-part catalogue to bring you our favourites…

Spearheading the sale are the Aston Martin Works Ulster LM19 and the Porsche RS-61 Spyder, the latter owned by Sir Stirling Moss and, appropriately, warranting its own separate catalogue. Eligible for almost every event on the classic calendar, the Aston presents an extremely rare opportunity to purchase one of four LM19 'Team Cars', considered the ultimate specification Ulster. With Le Mans, Mille Miglia, RAC Tourist Trophy and Grand Prix history, it’s estimated at a hefty £1.6-2.2m. 

Big hitters

While the Porsche’s competition background is perhaps not as prestigious, it was prominent and extremely successful in the hands of Bob Holbert across America in the early 1960s. And being the final car in which Moss raced before his retirement in 2011, we can’t imagine auctioneer James Knight will have to work the room too hard to reach the car’s £1.7m lower estimate. 

Endangered species

Believe it or not, there are no particularly notable Ferraris to speak of – we're sure this will be rectified come Monterey. Of the selection on offer, we like the black matching-numbers Dino 246GT (£250,000-300,000) and, though a little untidy (and on the wrong wheels), the right-hand-drive 308 GTB Vetroresina (estimated at £60,000-80,000) could be a good buy given the glassfibre cars' current buoyancy in the market.

Perfect Porsches

Deemed an entirely ‘perfect’ design by its owner, the ‘father of pop art’ Richard Hamilton, the black-over-black Porsche 911 S 2.7 is about as good as it gets for a non-RS 911, reflected in its £250,000-300,000 estimate. Other Porsches that took our eye include James May’s 911 Carrera 3.2(£28,000-34,000), and a two-owner 930 3.3 Turbo boasting its original paint and interior, plus a scant 13,000km on the clock (£100,000-130,000). 

Get involved...

If you were taken with our stunning gallery of the International Bugatti Meeting in Provence last week, the 1929 Type 40 ‘Grand Sport’ (£120,000-150,000) is a potential entry for next year’s rally in Switzerland. Given the extremely positive reception the rare, unmolested Morris Mini Minor (est. £6,000-10,000) received on our social media channels, we simply had to include it here.

The ultimate soft-top Aston?

Billed by Bonhams as ‘the ultimate soft-top Aston Martin’ (though we’re not entirely sure we’d agree), the 1988 V8 Vantage Volante shows a scant 14k miles, and has been maintained by Aston Martin Works service since 2011. Resplendent in tasteful Tungsten Silver, it’s estimated at a healthy £200,000-250,000. Elsewhere, there’s an ultra-rare Mercedes CLK GTR Roadster (£1.4-1.8m), a clearly cared-for Audi Quattro Sport (£200,000-250,000), and an ex-Autodelta – though not matching numbers – Alfa Romeo 2000 GTAm (£220,000-300,000).

Proceeds of crime

Finally, we must mention the four Ferraris (and one Rolls-Royce) consigned by the National Crime Agency to be sold under the Proceeds of Crime Act, most notably the c.2004 Enzo (est. £600,000-800,000). Though elements of its history are confusing (perhaps inevitable given its dubious owner?), it shows just 1,285 miles on the clock and has recently been serviced. Tempted? 

Photos: Bonhams

Bonhams' Goodwood Festival of Speed sale takes place this Friday at the Goodwood Festival of Speed near Chichester. You can find the full catalogue listed in the Classic Driver Market. 

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What not to miss at the 2015 Goodwood Festival of Speed

Goodwood-bound for the Festival of Speed this weekend? Here’s what not to miss at Lord March’s garden-party-like-no-other…

Derek Bell reunited with his Le Mans-winning Mirage

It’s been 40 years since Derek Bell scored his first of five victories at Le Mans, driving the Gulf Mirage GR8 alongside Jacky Ickx. Given the ‘Flat-out and Fearless’ theme at this year’s Festival, we can’t think of a more apt event to celebrate. Derek will drive the car – which, save for a cracked exhaust and serious vibration from the engine, tackled the gruelling race without fault – on all three days.

The Mazda 787B

We were thrilled to hear that Mazda is the featured marque this year. Many don’t realise the Japanese company’s rich motorsport heritage, so it will be great to see treasures that rarely appear in Europe brought over from Japan especially for the Festival. Already confirmed is the rotary-engined 787B, a car almost as famous for its distinctive wail as its Le Mans victory. Make sure you’re trackside when it makes its runs up the hill. Oh, and bring some earplugs.

Debuts galore

As is traditional, many manufacturers choose the impossibly narrow, straw-bale-lined Goodwood hillclimb to debut their latest wares (completely illogical, isn’t it?). Among those already announced is the Morgan EV3, a targa-topped Singer, the Aston Martin Vulcan and DB9 GT, the McLaren 570S, and the Ferrari 488GTB. Perhaps most exciting is that both McLaren and Ferrari’s track-only halo hypercars, the P1 GTR and FXX K, will contest the hill. We’re sure someone will have the stopwatches running. 

Forest Rally Stage

We know it’s a long trek up the hill, but if you do one thing this weekend, make sure you head up to the Forest Rally Stage. There’s nothing quite like hiking deep into the woods to find a spot from which to watch rally cars of all ages slithering around a chalky track at full tilt. What’s more, the tree cover acts as a natural roof, meaning the exhaust bark, turbo whooshes and gunshot-like backfires are all emphasised in a cacophonous orgy of noise, colour and dust. You’ll discover exactly what we mean…

100-year-old FIAT S76 on the hill

The ultra-technical Goodwood hillclimb will this year be tackled by the unofficial fastest car in the world… from 1911. Featured as part of a new class named ‘Earth-shattering Edwardian leviathans’, the monstrous 28-litre Fiat S76 was the Italian marque’s weapon to defeat the ‘Blitzen’ Benzes’ flying mile and kilometre records. The ‘Beast of Turin’, as it's otherwise known, has been subject to a 10-year restoration and is sure to be a crowd-pleaser this weekend, as it thunders up the hill.

Seven (of eight) Mercedes 300 SLRs

Stirling Moss and and Denis Jenkinson’s near-100mph-average Mille Miglia victory in 1955 is now automotive lore, but what of the car in which they achieved it? Considered by Moss to be the finest sports car he ever drove, seven of the eight Mercedes 300 SLRs built will be present at Goodwood this weekend to celebrate 60 years since that momentous win – a coup only Lord March could pull off. And yes, Moss will be reunited with ‘722’, in what is sure to be one of the moments of the weekend. 

Photos: Goodwood Motor Circuit, Mercedes-Benz, Tim Brown, The Derek Bell Collection, Amy Shore.