No sixth victory for Verschueren in Kortrijk rally

Vincent Verschueren won the last five editions and seemed to be planning to add another victory this year. After the first loop of four stages, he steadily built up his lead, although the first two fastest times go to Niels Reynvoet. It was immediately a harbinger of an exciting duel because Reynvoet and Verschueren divided the scratches for almost the entire rally. Only Melissa Debackere could occasionally put her foot next to the two East Flemings. She won two KP’s and after the second loop she was in third place, 10 seconds behind Verschueren and 7 seconds behind Reynvoet. The battle for victory eventually turned into a battle of seconds. In the final phase, Reynvoet had to deal with some hindrance from the crashed 0-car, but the Zingem driver eventually took the lead with a 14-second lead. Debackere finished third at 26 seconds, Vanneste is fourth at over a minute.