At 52, Jos Verstappen continues to pursue his passion for racing, and the same pursuit has finally bore him fruit. Partaking in the 42nd Hellendoorn Rally, the Dutchman was able to secure his first-ever rally win on home turf. Aided by navigator Renaud Jamoul, the former F1 driver was finally able to win the rally in his third time participating in the event.
The entire event was spread across 16 stages, with Verstappen and Jamoul securing victory in 10 of them while driving for Verstappen.com Racing. Stage 16 started on Friday, with the duo comfortably in the lead in their Skoda Fabia RS Rally2 car. However, a flat tire made them lose a lot of time.
Nonetheless, they were still able to complete the job, ending the rally in first place. Overall, they were 5.5 seconds ahead of second-placed Bernhard ten Brinke and Davy Thierie.
Jos Verstappen and his navigator Renaud Jamoul just won the Hellendoorn Rally for https://t.co/Ga9eks3PwF Racing
Jos and Renaud took victory after finishing first in 10 of the 16 stages in the Dutch rally #EHR24 pic.twitter.com/ag9iSL00aB
— Max Verstappen (@VerstappenCOM) September 21, 2024
With 10 stages taking place on the same day, Verstappen senior said he felt “fantastic” after seeing the results. He elaborated they had to stay concentrated through it all as they drove “on the limit” throughout the day.
Working with the 52-year-old for the last two years, Jamoul added the conditions were tricky on the final day. A finish in the dark complicated things further, but they managed to do it.
Having seen his father break his unfortunate streak, Max Verstappen would also be hoping to end his drought. The Dutchman hasn’t won a race since the Spanish GP in June. Starting from P2, the 26-year-old has a great chance of returning to winning ways, especially given Lando Norris’ track record when starting from pole position.
Heading into the race, the three-time champion is confident of having a good outing, particularly owing to his starting position. Coming off the back of an impressive qualifying session, Verstappen Jr. claims there is still a lot that can happen with the Singapore GP being an attritional and chaotic race.
