Stefaan Stouf and Joris Erard double winners of the Legend Boucles!- full results 05.02.2023: The Legend Boucles @ Bastogne is a very special, different and demanding event. The 2023 edition was no exception, quite the contrary! With an impressive list of withdrawals and constant twists and turns, the scenario was once again improbable. An

The Legend Boucles @ Bastogne is a very special, different and demanding event. The 2023 edition was no exception, quite the contrary!



With an impressive list of withdrawals and constant twists and turns, the scenario was once again improbable. And just like in 2011, Stefaan Stouf and Joris Erard came in to double the prize money of Belgium's biggest rally exclusively for vintage cars...



The list of favourites for the Legend Boucles @ Bastogne 2023 was certainly full! But from the very first kilometres of Saturday's stage, the skimming began. One after the other, Fred Caprasse (Ford Escort Mk2, engine), Ghislain de Mévius (Ford Escort Mk2, puncture) and Marc Duez (Ford Escort Mk2, brakes) lost time, and even all their illusions in the case of the first named. Meanwhile, François Delecour (Ford Escort Mk2) signed the first scratch of the weekend, quickly overtaken by Cédric Cherain (Ford Escort Mk2) in the general classification.



At midday on Saturday, it was a surprise when Delecour withdrew from the race, as his Escort was suffering from injection problems. Olivier Cartelle (Ford Escort Mk2), who was 3rd in the provisional overall classification, was betrayed by an ignition coil on the link leading to the last RT of the day. In the meantime, Bernard Munster (Porsche 911) had to change his gearbox, the beginner Tom Boonen (Porsche 911) suffered from a clutch problem, while Frédéric François (Ford Escort Mk2) also fell victim to his gearbox!



Result: Cédric Cherain was a solid leader on Saturday evening ahead of Stefaan Stouf (Ford Escort Mk1) and Christophe Daco (Ford Escort Mk2).



Although the Sunday stage started with the cancellation of RT11 for safety reasons, Cherain seemed to manage his lead perfectly. Until RT13 in Sainte-Ode, where the rear axle of his Escort Mk2 broke after a jump!

As Olivier Cartelle didn't start again on Sunday morning and Patrick Snijers, the public's darling at the wheel of his impressive Chevrolet Corvette C3 Stingray, was conspicuous by his absence at the moment of the restart, the group of strong men of these Legend Boucles melted away like snow in the sun, while the weather continued to be unpleasant, with the cold, rain and wind fighting for the lead.



In these conditions, Stefaan Stouf and Joris Erard did not miss the opportunity to double their win in the event, adding a second victory twelve years after the first. A specialist of the Ford Escort Mk1, of which his car is undoubtedly one of the best in Europe, the driver from Ostend, who was unlucky last year, confirmed this weekend that he remains one of the great specialists of historic rallies in XXL format!



The last stage was really tricky, and we were afraid of reliving the puncture of last year," commented Stefaan Stouf at the last TRC. There were some big names at the start, but if you want to win, you have to finish first! We avoided any nonsense throughout the weekend. Winning the Legend Boucles twice is good for the record. It's a very famous rally and to win it again twelve years later is very nice...".



The ultimate proof of the unpredictable side of the Legend Boucles @ Bastogne, while we thought the top 3 overall was fixed, the last RT, the 22 kilometres of Lunch Garden Libramont, saw Guino Kenis and Bjorn Vanoverschelde (BMW 325i E30) bring out the heavy artillery, to sign an anthology time allowing him to take the best on the Escort Mk2 of Christophe Daco and Emile Breittmayer! It was magical...



The special was 22 kilometres long, but for me it could have been 40," smiled Guino Kenis at the end of the effort. We decided to finish the event strongly, and I am happy with the result! Never give up!



Having suffered a puncture midway through this final special stage, Christophe Daco slipped from 2nd to 3rd place... for only 3 small points! Now co-driven by Steven Spittaels, the citizen of Léglise nevertheless confirmed his podium of last year. To hope for a result in Bastogne, you also need to be successful", Daco analysed. We have to take care of the mechanics and pamper the mechanics, who do a lot of work during such a weekend.



As for Emile Breittmayer, he failed to finish at the foot of the podium, but he was above all satisfied to pass the podium with an intact car. I have never really had the opportunity to drive on such a surface before, and this last stage was totally crazy", commented the young driver. We were in the way all the time, but we didn't make any mistakes! What an event!"  



Excellent performance by Sébastien Incardona (Ford Escort Mk2) and his co-driver Christophe Poës. Author of a trajectory deviation in the second passage of La Roche-en-Ardenne on Saturday afternoon, Incardona never gave up, which translates into an absolute top 5!



It was finally Ghislain de Mévius who completed the final top 6, after being the fastest in Lunch Garden Libramont. A nice consolation for the G Rally Team driver after the puncture at the beginning of the event and the difficulties encountered throughout the first day at the wheel of a car with altered behaviour.





As for the Frenchmen Eric Mauffrey and Anne Brahy (Ford Escort Mk2), they were able to taste the specificities and difficulties of the Legend Boucles @ Bastogne, finishing in 7th position. I've always had a weakness for difficult events, and frankly, in Bastogne, it's very difficult," explained Mauffrey on Sunday lunchtime. In France, there are sometimes two corners that are not 'clean' on a stage. Here, there are not even two that have more grip than the others! What a course!"



The French duo was ahead of Fred Bouvy and Jean-Louis Hottelet (Ford Escort Mk2), who didn't give up until the last meter, Johnny Delhez and Eddy Gully (Ford Escort Mk2), who were very proud to have made it into the top 10, but also Nicolas Blerot and Melissa Poncin (Peugeot 205 GTi), who were impressively comfortable with their lioness.



Amongst the final victims of the event, John Wartique and Vincent Duchesne (Ford Escort Mk1) were the authors of a trajectory deviation in the final RT, during which they had decided to increase the pace. The result: a car that was blocked for several minutes and a slide to 13th place overall behind Christophe De Leeuw and Rutger Govaerts (Opel Ascona A), but also Olivier Breittmayer - Emile's father - and Pierre Sibille (Ford Escort Mk1).




Blerot dazzling in 'Youngtimers



Victims of a broken wheel stud on Saturday evening, while they were leading the 'Youngtimers' category, Charles Blerot and Antoine Dauby (BMW 325i E30) went into overdrive on Sunday to climb to the top of the standings, repeating their victory of 2022.



The Bavarian duo got the better of the impressive Opel Omega 3000 of Stéphane Hubin and Eric Defourny, who now know where they stand. And they are determined to do everything in their power to win next year. The BMW 320i E30 of Simon and Paul Puype completed the final top 3.




Puncture for Van Hove, victory for Magerotte



There was also a bounce in the Challenger class, where the Alfa Romeo GTV6 of Dimitri Van Hove and Lionel Windeshausen, which was on its way to victory, suffered a puncture in the final RT!



This was all it took for other regional drivers, in this case Michael Magerotte and Arnaud Hennuy, to impose their Ford Escort Mk2 ahead of the Mk1 version of Jancôme Theis and Laurent Perrée, who came back from nowhere after the penalty they received the day before for having crossed a Slow Zone too quickly.



The podium is completed by Gaëtan Monseur and David Hanquet (BMW 325i E30), too happy with their debut in the category at an average speed of 80 km/h. The unfortunate Van Hove and Windeshausen failed to finish in 5th position, behind Bruno and Florent Nielen (BMW 325i E30).





Schoonbroodt and Gehlen in tribute to Joseph Lambert



In the 'Classic 65', the increase of the average speed made it difficult for most of the crews, especially when Slow Zones were used. It was therefore necessary to attack to hope to win. Already leaders on Saturday evening, Gaëtan Schoobroodt and François Gehlen (Ford Escort Mk1) confirmed their leadership on Sunday, thus paying a superb tribute to Joseph Lambert, who left us just a few days ago...



It was Joseph who taught me everything about this discipline", commented Gaëtan Schoonbroodt on the McAulife Square. This windscreen tribute to him was an initiative of all his relatives. This victory is for him, even if I won't be able to send him an e-mail to tell him about our race, as I did many times in the past...".



As the tradition goes, the gaps remained very small from one end of the race to the other. Eric Gengou and Didier Gathy (Volvo 142 S) took the silver medal, keeping ahead of Claude Ninane and Christophe Simon (Opel Kadett C), who were only too happy with their podium finish when they claimed a top 10.



Frenchmen Christophe Baillet and Pierre Colliard (Ford Escort Mk2) failed just outside the top 3, satisfied to have reached the end, ahead of Michael Weiller and Anne Meunier (BMW 1602), Benoît and Denis Regnier (BMW 323i), Michel Gillard and Jennifer Hugo (BMW 323i), as well as Frenchman Christophe Berteloot, associated with Baptiste Gengoux (Porsche 911).






Duel in the 'Classic 50



The 'Classic 50' was an intense battle between two people who like each other and who had a lot of fun competing for the victory. Last year's winners, Dominique Dufrasne and Isabelle Dogné (BMW 323i) had the last word against Patrice Simon and Christian Bernard (Porsche 924).



The top 3 was completed by Boris and Arthur Vinette (BMW 2002 Tii), who got the better of the Saab 99 of Thierry and Michael Demortier, as well as the Renault 5 Alpine of Rik Dumortier and Pablo Cracco.



The final word will go to Tom Boonen, who drove his first ever rally in the BMA Porsche 911 SC RS this weekend. "Of all the things I've done in motorsport, this was the most fun. I really enjoyed it..."




Curtain on the Legend Boucles @ Bastogne 2023, which was once again a popular success. Can't wait for the next part...     





Legend'-'Youngtimers'-'Challenger' rankings: https://lbb2023.jbtc.be/



Classic 65' & 'Classic 50' rankings: https://lbbc2023.jbtc.be/
 



-Vincent Franssen - photos R.A.C. Spa / Letihon.be