03 April 2004 - 16:27 Rally Boucles de Spa - Belgium Another win for Pieter Tsjoen

The second round of the Belgian Rally Championship was a big success. Thousands of spectators came to watch the 47th edition of the Boucles de Spa under warm, pleasant weather conditions.

Pieter Tsjoen, who won the first round of the championship fifteen days ago, took another victory this weekend. Tsjoen completely dominated the event at the wheel of his Toyota Corolla WRC, taking 27 stage wins out of 28 stages.

Despite Tsjoen's domination, the battle for the other two places on the podium was exciting. Van de Wauwer (Mitsubishi) and Bruyneel (Toyota) finished in second and third places respectively, in front of two Super 1600 drivers: Larry Cols (Renault Clio) in fourth position and reigning European Rally champion Bruno Thiry in fifth place, now at the wheel of a Citroлn Saxo.

There was also a lot of action in the Group N class. Only six seconds separated Mitsubishi drivers Xavier Bouche (6th) and Chris Van Woensel (7th), while David Sterckx and Bob Colsoul were also very competitive this weekend (although Colsoul had to retire because of mechanical problems).

Hugo GIGUERE
CAPSIS International, [29/03/04 - 22:23]

BOUCLES DE SPA : FINAL RESULTS
1 TSJOEN/CHEVAILLIER, Toyota Corolla WRC 2h27'41"
2 VAN DE WAUWER/RASDOLSKY, Mitsubishi Lancer +5'50"
3 BRUYNEEL/MEERT, Toyota Celica GT4 +6'07"
4 COLS/GODDE, Renault Clio S1600 +7'07"
5 THIRY/GILSOUL, Citroen Saxo S1600 +8'31"
6 BOUCHE/BOURGUIGNON, Mitsubishi Lancer +9'24"
7 VAN WOENSEL/MERTENS, Mitsubishi Lancer +9'30"
8 BODSON/DEJALLE, Audi S2 +11'19"
9 STERCKX/LOPES, Mitsubishi Lancer +12'35"
10 CASIER/MICLOTTE, Fiat Punto S1600 +12'44"
11 TANGHE/SQUEDIN, BMW M3 +14'30"
12 PRINCEN/MARTEAU, Renault Clio +17'15"
13 VERKOOIJEN/BROUWERS, Subaru Impreza WRX +17'20"
14 LHONNAY/ROBERT, Citroen Saxo VTS +20'00"
15 AMOURETTE/MARIE, Peugeot 106 16S +21'23"

CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS
1 TSJOEN Pieter        30   Points
2 VAN DE WAUWER J-P    14   Points
3 BRUYNEEL Dominique   12   Points
4 VAN WOENSEL Chris    11,5 Points
5 COLS Larry            9,5 Points
6 THIRY Bruno           7   Points
7 VAN PARIJS Timothy    6   Points
8 DEBACKERE Melissa     5   Points
9 BOUCHE Xavier         4,5 Points
10 DEFERM Hubert        4   Points