For the first time in his rally career, Jos Verstappen has clinched a victory in a Dutch rally. The father of Max Verstappen crossed the finish line first at the Hellendoorn Rally, beating his closest competitor, Bernhard ten Brinke.
Verstappen made his rally debut in 2021 at the Drenthe Rally and has since won numerous awards. However, his latest victory is particularly special as it marks his first win on Dutch soil. Verstappen senior doesn’t often participate in rallies in the Netherlands, but he made an exception for the Hellendoorn Rally.
Thrilling Until the End
Max Verstappen’s father drew quite a crowd, and these fans were immediately treated to a lot of racing action. A thrilling battle took place between Max Verstappen and last year’s winner, Bernhard ten Brinke. Both men drove the race in a Skodia Fabia RS Rally2. In the end, Verstappen came out on top, winning with a lead of 5.5 seconds over Ten Brinke.
“Fantastic!” Verstappen reacts after his victory in the Hellendoorn Rally. “We had to concentrate fully ten times today and drive to the limit. We had some luck and the cooperation with Renaud (Jamoul, Verstappen’s co-pilot) was great.” Verstappen enjoyed the race in Hellendoorn, but was not immediately sure that he would also take the victory here. “Bernhard ten Brinke has a lot of experience and provided great opposition. It remained exciting until the last test, everything was still open. We had to keep pushing, but we succeeded.”
