Flanders success lifts Cherain into second in title chase

i20 N Rally2 crew Cédric Cherain and Damien Withers scored a second win of the Belgian Rally Championship season at the Omloop van Vlaanderen (September 6-7) to revitalise his title challenge with two rounds remaining.

The BMA-run pair took full advantage of misfortune for their chief title rivals on the tricky stages of the Roeselare-based event to take the lead on SS2, but the battle for the top spot still raged for the rest of the opening day. Cherain and Withers dropped back to second before regaining the lead on stage five – the last of the day.

From that point they would hold the lead for the rest of the event, winning seven of the 15 stages on the second day of the contest to stretch their cushion at the top to more than 30 seconds by the end of the rally. An excellent weekend was capped off on the Power Stage, where the i20 N Rally crew went fastest to secure five potentially crucial bonus points.

The weekend leaves Cherain second in the standings with just two events – the Sankt-Vith centred East Belgian Rally, and the Spa Rally – remaining in the season. Both are local events for the driver, leaving his confidence high heading into the decisive rounds.