TOM HEINDRICHS: “FIRST JUNIOR ERC PODIUM ON GRAVEL"

Competing in a rally he had never contested before and on a surface - gravel - where his experience was limited, Tom Heindrichs and hs co-driver Jonas Schmitz secured an impressive second place in the Junior ERC category at the Bauhaus Royal Rally of Scandinavia. Driving the official Opel Corsa Rally4, the RACB National Team representative began his European campaign with a strong points haul and even set a fastest stage time in his class. A promising sign for the future.

Tom Heindrichs’ Junior ERC campaign got off to a brilliant start this weekend in Sweden. On the stages around Karlstad - where the Rally Sweden has written some of the most memorable chapters in WRC history during its winter editions - the RACB National Team driver delivered an outstanding performance.

“Going into this event, my goal was simply to score some points and gain experience. But as they say, appetite comes with eating… As the kilometres went by, I became more ambitious,” the Belgian explained at the finish.

Very quickly, Tom Heindrichs placed his official Opel Corsa Rally4 among the front-runners in the category.

“However, we took virtually no risks,” he emphasized. “It was extremely important to reach the finish and build up my experience on gravel. I was very cautious in the rough sections and made sure not to cut corners where there was a high risk of punctures.”

Overall, Tom and Jonas were very satisfied with the outcome:

“Timo Schulz, who won the category, was competing in this event for the third time. He had already driven some of these stages before, whereas we were discovering the route and our gravel-driving experience was limited. Finishing just 16.7 seconds behind him over nearly 190 kilometres of timed stages feels very special.

This rally was probably one of the most difficult events of the season, and we even managed to set a fastest stage time in our category on Sunday morning. The overall result is therefore very positive: we learned a great deal on the Swedish gravel while also scoring valuable championship points.

I’m already looking forward to the next Junior ERC round, the Rally di Roma Capitale, at the beginning of July, where we’ll be back on asphalt.”