Monteberg Rally 2024 Report

Last weekend Bill Paynter and Andy Hollingham competed on the BP Rally Team’s home event for this year, the Monteberg Rally, netting a superb top twenty finish against tough opposition.

Despite one stage being based in the teams home town of Wijtschate, it would be the first time Bill and Andy had competed on these classic stages. With a jam packed 156 car entry consisting of some of Belgium’s top drivers the team planned for a conservative drive to ensure a finish, and hoped to break into the top 40 by the end of the day.

Heavy downpours on Saturday evening meant that Sunday mornings stages would still have patches of moisture, particularly in the infamous muddy Belgian cuts. The Subaru pair opted for soft compound slicks and headed out for the first morning loop of three stages.

Stage one, Wijtschate, was a baptism of fire. Bill and Andy were surprised by the lack of grip on sections of the stage and also suboptimal damper settings meant the car felt unstable over the bumps. Despite this, they attacked from the off, and a brave drive saw them take 20th fastest stage time, beating 4 modern Rally2/R5 cars in the process.

On Stage 2, the classic Monteberg test, the team again kept up the same rhythm, committing to the newly written pacenotes. A really strong performance saw them bag 17th fastest overall time, far exceeding expectations.

A quick reset at re-group and the team headed back towards Poperinge for the third and final stage of the morning loop, Busseboom. The shortest stage of the event but the most tight and technical. The team were again brave in the stage, maybe too brave, getting away with a scary moment after discovering a big bump which upset the car in a fast 5th gear cut. Fortunately Bill was able to gather the car, just before running out of road at around 100mph/160km/h. Driving on the limit, the crew posted a superb 19th fastest overall time.

Back to service where the BP Rally Team adjusted the damper settings to try and improve the car on the bumps, and bolted on medium compound tyres to suit the warming weather.

Onto stage 4 and the suspension changes had made the car more comfortable to drive. With several sections of the Wijtschate stage over 120mph/200km/h on very narrow roads, having confidence over the bumps was vital. The stage was still very slippery in places and the medium compound tyres took a little while to switch on, but the team had a good run to lie an amazing 15th overall at the end of the stage.

The remainder of the second loop was good as the team began to feel more and more confident in the car. The grip levels were increasing and medium tyres working well. One small mistake in the Busseboom stage, sliding slightly wide on a junction and catching the rear wheel which the team fortunately got away with without any puncture or damage.

The pace was great, and the level of risk being taken already enough, so the crew agreed that the plan would be same again for the next loop. A comfortable and consistent pace was resumed, with some highlights, putting on a show for the many spectators that were out on the stages. Fun was the order of the day. As conditions dried and grip levels increased, and other competitors became more familiar with the stages on the third time through, the team dropped some places to more modern machinery. Still lying in a very strong position in the top twenty.

The final loop consisted of only the two longer stages, Witschate and Monteberg. After what had already been a great day, the team wanted to make sure they brought the car home in one piece. A clean run through the final two stages saw the crew finish an excellent 20th overall, just 3.6 seconds behind fellow countryman Richard Weaver in his Fiesta R5 who pipped them on the last stage.

Bill feels like he is really starting to gel with the car, understanding how to extract more and more out of the 4 wheel drive, turbo powered animal. We are enjoying our rallying more than ever this year, Belgium really is the place to be! 

We have to give a huge thanks to everyone that helped on the event, Gary, Scott, Paul, Penny and Maaike. Andy did a superb job on the notes, faultless all day long and keeping Bill in check. Also a big thanks to all of our partners- JFDIT Solutions, TRS Motorsport, Alltec Seys Autosportshop, Rally-Art Photography. Without their help we wouldn’t have been able to secure this excellent result. 

Bill adds “On a personal note, it was so special for me to be competing in my new home town. The support we have had from neighbours, family, the community and other local competitors has been overwhelming.  Thank you so much to everyone who came out to watch, sent messages of support and gave advice along the way. It was a weekend that I will never forget.”

The team have a busy few weeks planned with Scott Barnes and Andy Hall coming over to do the ORC Canal Rally in a couple of weeks time, and then both Scott and Bill will both be out driving on the Rally van Wervik on the 15th June. With three top 20’s already this year we hope the success will continue.

We have even more exciting news coming soon, so keep an eye on the BP Rally Facebook page for that, as well as lot’s more coverage from the event. If you think that someone you know may enjoy what we do on the page, then please tag away. Also, if there is anything specific you would like us to cover then please let us know in the comments.