“Things are going very well,” Niels Reynvoet commented at the time. During the first lap, we obviously had to adapt to the car and the conditions, but the pace picked up afterwards. The objective now is to continue in the same way and thus confirm the level of performance of the Hyundai in these circumstances.”

In the fight with multiple Belgian champion Pieter Tsjoen and an impressive Fred Miclotte, Niels unfortunately made a mistake in the penultimate special stage, which took place in incredibly difficult weather conditions. The result was a very frustrating retirement, depriving the crew of a first podium finish and an interesting haul of points.

“It's obviously not the result we were hoping for, but the racing conditions were very different from what we encountered during the tests and the shakedown,” Niels analyzed. During the second loop, we were able to find some good settings, which was promising for the future. I absolutely wanted to keep second place, because the difference in points between second place and fourth place is significant. At the start of SS11, the rain intensified, we started aquaplaning, with the consequences we know. What I want to remember is that, under normal conditions, the car works really well. We're going to work on it some more, but the pace is good...”