Due to the death of our good friend Philip, we have decided not to start in the Sezoensrally 2022.
Unfortunately, it has become 2 bridges instead of 3!
The Trois-Ponts rally was the first on the R-Box rally calendar 2022 and was mainly intended to get race kilometers in the legs and to evaluate the winter updates.
A lot of hard work has been done on the car in the winter months, and as usual this again results in numerous updates. Obviously, the pain point from the past, the entire charging system, has been completely reviewed and renewed. Because we love challenges, we have also completely mixed up our note system.
Add to that the refreshing -7°C at the start of the first test, and all the necessary ingredients were present to have no idea how the first kilometers were going to go.
During the winter months we did not sit still and a lot of adjustments were made to the R-Box BMW M3 E30. Below the photos we give a comprehensive overview.
Despite all the efforts, all the preparations and especially the fantastic R-Box team (and of course I’m not talking about the crew) it didn’t go as we had planned. The energy crisis is not only manifesting itself in society but is also plaguing the R-Box team.
Unfortunately, our last performance dates back to the Sezoensrally 2019 and this of course does not only have to do with corona. We had been hanging on the sucker for a while, did not find the right feeling and the understeer lever continued to worry us with many a hangover as a result. Our task with a broken topmount in the 2019 edition was a bit of the low point, but also the trigger point to realize that the R-Box M3 was struggling with a fundamental problem.
After the electrical perils of the TAC rally, this time we were more determined than ever to make it to the end of the rally. The BMW got a thorough check-up supplemented with a few updates that had been planned for some time.
(Photos Wim Becker, Juha Bos)
With a few minor updates to the BMW but especially a series of important changes to the service truck, our lives should become a lot easier and more efficient. In addition, the weather gods had also foreseen a bright blue sky for Saturday morning, so more than enough reasons to be super motivated at the start.
(Photos Wim Becker, Birger Vuylsteker)
After a very hectic winter update, with some radical changes, we were of course very much looking forward to a first confrontation with the Haspengouw concrete strips.
For the observant media watchers it had been clear for some time that from now on Isidoor Smets will knit the notes together and that we decided to focus on the full M-Cup. Through Isidoor’s experience, the bar is indirectly raised a bit higher, even though it is not the intention to put more pressure on myself. And even though I don’t know anything about knitting myself, I’m going to do my utmost not to drop stitches.
(Photos Wim Becker, Jérome Deskeuvre, Frank Pacqué)
Personally, I’ve always had something with the EBR that I couldn’t find in other matches, even as a spectator. Maybe it’s the beautiful surroundings, the East Cantons mentality, … I don’t know but it’s hard for me to describe how much I’ve been looking forward to this match.
(Photos Wim Becker)
If we are to believe everyone, the first time is always a bit special. Fortunately, the conditions were ideal, plenty of sun, bone dry and assisted by a very experienced co, Isidoor Smets, who stepped in last minute for Luc Geenen. Add to that a super nice car, 4 super mechanics and mega coach / cooking mom and numerous sympathizers, in short the perfect ingredients for a fantastic rally.
