Maxim Decock and co-driver Tom Buyse will demonstrate just what can be achieved with limited resources and against the odds when they begin their ERC adventure this week.
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Decock has gone from finishing runner-up in last season's Belgian Junior Championship and third in the Stellantis Cup Benelux to contesting the opening round of the FIA Junior ERC Championship, less than three years after he broke his back on what was his fifth ever rally.
Having since recovered, 25-year-old Decock continues to impress behind the wheel of his Opel Corsa Rally4, which is being run by possibly the smallest team competing in the FIA European Rally Championship.
“We'll probably be the smallest team, consisting of six people in total,” explained Buyse, whose introduction to rallying came as a young spectator and keen photographer. “We're a group of friends chasing our dreams. Maxim's two best friends are mechanics, while my girlfriend is preparing the food and looking after us. Her brother will step in to do the refueling and help wherever he can in service. The goal is to do as good as we can, it's difficult to judge the competition level, but no doubt it will be high.
Decock is using his debut in the Hankook-equipped Junior ERC Championship on the 42nd Rally Sierra Morena - Córdoba Patrimonio de la Humanidad (3 - 6 April) as a trial run with the view of contesting the remaining asphalt rounds later in the season.
“We've been driving our Opel Corsa Rally4 for three full seasons now,” said Ypres-born Decock, whose father Ludo used to co-drive for Bernard Munster in the ERC. “The last two seasons we drove the full Stellantis Cup Belux with a victory in the Spa Rally last year as a highlight. We were looking for a new challenge and that's how we ended up with Junior ERC.
“We will see how everything turns out and how many rounds are financially feasible, but Rally di Roma Capitale, Barum Czech Rally Zlín and Croatia Rally are definitely high on our list. We are hugely grateful to our partners for this opportunity, although we can definitely use additional support.”