After expertly applying all his knowledge of Belgium's famous Rally Ypres, Freddy Loix made history today with a record-breaking fifth victory at his home event. The Peugeot Belgium driver completed the rally in 2:44:40.3, barely a minute ahead of his teammate Nicolas Vouilloz and thereby delivering a perfect one-two result for the team.

The battle for third place took an epic turn when IRC series leader Luca Rossetti gave a flat-out push at the wheel of his Peugeot Italy car, sucessfully jumping from fifth to third overall position and unexpectedly clinching the final step of the podium.

Rossetti also won the final stage itself, crossing the 42 kilometres of the route in 22:46.0, repeating the performance of his first passage earlier today. Nicolas Vouilloz came next and was followed by Bernd Casier, who was aiming for a first Volkswagen podium result within the IRC.

Patrick Snijer's Peugeot 207 came next while Freddy Loix, the five-time Rally Ypres winner himself, took fifth position on this monster stage.

The Abarth Grande Punto of Anton Alen drove into the sixth spot, followed by Dominique Bruyneel's Subaru Impreza and Jasper van den Heuvel's Mitsubishi Lancer.

Ninth-placed Giandomenico Basso suffered a puncture while racing his Grande Punto across the stage, unfortunately putting an end to his legitimate podium ambitions. Paul Lietaer's Mitsubishi completeted the top ten for this run.

Freddy Loix stands triumphant at Rally Ypres, with his teammate Nicolas Vouilloz by his side in second place of the race but also second in the IRC standings.

Luca Rossetti pushed hard and grabbed the third step of the podium at the very end of the event, 29.9 seconds behind Vouilloz but still ahead of him by 4 points in the IRC rankings.

Bernd Casier and Volkswagen did not reach the podium despite their strong efforts, but an overall fourth-place result is a very good one indeed for a first attempt, especially in consideration of the overnight repairs made to the VW Polo after the shakedown accident.

The Intercontinental Rally Challenge competitors will reunite again during the next event, to be held on July 11th and 12th: Rally Russia.