After last week’s announcement that Craig Breen will drive the European Championship in collaboration with MRF Tires, we can now also report that Benoit Verlinde, alongside his program in France, will compete in some Belgian Rally Championship races at the wheel of a Ford Fiesta R2T with MRF Tires! This all made possible by the support from Banden Claerhout, who is the distributor for MRF Motorsport Tires in the Benelux. MRF is an Indian brand that has been active in motor sport for several years. On circuit they provide the tires in different championships for formula cars, while in the rally sport they have already won 9 Asia Pacific Rally Championship titles!Banden Claerhout has been the main distributor for MRF Motorsport Tires for the Benelux since last year. Manager Jochen: “With this project I want to promote MRF in Belgium and at the same time support a young talent. Because of his experience in France and the fact that he was a finalist in the RACB final, my search led to Benoit. After several meetings, I am convinced that Benoit will give good feedback about our tires. This will be crucial in order to help our customers in their choice of tires in the future. The headquarters in India and the British motorsport department are determined to compete at the top of the rally sport!”
Benoit Verlinde has been driving the French Junior Rally Championship for several years. In addition to a new season in France, he will also take part in several Belgian events. Benoit: “After the RACB final we were contacted by Jochen. He was looking for a young, motivated driver who could test the MRF tires for him and give the necessary feedback to the manufacturer. We are very grateful to Jochen for this great opportunity to be part of this project. We are therefore highly motivated to perform this task as well as possible. With this feedback we can help MRF in the further development of their tires and help customers to make the right tire choice. In cooperation with Q-Grafix, we have provided a nice livery for the Fiesta R2T, this way we can put MRF Tires and Banden Claerhout in the spotlight. The extensive feedback for the manufacturer, together with the evolution of the tires, are the essence of this project. In the meantime, it is also interesting for us to gain this knowledge of the events in function of 2021. But who knows, we may be able to set some good stage times here and there.” The program will start with the TAC Rally in April. The Sezoensrally and the Aarova short rally of Oudenaarde are normally also on the program. In addition, we also plan a few test days for the further development of the tires. Some events can be added, depending on the available budget.
For more information about the MRF tires or to order tires, please visit http://www.banden- claerhout.be.
