The seventh and final stage of the 2025 Fenix Rally was scheduled to feature only 90 kilometers of special stage, according to the roadbook. What seemed like a short finale turned into a day full of emotion, incidents, and decisions with significant impact on the final standings.
Hit in the final kilometers, but still second overall
Vincent Thijs and Arjan van Tiel experienced a bizarre final stage. Their Toyota Hilux was running smoothly at a controlled pace until disaster struck 20 kilometers from the finish. “We were hit from behind by a local car while crossing a street,” reported co-driver Arjan van Tiel. The pair were stuck for more than four hours and couldn’t resume the stage due to the time window closing. Despite the setback, they chose to complete the stage and filed an official protest.
The organization acknowledged the exceptional circumstances and awarded them neutralization time. As a result, Thijs and Van Tiel were classified seventh for the stage and, more importantly, secured second place overall in the car category, both in their class (Car Open) and the general standings. An impressive result in a week where the Belgian-Dutch team consistently performed at the front and reached the podium multiple times.
Rainbow Truck Team seals the win
In the truck category, Rainbow Truck Team’s overall victory came as no surprise. However, the final day proved to be their toughest of the week. Gerrit Zuurmond, Tjeerd van Ballegooij, and Klaas Kwakkel finished sixth in the stage, received a 4-minute and 40-second penalty for overspeeding, and struggled to find their usual rhythm and pace.
Nonetheless, their lead was more than enough. Driving their MAN, the team won the 2025 Fenix Rally in the truck class, adding a second rally win this year after their Africa Eco Race triumph earlier in the season. Pride was evident in the bivouac: “This is why we do it. Driving together, fixing the truck, pushing through and winning,” said the team.
The stage win went to the German Tatra crew of Heuer, Tum, and Richter. They finished ahead of Italy’s Eagle Racing Team, while the Dutch Greenteam Panhuijzen delivered a solid fourth place. The Lankveld Rally Team rounded out the top five.
The Dutch: strong and resilient
Besides Thijs/Van Tiel and the Rainbow Truck Team, several other Dutch competitors successfully completed the rally. In the SSV class, Jori and Tom Panhuijzen finished 15th in the final stage with their Can-Am X3 and completed the event as finishers. Arjan Donders and Edwin Vloemans (Polaris RZR) placed 16th for the day.
The Wilzing Racing Team, with Jan Wilzing and Jaroslav Kosan, also made it to the end, finishing 27th in the final special. Marco van Heugten and Michelle Opstelten, as well as Edwin Opstelten and Henny van Kouwen, did not start the last stage.
Greenteam Panhuijzen (Mike Panhuijzen, Bert van Loon, and Pieter Kuypers) secured fourth place in the final truck stage and sixth overall in the final standings. Lankveld Rally Team (Franciscus, Pieter, and Roel van Lankveld) came fifth in the stage and also ended the rally in fifth position overall.
Winners per category
The 2025 Fenix Rally class winners:
- Motorbikes (Enduro CC): Edvard Sokolovski (LTU) – KTM Rally Replica
- ATV: Antanas Kanopkinas (LTU) – CFMOTO
- SSV: Nicolas Martinez and Loriane Forgues (FRA) – Overdrive OT3
- Car Open: Magdalena Zajac and Blazej Czekan (POL) – Toyota Hilux
- Car Limited: Abd el Karim Ben Hssan and Mohamed Ali Drira (TUN) – Toyota GRJ79
- Truck: Rainbow Truck Team (NLD) – MAN TGA 18.480
All winners received not only eternal glory but also prize money from the €15,000 fund set aside by the organizers for this anniversary edition.
Compact, intense, and memorable
The 2025 Fenix Rally proved that a compact seven-day rally can still be both demanding and memorable. With 2,140 kilometers of special stages and over 600 kilometers of liaison, the rally offered everything competitors look for: dunes, gravel, technical tracks, fesh-fesh, and navigation challenges.
The final balance: a Dutch truck victory, second place in the car category, and several successful finishers in the SSV class. The Fenix Rally continues to establish itself as a mature event on the international rally calendar.
