Zoom Patrick Snijers.

Voting took place yesterday in Brussels, Belgium, to decide who would carry the colours of the BFGoodrich Drivers Team in the Kronos-run Peugeot 207 S2000 on next month's Belgium Ypres Westhoek Rally (June 27-28), round three of the 2008 Intercontinental Rally Challenge.

Of the 55 applications received by the Royal Automobile Club of Begium (RACB), a shortlist of five drivers was initially drawn up by BFGoodrich and Kronos and, in the end, Patrick Snijers was chosen thanks to a score of eight votes. The other drivers to make it into the final five were Alexandre Romain (four votes), Pieter Tsjoen (three), Melissa Debackere (two) and Olivier Cartelle (two). The votes were cast by a panel comprising 16 representatives of the Belgian media, plus representatives from BFGoodrich, Kronos Racing and the RACB. Patrick Snijers will get his first chance to drive the car in a test session that will be organised near Ypres, Belgium, on June 18.

The BFGoodrich Drivers Team programme aims to give crews from five countries (Portugal, Belgium, Spain, the Czech Republic and Italy) a chance to contest their respective home round of the Intercontinental Rally Challenge (IRC). An initial shortlist of candidates is drawn up in association with the country'smotor sport governing body, and three 'finalists' ( five in the case of Belgium) are selected by BFGoodrich and Kronos. The winning crew is then chosen by a panel of journalists from the country in question.

Patrick Snijers, who was selected yesterday to take part in Belgium's round of the Intercontinental Rally Challenge in the colours of BFGoodrich and Kronos, will join the team's resident Peugeot 207 Super 2000 drivers, Freddy Loix and Nicolas Vouilloz. The BFGoodrich Drivers Team entry will be run and the car prepared by Kronos, the Belgian operation behind Sébastien L oeb'sWorld Rally Championship title in 2006.

"It's great news to learn that I will driving for the BFGoodrich Drivers Team," commented Patrick Snijers on the phone shortly after the votes were counted. "I am sincerely grateful to the journalists and to BFGoodrich for their confidence. I can't wait to show them that they made the right choice! My goal is to become the first driver to win Ypres five times."