Belgian star Pieter Tsjoen will fulfil a dream when he makes his debut in the 138.com Rally Isle of Man next month, writes Chris Boyde.

The eight-time Belgium champion has driven on events across Europe during a highly-distinguished career, but his outing on Manx roads next month will mark a rare appearance in the British Isles.

Tsjoen and co-driver Eddy Chevallier visited the island last week to confirm their entry to organisers, with the driver saying it was the history of the event that has attracted them.

’It is the legend of the place. There are some rallies you should do in life when you have the opportunity. There is Monte Carlo, RallyGB and the Manx rally!

’It is an event we know from legendary drivers such as Patrick Snijers and Colin McRae. Being eight-time national champions is more than enough, so we’re looking for other challenges, giving us the chance to come over.’

Tsjoen has spent much of this year co-driving for Kevin Abbring as the main Peugeot entry in the Belgium series, tasting victory in Rallye de Wallonie and the famous Ypres Rally, making him a winner of each on both sides of the car.

The 43-year-old has only contested one event this year as a driver, finishing fourth on Switzerland’s Rallye du Chablais at the start of June in the same R Tec Racing-run Ford Fiesta R5 he and Chevallier will use here next month.

He is fully aware of the opposition Rally Isle of Man will bring, with the event the title decider in the Prestone MSA British Rally Championship, a series that also took in Ypres.

’We need to get the car to the finish and hopefully the result will come. We won’t look at the BRC times though as we’ve seen in Ypres that they were very fast in the beginning but not a lot finished. We’ll aim to find a good rhythm on the first day and hope for a good result from there.

’I don’t know the stages, but from what I have seen on the internet there are a lot of blind crests and the weather can be difficult to predict.

’It is different to Belgium for sure, but the nature of the stages should suit me. We did the Cork 20 Rally in 2005, which was also bumpy [finishing fifth in a Toyota Corolla WRC], so I hope to be competitive. Most of all we want to have fun.’

Tsjoen has been the dominant force in his home series since the turn of the century, lifting the title in 2001, 2003, 2004, 2006, and then each year from 2009 to 2012.

Rally Isle of Man has a long tradition of attracting top European stars, including Snijers, Robert Droogmans and Fabrizio Tabaton in the late 1980s and Armin Schwarz, Gregoire de Mevius and Dieter Depping in the 1990s.

Entries for the 138.com RallyIoM close at the reduced rate next Wednesday, August 16, with the final closing date one week later. More than 120 have already been received with 140 start places available.