The father of three-time F1 champion Max made over 100 grand prix appearances during his own career, and then turned to rallying in 2022.
He has enjoyed reasonable success, winning three of his past five events, with the majority of his rallying having been on Belgian stages, and the Rallynuts event on 13 April will be Verstappen Sr’s first outside mainland Europe – and his first ever on gravel.
He and co-driver Renaud Jamoul will compete in their Skoda Fabia RS Rally2, meaning they will also be responsible for debuting Skoda’s freshest Rally2 machine on British stages.
This year’s Rallynuts, on 13 April, is celebrating its 50th anniversary, and as such is offering competitors 60 miles of stages for the same price as the usual 45. Based in the mid-Wales town of Llandrindod Wells, stages include old Rally GB classics Myherin, Hafren and Sweet Lamb.
Clerk of the course Keith Ashley said: “We are very excited to see such a household name choose to head to the Rallynuts Severn Valley Stages this year.
"The team has worked hard to create a very special offering for our competitors to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the rally and clearly this has a pull further afield than we anticipated.
"Our route has iconic stages such as Hafren and Myherin which are famous across the globe thanks to Wales Rally GB of course. "With 62 stage miles on offer, plus a fantastic line up of championships, it provided a great opportunity for Jos to sample some of the best gravel stages there is.
"Having motorsport stars like Jos, plus our sensational oversubscribed entry can only be good for the sport as a whole and of course we are delighted with the extra spotlight it brings to the rally. It feels like it's just the shot in the arm that gravel rallying needs right now."
The opening round of the revitalised BRC takes place this weekend with 2019 European champion Chris Ingram topping a stellar entry of Rally2 cars on the North West Stages.
A new TV deal with ITV4 and ITVX, reduced entry fees and a reshuffle of the events to avoid any overseas trips looks to have transformed the championship, which has struggled in recent years.
Fourteen top-class cars will fight for outright honours, including Ingram, previous title winners Keith Cronin and Osian Pryce, reigning Junior World Rally champion William Creighton and the brightest homegrown talents.
Ingram will start the North West as favourite given his international status, and he also won the rally when it last ran in 2022.
He will steer a Volkswagen Polo GTI R5, but is due to switch to a brand-new Toyota GR Yaris Rally2 for the third round alongside Melvyn Evans Motorsport team-mate Meirion Evans, who will give the model its debut on UK soil this weekend.
Cronin and Pryce are both Ford Fiesta-mounted along with Creighton, 2023 runner-up Garry Pearson and rising star Max McRae – the latter trio all representing M-Sport.
“Just glance at the top 20 and I think it’s safe to say it’s one of the best entry lists I’ve ever seen on a national event, and that can only be a good thing for the series and motorsport in general,” said championship manager Reece Tarren.
“I’m extremely eager to watch the opening round unfold and watch the season play out across six top-drawer rallies. The BRC really is back.”
