25 september 2007Heading for a thrilling denouement
A mere three weeks after the 24 Hour of Zolder, the Mediagroep Van Dyck Belcar, with some 36 power beasts, is now heading on down to the Ardennes tarmac for the next race weekend, this time under the auspices of Francorchampagne. In the highest class, reserved for the FIA GT3 cars and after the last race, the cards have been somewhat reshuffled but not as yet dealt. All the better for us as there will be a highly exciting and open ending with the final round being held in Zolder.
The young duo Maxime Soulet – Guillaume Dumarey with their Porsche 997 GT3 Cup N°56 won the recent 24Hours race and now find themselves in the lead of the championship, as reserved for the teams.
These two young lions have a one and a half point lead over the Corvette Z06 of PK Carsport. Since the latter’s fire during the recent 24Hours of Zolder the car has been entirely restored and as such a Corvette will be on the grid at Spa.
But there is more..…
We will definitely have to take the Mosler-Chevrolet into account. Gravity Racing, managed by Loris de Sordi, is doubly motivated after its recent race and is coming to Spa with the intention of clinching victory. A double might even be on the books, because apart from the fast Vincent Radermecker and Stéphane Lémeret duo in the DHL 24, we have no less than Vincent Vosse in the Gulf 25, who led the field during the earlier faze in Zolder. Christian Kelders has commitments overseas and as such is relinquishing his drive to the fast man from Verviers. Rader & co are some 22 points down and as such are not out of the running, even though scoring will be important on Sunday.
In third place, slotted between the Corvette and the Mosler, we find the second GPR Porsche of Marc Duez and Ruben Maes, forced to retire in Zolder. Will this be a last chance for them or does team importance count as from now?
And what about the others? The Dodges Viper of Heyer Jr-Thomas, Van de Velde-Boden or Vanthoor-Wauters enjoy the fast Spa circuit and the same can be said about the Aston Martin DBRS9 of Wim Coekelbergs and Ron Marchal.
Fred Bouvy and David Loix have nothing to lose in their Prospeed Porsche 997, ditto for their mates Penders-Lamot, who so brilliantly managed to end up on the podium at Zolder.
Chad Racing had foreseen a new Mosler for Spa; however the Brits had damage during the recent 24 Hours of Silverstone and will therefore be relying on their trusty Porsche 997.
We also know that the Guino Kenis and Michael De Keersmaecker duo, acclaimed as European rally cross champion last weekend, could be a heavy contender in the rain with their Mosler-Chevrolet ; just reminiscing on the 12 Hours of Spa.
In Division 2 we are pretty certain of the champions, notwithstanding incidents. This season Neyens-Couwberghs have won everything and the Porsche 996 Supercup of NGT Racing can probably already get ready for the big party next weekend.
In D2 we also see the return of the two GT4s, namely the Lotus Exige of Verhiest-De Cock and the BMW Z4 of Patrick Smets.
Division 3 is most certainly also an established fact. Russell Racing, with the Frank and Hans Thiers brothers in their Porsche could well have another title under their belts. Should they score a podium on Sunday, immaterial of the result of the their immediate competitors De Laet-Vollebergh or Steegmans-Schreurs, the deal is clinched.
Intermediate rankings:
Div.1 : 1. GPR 56 75,5 ; 2. PK Carsport 74 ; 3. GPR 55 55,5 ; 4. Gravity International Racing 24 53,5...
Div. 2: 1. NGT Racing 100; 2. GS Motorsport 67; 3. First 66,5…
Div.3: 1. Russell Racing 83; 2. CEO Racing 51,5 3. AD Sport 47…
