09 december 2007All change for Belcar in 2007
The first season of the Mediagroep van Dyck Belcar under SRO was a success. With four different winners in seven races and very open and unpredictable races, SRO Belgium can only be happy with the balance after 365 days of hard working. And finally it was not a Mosler, Corvette or an Aston taking the spoils, but two youngsters in a Porsche 997. Maxime Soulet and Guillaume Dumarey had to fight until the last metres of the ultimate round, but they made it.
In average Belcar counted 35 to 40 cars on the grid, and so both quantity and quality showed present. And 2008 will still be better, as most of the frontrunners will be back and the champions of Division 2 and 3 will join them.
The Zolder First Race, the opening round of the season, was very promising, but with a Corvette taking pole and victory, some people believed to live a repetition of what characterized Belcar in 2005 and 2006. Kumpen and Longin now drove a Z06 GT3, instead of the PK Corvette C5-R GT1, but they still were in a winning position.
Some weeks later Belcar visited Donington and it was … different. Radermecker and Lémeret took pole in the Gravity Mosler and when their main opponent, the PK Corvette, died in the closing stages of the race, Gravity secured the first ever victory of a Mosler in Belcar.
Spa was the scene for the third round of the series and even if it was Mid-June, a horrifying weather made unexpected things happen. The Daikin ladies Van de Velde and Boden put their Dodge on pole and 24 hours later, Guino Kenis and 2007 European Rallycross Champion Michaël Dekeersmaecker celebrated a second Mosler victory in succession.
Zolder apparently was kind of holy ground for the PK Corvette, as Kumpen and Longin scored a second success of the year in the Midsummer Race, even if Peter Kox in his Lamborghini Gallardo was the fourth different man on pole over the year.
The Zolder 24 Hours were a real thriller, with almost ten different teams leading the race, after Kurt Mollekens took pole in the PK Corvette. The battle lasted until an hour before the end when the leading First Motorsport Porsche 997 suffered a major gearbox problem. Soulet, the Dumarey brothers and Marc Goossens inherited the lead of the race and finally won the Zolder classic in the GPR Porsche 997. Goossens is now co-record holder with 4 victories.
Gravity took a second pole (Vosse – Lambert) and victory with Lémeret and Radermecker in the penultimate round of the season in Spa and this Gravity Mosler duo clinched a third victory of the season in the ultimate round of the season in Zolder. Notwithstanding this excellent performance Gravity International Racing had to leave the title of national endurance champion of the Mediagroep Van Dyck Belcar in Division 1 to GPR. Maxime Soulet and Guillaume Dumarey, in their Porsche 997, retained a four-point lead over the Mosler boys’ and as such are the first Belgian GT3 champions. PK completed the podium in GT3.
Division 2 driver Bart Couwberghs can also uncork the champagne bottle, because apart from winning the title in Division 2 with NGT in a Porsche 996, he has also grabbed the Mediagroep Van Dyck Belcar Driver Challenge. NGT scored seven victories in seven races, a truly remarkable performance.
Last but not least, the Thiers brothers took the spoils in Division 3.
Quotes:
Guillaume Dumarey: “I was an unforgettable adventure. One week before the opening round, I was still looking for a team mate and finally we made an agreement with Maxime Soulet for the first race. I hoped for a top-10 in Zolder and we came home … second. After a difficult race in Donington, the return of Maxime was a relief. We had good races in Zolder and Spa and than came the Zolder 24 Hours. The victory in this very demanding race, together with my brother and Marc Goossens was like a dream coming true. Afterwards we were in competition for the GT3 title and we made it…”
“We wanted to stay in Division 2 as we knew that we could do something very special this season. 2007 was our third season with this car and we knew it meanwhile very, very good. The car was 100%, the team had built up a good experience over the years and with Bart Couwberghs, Marc Neyens and Stef Vancampenhoudt we had very reliable and fast drivers in our car”, explains NGT team chef Marc Maton.
“Right now, I’m not sure about 2008. Our aim is to make progress and so we have no other option than GT3. But who, what, where and why are still unanswered at the moment.”
Hans Thiers: “In 2008 we will switch to the Division 1 of the MVDB, the Belcar Group GT3. But the choice of the car depends on many things, especially the decision of Porsche in GT3 story. Other options are a Ferrari or a Lamborghini. One thing is sure, we will not only fill up the grids, we want to race for a podium!”
2007 POINTS
DRIVER CHALLENGE :
1. Couwberghs Bart 203
2. Radermecker Vincent 196,5
3. Dumarey Guillaume 181
DIVISION 1 – BELCAR GROUP GT3
1. ≠ 56 GPR Racing – Porsche 997 GT3 Cup
2. ≠ 24 Gravity Racing International – Mosler Chevrolet MT900 GT3
3. ≠ 1 PK Carsport – Corvette Z06R GT3
DIVISION 2 – BELCAR PROMOTION
1. ≠ 111 NGT Racing – Porsche 996 GT3 Cup
2. ≠ 150 First Motorsport – Porsche 996 GT3 Cup
3. ≠ 121 GS Motorsport – Porsche 996 GT3 Cup
DIVISION 3 – BELCAR SPECIALS
1. ≠ 210 Russell Racing – Porsche 996
2. ≠ 228 AD Sport – Porsche 996 Biturbo
3. ≠ 229 CEO Racing – Porsche 996 RS
