RANCORCHAMPS - After a little break the Supercar Challenge returned to racing again, at circuit spa-Francorchamps. The Belcar did the same and together they would be part of a busy spa euro races weekend.
Participating in both the Supercar Challenge and the Belcar a fully packed weekend was on. First on Friday I would start of with FP1 in the supercar challenge with the Norma M20fc of Verheyen motorsport by T2 racing, a good session meant I got P1 before handing the car over to Ian. While my teammate would complete the other practice session and qualifying in the Norma, I would drive FP2 and qualifying with the Lamborghini Super Troféo in the Supercar Challenge. A successful practice session saw me and Cédric getting in the practice we needed to furthermore improve our times. Qualifying with the Lamborghini in the supercar challenge went well and we managed to clinch P3 while Ian qualified the Norma P2. A busy Friday was still not complete, the practice session of the Belcar was still to be completed and went smoothly for us. P2 was the verdict.
Saturday quickly came around to give me a Supercar Challenge race in the Lamborghini, a strong 1 hour race saw us retaining our P3 from qualifying after a hard fought battle with GT3’s. A strong race and some extra track time with a fully deserved result and a first podium of the weekend.
The day started of great, and we were looking to carry on this momentum in to the Belcar qualifying what quickly followed the Supercar Challenge. Putting the Lamborghini right on the limit at such a high-speed track as Spa is the most amazing feeling you can have in a race car. The times came down rapidly with Cédric and me putting the pressure in the rest with some good laps. We kept improving and got a well deserved first pole position for Totaalplan racing.
On Sunday where the Belcar race would be the first of the day. When you start on pole position you only want to win and that’s how we started the 2 hours race. While defending our lead on the opening lap we started to slowly extend our lead and gap until a safety car was called out after an incident. At the end of the safety car period some chaos unfolded with us almost following the safety car into the pits. This incident costed us 2 places and our hard fought race lead was gone in a matter of seconds. Not what we wanted but that’s also racing, after that we started to push hard and managed to clear the Porsche in second with ease and we weren’t far behind the race leading Audi GT2. Closing him down lap by lap until we lined it up for a fantastic move down the inside at Eau rouge - Raidillon. Finally back in the race lead, while we pushed on, the gap kept growing. 1 lap before we wanted to pit we experienced an fuel issue and the car limped back to the pits on barely any fuel, we lost a lot of time with the unexpected pitstop and fuel problem and lost our lead to the Audi. Our race pace was definitely better this weekend but the damage was done already, we kept closing them down lap after lap but with the time we lost we were out of the contention for victory. After the second pitstop we lost the power steering what made it a tough last stint for Cédric Still managed to secure P2 in the closing laps.
My second race of the day starting only 30 minutes after the end of the Belcar race. The second Supercar Challenge race of the weekend this time with the Norma. The Norma qualified P2 on Friday and Ian got P2 in the race on Saturday. Starting on the front I wanted to push for the race lead on the opening lap. My plan didn’t work how I had hoped and the LMP3 that competed as well took the race lead almost immediately due to their superior straight line speed. I got compromised and lost a position to the radicals, I couldn’t get past on the straights and in the corners they defended aggressively. Losing time every lap I got stuck behind that car I knew I had to clear him as quickly as I could. He made one mistake and I immediately overtook him. Back behind our championship rivals. I started to put in a series of fastest laps to quickly close him down. And managed to overtake him, he immediately boxed and switched drivers, I continued hoping of a FCY so I would lose less time in the pits. Unfortunately, there didn’t came one and I had to box. No drivers change on our side and I continued on in the class race lead. I managed to hold on to the class race lead and get my third Supercar Challenge win of the season. An important one to bounce back after the bad luck we had earlier this year at Zolder.
A busy weekend with a lot of successes, I learned a lot this weekend which is incredibly important for the 24 Hours of Zolder with the Lamborghini. Getting back into the winning rhythm in the supercar challenge with the Norma was necessary for the championship. Next one is the Supercar Challenge with the Norma at the Jack’s racings days at TT circuit in Assen during the weekend of the 6-7 August. With the 24 hours of Zolder only one week later. See you there!
