After the demanding 24 Hours of Zolder, Brent Verheyen was back in action just a week later for another endurance challenge: the 8 Hours of Le Mans Fun Cup, sharing the wheel with long-time teammate Colin Coox. On the shorter Bugatti circuit at Le Mans, in a field of no fewer than 65 identical Fun Cup cars, the Belgian duo delivered a flawless performance and secured a fantastic third place overall after eight hours of racing.
The weekend started on Saturday afternoon with a two-hour free practice session, immediately followed by a two-hour qualifying. For Verheyen, it was all new: he knew the Fun Cup car well from previous races, but had never driven on this version of the Le Mans circuit. While many of their rivals had already trained on Friday, the Coox Racing duo only began their search for the right setup on Saturday. The entire four hours of track time were used to test and fine-tune adjustments. Only in the final ten minutes of qualifying did the breakthrough come, with Colin setting the car’s best lap and placing the team ninth fastest overall. Due to the lottery-style grid shuffle in Fun Cup, however, they had to start from 18th position, a setback, but one that also affected several of their direct rivals.
On Sunday, the eight-hour race ran from 9:00 to 17:00. Colin took the start and settled into the top ten before handing the car over after the first stint. With mandatory driver changes every 40–50 minutes, the duo alternated stints throughout the day. They maintained a steady pace, avoided mistakes, and steadily climbed through the order. By halfway, the #Coox Racing car was running in P5, but a safety car situation dramatically altered the race. The safety car picked up the wrong part of the field, costing Colin nearly a lap to the leaders and handing their rivals an advantage.
Despite this setback, Verheyen and Coox fought on. As the race entered its final hours, they were back up to P4, holding a comfortable gap to the cars behind but too far from the leaders to close the gap. Verheyen was given the honor of driving the final stint. Just when the team thought fourth place was secured, the pit board showed a surprise: P3. The opportunity for a podium was suddenly real. With worn tyres and heavily used brakes after a full day of racing, Brent managed the pace carefully, keeping a close eye on the gap behind while bringing the car safely to the finish.
After eight intense hours, the duo crossed the line in third place overall, a brilliant reward for a clean and consistent race.
“Finishing on the podium here in Le Mans feels amazing,” said Brent Verheyen. “It was a tough race, especially with just two of us sharing eight hours, but we made no mistakes, managed our pace, and fought back after the bad luck with the safety car. Colin drove superbly, the team worked perfectly, and we can be very proud of this result.”
The podium finish also boosts Colin Coox’s position in the Fun Cup championship standings, moving him up to fifth overall. For Brent, the focus now shifts to the next race in Zandvoort, part of the Belgian Fun Cup Championship, where he will team up with Colin Coox and Kris Cools. That race will serve as the perfect preparation for the 8 Hours of Nogaro one week later, where Verheyen and Coox will compete in the French Fun Cup Championship with their eyes set on the top step of the podium.
