After several months of rehabilitation following leg surgery, Brent Verheyen made his long-awaited return to competition during one of the busiest race weekends of the season at Spa-Francorchamps. The Belgian driver combined the Belcar Endurance Championship with the legendary 25 Hours Fun Cup, completing his first competitive race weekend since his operation.
Preparations began on Thursday with a full day dedicated to the 25 Hours Fun Cup. Following a successful test one week earlier, it was the first opportunity for Verheyen to spend an entire day back behind the wheel. The programme was completed without any physical issues, allowing the team to work through its setup ahead of the race.
On Friday morning, the focus shifted to the Belcar Endurance Championship. Verheyen completed the majority of the practice laps in the Porsche 992 GT3 Cup, marking his first outing with the car since October. The feeling was immediately positive, and the team headed into qualifying with confidence. Belgium Racing eventually qualified fifth for the only four-hour Belcar race of the season. While it was not exactly the result the team had hoped for, it still provided a strong starting position.
Friday afternoon and evening once again revolved around the Fun Cup. After the final practice session, Colin Cooxqualified the car in an excellent 13th position out of 110 entries, ensuring the team would start among the leading group.
Saturday morning opened with the four-hour Belcar race. Kaï Rillaerts took the start and delivered an outstanding opening stint, climbing from fifth on the grid into the race lead while building an advantage of nearly fifty seconds. During the race, minor contact caused light damage to the steering system, resulting in a warning that remained active for the rest of the event. Although the issue had little impact on the overall performance of the car, it remained a concern throughout the race.
After the opening stint, Michael Cool took over before handing the Porsche to Verheyen for the final part of the race. Returning to competition after months away from the cockpit, Verheyen immediately found a strong rhythm and was pleased with his pace. In the closing stages, however, the #99 Belgium Racing Porsche driven by Paul Meijer proved just too strong, leaving the #98 crew to secure an excellent second-place finish.
"Considering how long I've been away from racing, I'm very happy with this result," said Verheyen. "Physically I'm still building back to where I want to be, but the feeling in the car was immediately good. Of course I would have loved to keep the lead, but we can definitely be proud of finishing second."
Only a few hours later, attention turned to the start of the 25 Hours Fun Cup. Colin Coox took the opening stint but lost valuable time after becoming an innocent victim of an incident during the opening laps, forcing him off the circuit and dropping the team away from the leading group. From that moment onwards, the race became a continuous recovery drive.
The team steadily fought its way back through the field, despite another setback during the night when a loose wheel cost approximately three minutes in the pits. Nevertheless, the drivers continued pushing throughout the night and into Sunday. In a race featuring changing weather conditions, rain showers and numerous incidents, consistency proved crucial. After dropping as low as 60th position, the team recovered brilliantly to finish 14th overall, a result that reflected both determination and perseverance in one of the toughest endurance races of the year.
"The Fun Cup is flat-out racing for 25 hours," Verheyen concluded. "Everyone gave absolutely everything. We had a few setbacks that cost us a lot of time, but we never stopped fighting. Finishing fourteenth after coming back from sixtieth says a lot about the effort from the entire team. It was a fantastic way to complete my first race weekend back."
With his comeback now successfully completed, Verheyen turns his attention to the next major objective of the season: the 24 Hours of Zolder.
