Zolder 24 Hours
Preview

The 30th edition of the 24 Hours of Zolder takes place this weekend; the ‘twice around the clock’ race being the fifth meeting of the Belgian GT Championship Mediagroep van Dyck and representing the highpoint of the Belgian national motorsport season. By Sunday afternoon, we will know who the successors to Marc Goossens, Guillaume Dumarey, Maxime Soulet and Maxime Dumarey will be, but in the meanwhile we’ll take a look into the future of this gruelling race.

True to tradition, this 30th edition of the 24 Hours of Zolder is being held at the end of August and once again this year promises to be a nail biting event. The Balance of Power of the GT3s guarantees a well balanced field, as proven by the race last year, where we had to wait until the last hour of the race to discover the outcome.

Quite a number of drivers have pencilled this thirtieth edition in red in their diaries. Following in the footsteps of Tom Kristensen and Eric van de Poele, who respectively clinched their eighth and fifth victories in the 24 hour races of Le Mans and Spa, several of our competitors are also out to achieve records.

Anthony Kumpen, who will be sharing the Gravity International Mosler MT900 with Bert Longin and Vincent Radermecker, could, with a fifth victory, become the sole record holder of these 24 Hours of Zolder. In this case, Bert Longin would boast four wins, just as many as Vincent Dupont and Marc Goossens. Amongst the present generation of drivers, Maxime Soulet, Marc Duez, Tim Verbergt and Kurt Thiers each have two victories. Albert Vanierschot goes one better, with three victories to his name in a well filled racing career, similar to the Dutchman Mike Hezemans, who precedes Patrick Huisman in the rankings of the foreign drivers. This year we have Pedro Lamy at the start, looking to add a second win at Zolder to his list of achievements.

There is more clarity amongst the manufacturers. To date, Porsche has 10 victories to its name, having taken the first one back in 1989 and the most recent last year, when the GPR team clinched a first overall victory in a 24 hours race with a Porsche 997 GT3. Viper has enjoyed four wins, with three consecutive victories between 2002 and 2004. Other makes placing their name on the roll call include Volvo, Renault, BMW, Chevrolet and Audi.

Most striking is the fact that amongst the teams there is a movement towards renewal. Out of previous winners it should be noted that two of the most recent successful teams, SRT and PK Carsport – as well as ProSpeed Competition that has scored numerous top places – are today active at an international level, which goes to prove the strength of the Belgian GT competition. Amongst the teams, only GPR and naturally AD Sport boast previous victories.

Division 1

Double points are up for grabs in this race and it is therefore a major meeting for all teams aspiring to the championship. This year’s winners will most probably be competing in Division 1, the class reserved for national and international GT3s. However one mustn’t rule out the odd surprise, as proven by the excellent second place of the AD Sport Porsche Biturbo entered in Division 3 last year. But, with the accumulated experience, combined with the degree of quality and the balanced field of competitors in Division 1, it is more than likely than the winners are to be found here.

When one mentions endurance racing, Porsche immediately comes to mind; a classic cliché, but it’s a fact. And this year also the Porsche-teams are the hot favourites of these 24 Hours of Zolder. Their reliability, linked to their relatively low fuel consumption and years of experience, makes these German machines the perfect weapon for longer distance work.

It goes without saying that the former winning GPR team of Pino Sperlinga is forecast as favourite by many. Maxime Soulet and Greg Franchi, the present leaders in the Belgian GT Championship, will be sharing their Porsche 997 GT3 Cup S with none other than the Belgian ex-F1-hope Bas Leinders as well as the versatile gentleman driver Christian Kelders. This will give Maxime Soulet and Greg Franchi the perfect opportunity for revenge and make up for their unfortunate experience during the 24 Hours of Spa.

But there’s not only GPR waving the Porsche flag. ProSpeed Competition and NGT are two strong teams ready to help Porsche clinch an eleventh victory at Zolder. Rudi Penders, Franz Lamot, David Loix and Stéphane Lémeret are the regular drivers of ProSpeed Competition in the FIA GT3 championship and are aiming at nothing less than victory, whilst at NGT they have opted for experience with Ward Sluys and Heinz Bonnaerens to support Bart Couwberghs and Ruben Maes.

Both Ferrari and Viper will be entering three representatives each at Zolder. As compared to Porsche and Viper, the Italian prancing horse has never won at Zolder, but this year, with Francorchamps Motors by Delahaye, Sport Garage and Scuderia Monza, anything is possible. At the 24 Hours of Spa the French AS Events team proved with their third place in GT3 that one needs to take the Ferrari 430 into consideration.

Fred Bouvy and Damien Coens, presently second in the championship, will be sharing the drive at Zolder with two ladies; namely Vanina Ickx and Alexandra van de Velde. This season Vanina Ickx experienced success with Delahaye and Fred Bouvy in the 12 Hours of Spa. Sport Garage found reinforcement for Vincent Vosse and Eddy Renard abroad, calling on Steve Zacchia and the Portuguese top driver Pedro Lamy. Lamy previously won the race in 2004, at the wheel of the GLPK Viper which he shared with Anthony Kumpen, Bert Longin and Mike Hezemans.

The Thiers family, with Kurt, Hans, Frank, and supported by Guy Van Mol, make up the final irons in the Ferrari-fire.

A+ and KRK Racing will be defending the Viper colours. A+ is looking for a good result and a confirmation of their achievements during the first half of the season. Guido Werckx and Laurent Nef are provisionally the drivers who will be reinforcing the team, with amongst others the super fast Jeffrey Van Hooydonk. KRK Racing will exceptionally be entering one car, with the regular team comprised out of Koen and Kris Wauters and Patrick Schreurs. Jan Heylen will be replacing the injured Raf Vanthoor.

This leaves Mosler and Lamborghini, respectively with two and one car. Quite obviously we can’t go without mentioning Bert Longin, Anthony Kumpen and Vincent Radermecker. This trio will most probably set the pace during the qualifying sessions, but whether the American power beast can hold out for the entire 24 hours is another question. All will be revealed on Sunday 31st August at 16.00hrs.

On the other hand, two years ago G&A proved, with its sixth place, that the Mosler MT900 can hold out for 24 hours. G&A Racing are going for continuity, as they will be retaining the same quartet as back in 2007. Guino Kenis and Michael De Keersmaecker will be teamed up with Patrick Smets and the Belgian Monegasque Chris Mattheus.

Last but not least we have the JD Competition Lamborghini Gallardo to be driven by Henk Haane and Patrick Ceusters. More news about this team will follow in due course.

Divisions 2 & 3

It goes without saying that the cars in Divisions 2 and 3, supplemented by guest cars, will play an important part. Even more than during the races over 60 or 120 minutes they could achieve an excellent overall result and even be up front; and this through consistency, strategy or the progress of the race in general. Let us not forget AD Sport’s great second place with the Bruynoghe-Vanierschot-Schreurs-Steegmans quartet in the 2007 edition, or Neyens-Colman-Bonnaerens-Couwberghs; winners in Division 2 in the NGT Porsche 996, finishing a strong fifth in the final results.

Let us first take a look at Division 2, where the cup cars of the previous generation will be doing battle with the new GT4s. Next to the GT3s, the GT4s undoubtedly represent the future in GT racing and, for the first time, a GT4 car will take the start of a Belgian 24 Hours event. Both Accent Racing, with its Aston Martin Vantage N24, and VDS, with the Ford Mustang, will be taking on the challenge and should become the forerunners of a solid renewal in the field.

In Division 2, competition does not come solely from the Porsche-camp. Moritz Racing is entering an authentic Marcos Mantis in the Menzo 24 Hours of Zolder. This British car will undoubtedly be a pole of attraction for all aficionados of beautiful and rare sports cars during the weekend.

We then have the various Porsche 996s. In the first instance we have the Powercars Porsche 996, with the leaders in the championship Van Oost and Maes. But First Motorsport and Speedlover are entering similar cars and, taking into consideration their reliability and consumption could raise the odd eyebrow. With the De Laet-Vollebergh-Hemroulle-Verbergt quartet, JD Competition also has an excellent chance of clinching a top result.

Quite obviously, the leading trio in the Division 3 championship - namely First Motorsport, Speedlover and McDonald’s Racing - will ensure an excellent battle, in order to make a major step towards the title. But here again, a top place overall is not excluded. Let us not forget that last year the Lagrange–Nelissen-Grade–Verbist car led the race for quite a while.

In Division 3 AD Sport has every intention of improving on last year’s result. Drivers on duty are Patric Derdaele, Albert Vanierschot, Kurt Dujardyn and Ron Marchal. And then we have the Porsche 996 GT3 RS of Pulinckx, undoubtedly a serious outsider.

Last but not least, we have the three British Ginetta G50Rs. KS Motorsport will be entering two evolutions of the GT4 from the Leeds workshops, but in addition to the Belgians there will be the visit from a top team straight out of the UK. None other than the owner of Ginetta, Lawrence Tomlinson, will be at the wheel of a third G50R, joined by Richard Dean, Danny Watts and Nigel Moore. Apart from being the owner of the British make, Tomlinson is also a renowned industrialist and former winner in GT2 at Le Mans. Both ‘Belgian’ cars will therefore be facing strong opposition from in-house.

Joost Custers