Belgian GT, Spa - Rounds 5 & 6 Preview
Ferrari, Ford, Audi, Dodge - But Who’s Next? One month after the good races during the weekend of the LMS 1000 Km of Spa, the competitors of the Belgian GT Championship Mediagroep Van Dyck are back in Spa. Some weeks ago, victories went to the Audi R8 LMS of Jeff Hemroulle and Tim Verbergt and the Dodge Viper of Jeffrey Van Hooydonk and Koen Wauters, but who will be the next star on the podium? We know that once again we have two races of one hour duration, starting at 9h55 and 12h55 on Saturday, but the outcome of the fifth and sixth races of the season is highly unpredictable. We might well lack quantity, but with still 16 cars on the grid, the Belgian GT is behaving not so badly after all, and quality is definitely apparent. The Mustang GT4 of VDS will be back, while both the Dodge Vipers of Derdaele-Van Moerkerke and Philippe Cracco will join the troops. But the championship is undoubtedly a highly disputed one, with a very tight competition. So far victories went to the Ferrari 430 of reigning champions 2008 Bouvy-Coens (with carbon fibre doors and so carrying 24 kilogram less this weekend), the Ford GT of Kuismanen-Huisman, the Audi R8 LMS of Hemroulle-Verbergt and last but not least the Dodge Viper of Van Hooydonk-Wauters. So far we had four different makes taking the spoils in four races, so the battle will be very intense again and maybe we will see a fifth and why not a sixth different constructor on the highest podium spot this weekend in Spa. One of the contenders could well be the Barwell Aston Martin DBRS9 of Vincent Vosse and Eddy Renard. Vosse took pole some weeks ago, but the fast Aston was unable to defend its chances during the races. The First Motorsport Porsche 997 GT3 of François Verbist and Bert Longin is a very regular competitor and is now third in the standings, but with the 50 kilo extra weight due to the Pro/Pro driver-paring, a victory might be difficult. The Viper received no further penalties after the last meeting of the FIA concerning the ‘Balance of Power’ and so KRK will be amongst the main contenders for victory on a dry Spa-Francorchamps. But tactics, pitstops and reliability will be key factors in the races on Saturday. Standings: Teams: 1. Audi Phoenix en Dodge Viper KRK N°4 26; 3. Porsche First Motorsport 21 ; 4. Ferrari Delahaye 17 ; 5. Dodge Viper KRK N°8 15 ; 6. Ford Kuismanen 14 ; 7. Lamborghini JD by KS N°10 12 Drivers: 1. Hemroulle-Verbergt 60 ; 2. Koen Wauters-Van Hooydonk 56; 3. Verbist-Longin 55 ; 4. Bouvy-Coens 50 ; 5. Kris Wauters-Vanthoor 44 Joost Custers | 
