Belcar – Spa LMES Meeting – Race 2
A Thriller

The cars started in race 1 finishing order, which meant Goossens and Longin at the back of the grid, with the Keen / Greensall Stealth. The Belgian Stealth will start from the pitlane. The only car missing is the #32 Ceusters / Metior Porsche after a big shunt in race 1.

Starting drivers for this second race (conditions still foul) were:
Vosse / Bouvy / Van Sande / Kurt Thiers / Geoffroy / Lamot / Verhoeven / Kaufmann / Schreurs / Koen Wauters / …. / Longin / Goossens.

Vosse eased away at the start and a bunch of Biturbos and RSs followed. Meanwhile Longin and Goossens started their chase. Van Sande, in the #5 PSI Biturbo, had already lost 20 places in four laps, lapping slower than the majority of Cup Porsches. Palttala would need another overtaking race to put the PSI Biturbo back among the top runners.

Vosse really was flying out front, lapping 10” faster than all other drivers…

Keen, Longin and Goossens were having fun in the midfield and after five laps, we already had all three in the top 10.

After exactly 15 minutes Van Sande came in to hand the wheel of the Porsche to Palttala. At the front, Vosse might have already assured his first place, leading by 40” from Bouvy and by 51” from the SRT Corvette - already up to third.

Longin was the second of the frontrunners to pit, after 20 minutes.

After 30 minutes, Vosse was still ahead, but Goossens was second - only 30”. Bouvy was third, fourth was Koen Wauters and fifth Keen. In GTB, Thiers led Cook.

Everything depended now on the strategies of both Kuismanen Racing and SRT. Knowing that pit stops have to be made before the 45 minutes mark, will both teams go until this point?

Yes, they do - and Goossens continued to close at an astonishing pace. With 20’ to go, he is within 15 seconds of the Michelin works driver.

And then: Safety car…. both of the cars were awaiting the green light at the end of the pitlane. The reason for the SC is an off by Van Craeynest in the #39 Porsche.

One lap to go and the SC leaves them to it… What a finish…Kuismanen wins! Again!

Result
1. #2 Kuismanen Viper
2. #7 SRT Corvette + 1.280
3. #1 GLPK Viper + 21.316
4. #4 PSI Porsche Biturbo + 22.463
5. #6 AD Porsche Biturbo +2.32.202
6. #5 PSI Porsche Biturbo +2.43.276
7. #19 RSR Stealth + 1 lap
8. #3 RS Porsche Biturbo
9. #31 TT Porsche 996 GT3 / RS (GTB)
10. #14 ERG Marcos LM 600
11. #15 Eurotech Marcos Mantis
12. #33 Pilot Ultima GTR (GTB)
13. #29 AD Porsche 996 GT3 / R (GTB)

18. #GS BMW M3 GTR (TA)
28. #GS BMW E46 (TB)

© Joost Custers

But there was a protest from PSI and GLPK against the result. The Belcar rules stipulate that all cars in the pitlane have to await the SC passing before leaving the pitlane. This did not happen - as the light at the end of the pitlane was switched to green, just as international rules prescribe. The sports commission will now investigate and give an answer as soon as possible.

The answer is that the result stands.