Preview
© Joost Custers

This coming Saturday, August 27, will see the start of the 22nd 24 hours of Zolder, and it will inevitably be a very exciting running of the race. Not only will there be the fight for the overall victory; with double points to gain, this race could also be a very important moment in the ongoing MediaGroup Van Dyck Belcar Championship. Given these double points, this Euphony 24 hours of Zolder, the fifth race of the Belcar year, is also exactly the halfway mark for championship points. Nothing is sure yet, but this 24 hour race will anyway be very important in determining the outcome of the season.

The role played by GLPK could be an important factor: the team seems to be no longer in contention for the championship but could, on the other hand, be a major influence on the points scored by others. Anthony Kumpen: ”We are there to win even though the opposition will be very tough. The 6 and 12-hour marks do not interest us, only the starting grid on Saturday and of course the result on Sunday afternoon grab our attention.” The value the team places on the overall result is proven by the immense efforts being made this weekend, as they also race their Corvette at Oschersleben, in FIA GTs, this weekend.

Other major favourites will have two goals: victory and the championship. The numbers 1 and 3 from the standings, Kuismanen and SRT, will therefore have a very demanding task: maintaining a strong rhythm without breaking, and thus scoring points, but also chasing overall victory. Do they go together?

The current championship situation is far from being decided.

Overall contenders Kuismanen / Vosse in the Viper have Duncan Huisman joining them in Zolder: the two regulars have a 16-point lead over the GTB TT-Porsche of Penders / Lamot and 33 over the SRT-Corvette of Goossens / Hart, who will have the support of Verheyen / Heylen. Palttala / Van Sande (Porsche biturbo), Qvick / Geoffroy (Ultima) and Menten / Bouvy (Porsche biturbo) are equal fourth on 40 points. 80 points during the 24 hours and 160 over the entire second half of the season are still to be gained, so Vosse / Kuismanen are far from home.

On the right is the GTA Audi TT V8 of Freddy Loix, Ellen Lohr and Chris Mattheus, and below the highly developed Mantis of Wim Noorman, Danny Van Dongen, Cor Euser and Jeroen Bleekemolen.

With 20 cars on the entry list, GTB is by far the most popular class of the field. Second in GT, and leading the GTB-class, Penders / Lamot / Couwberghs / Dujardyn in #31 will find some tough competition.

“Our main goal is to ensure our top position in GTB,” says Franz Lamot. “But our position in GT overall opens up perspectives. In Spa, we proved to be reliable and once again at Zolder, we will use a less thirsty Supercup engine. We will therefore complete longer stints keeping us out of the refuelling zone. What’s important too is to finish here in Zolder. This is my fourth attempt and I have never seen the finish line before.”

And the Brits? Well, with the upcoming Silverstone race, they are less in numbers from the total racing in previous events. Three drivers are on the list, with Peter Cook driving the #39 Coast Racing Porsche 996 GT3 and Moore and Cox entering the brand new #95 BMW E46, in TB. This is the GS Motorsport BMW, running in TA.

Qualifying starts on Wednesday evening while the last session is on Thursday afternoon. The start of the race will be given at 17.00 pm CET on Saturday.

dailysportscar.com will cover the race throughout the week and weekend.

Late news just in… Leo Van Sande will not race, owing to a shoulder injury.

This changes the complete line-up of both PSI cars. Vincent Radermecker replaces Van Sande in #5, and Kurt Mollekens switches from the #4 RSR to the #5 Biturbo, joining Markus Palttala - who normally looks much happier than this (right).

David Loix, who won the Spa 12-hours with PSI, will join his BTCS teammates Bouvy and Menten in the #4 RSR.

This means two extremely strong teams for PSI with all (semi)-professional drivers.

Other changes: Olivier Muytjens joins the #91 G&S BMW, Jan De Wit the #34 Ultima and Philip Daniëls drives the #29 AD-Sport RS.