It was a challenging weekend for the Competition102 GT4 European Series at Spa-Francorchamps. The 29 cars entered for the fourth round of the 2016 season not only had to battle each other, but also 15 GT4 and 17 GT3 cars from the British GT Championship, which is also run by SRO Motorsports Group. Numerous incidents during practice on Friday meant the drivers had had limited track time before qualifying. They then faced changing weather conditions during qualifying itself, which caused some confusion as to what sort of tyres should be used. The race itself was held under perfect weather conditions, but incidents on and off the track affected the result of the race
Mads Siljehaug and Maciej Dreszer claimed victory in the GT4 PRO class of the Competition102 GT4 European Series race at Spa-Francorchamps with the #184 RYS Team Hohenberg KTM X-Bow GT4, but the pair was not shown as the overall winner on the official results. After the results were declared final it became clear that a mistake had occurred in terms of the timekeeping
The #107 Street Art Racing Aston Martin of Damien Dupont and Jérôme Demay, whose transponder had broken early in the race and who had dropped down the timing screens as a consequence, was given an extra lap by mistake. The car was therefore incorrectly shown as the best placed Competition102 GT4 European Series entry instead of the RYS Team Hohenberg KTM. Unfortunately, the official results can no longer be changed as they have been declared final.
The mistake does not affect the points standings in the GT4 PRO and GT4 AM classes. The Competition102 GT4 European Series apologizes for the mistake that was made, and will take the necessary actions to ensure it does not happen again.
V8 Racing entered two Aston Martin Vantage GT4s at Spa-Francorchamps after the massive fire that destroyed its two Chevrolet Camaro GT4s. The team ran two Mathol Racing cars, one of them being the former ALFAB Racing chassis. Mathol Racing bought the car after one of its cars was destroyed during the last lap crash at the Red Bull Ring round in 2015. The drivers were pleasantly surprised by the handling of the car, although the weekend didn’t go exactly as planned.
“I was actually surprised by the Aston Martin Vantage GT4, especially when compared to the handling of the Chevrolet Camaro GT4 we used to race before,” said highly experienced GT4 driver Duncan Huisman. “The Aston has clearly been developed with amateur drivers in mind, making it quite easy to drive for drivers like me. The Vantage is better on new tires, while the Camaro was more consistent on long runs. I like the Aston, though they should improve the gearbox.”
Huisman started from the back and fought back to fourth place, before handing over to teammate Luc Braams. Unfortunately the car retired 20 minutes from the end with technical issues.
For Marcel Nooren and Jelle Beelen it was a weekend to forget. In Free Practice 2 the brakes failed on the #104 car and Beelen went off. Fortunately the Competition102 GT4 European Series champion of 2015 wasn’t injured in the accident.
“I knew I was going to hit something and it was either going to be a head-on collision or I could try to get the car sideways and aim for the tyre wall. The impact caused damage to the left front of the car, enough to rule us out for the remainder of the weekend unfortunately,” said Jelle Beelen upon returning to the paddock
New teams vow to return to the series after positive experiences at Spa
The Competition102 GT4 European Series welcomed a number of new teams and drivers at Spa-Francorchamps. RODRIGUES, Delahaye Racing Team, eSKY INVENTO Racing and Pall-Ex Slidesport Motorsport all made their official debut in the series in Belgium. The teams felt at home immediately and have all shown interest to return to the series for at least one of the two remaining rounds this season.
“It was an exciting experience for everyone. For the drivers on the track as well as those working in the pits and on the pit wall, where they studied the strategies for the driver changes, refueling and tyre changes. The knowledge that we can still improve gives us hope for the next race at the Hungaroring,” said RODRIGUES’ teammanager Daniele Vernuccio.
Two other newcomers, SKY INVENTO RACING and Pall-Ex Slidesport Motorsport, have confirmed interest to compete in the fifth round of the series in Hungary with their Maserati GranTurismo MC GT4 and Porsche Cayman Clubsport GT4, while Delahaye Racing Team is looking at options to compete in the season finale at Zandvoort on October 7-9 with its Porsche Cayman Clubsport GT4.
Lots of interest for the next race at the Hungaroring
After a two-month break, the Competition102 GT4 European Series will continue at the Hungaroring on September 23-25. The series will race at the Grand Prix circuit for the first time and the event has generated a lot of interest already from teams and manufacturers.
Several teams not currently competing in the Competition102 GT4 European Series have shown interest to join the regular teams during the fifth round of the season. The entry list for the Hungarian round will be revealed at a later date.
While many of the drivers in the Competition102 GT4 European Series will be going to the Hungaroring for the first time, one driver knows his way around the Hungarian circuit. His name is Duncan Huisman.
The 44-year-old Dutchman won the FIA Super Production Championship round at the track in 2001 with a BMW 320i, last raced at the Hungaroring in 2005 in the Porsche Supercup and tested with ROAL Motorsport back in 2006. Ten years after his final trip to the circuit he will return to Hungary in a GT4 car and he is already looking forward to return in September.
The races will be streamed live, including commentary, on .com/live. The event takes place on September 23 – 25, 2016. The first of the two races is set to take place on Saturday afternoon, while the second race is scheduled for Sunday morning
