REIGNING CLASS 2 CHAMPS READY FOR REVENGE

Round 2 On Faster And Renewed Zolder Track

Everybody at ProSpeed Competition is more than anxious to get to Zolder for round 2 of the 2006 MVD Belcar Original Championship. Certainly reigning Class 2 champions, Rudi Penders and Franz Lamot are eager to get their championship bid back on track after the previous round’s DNF. A trip to Weissach solved all technical issues, and both drivers and car are as ready as they’ll ever be.

“It turned out the gearbox problem was just a minor issue, nothing to with the sequential gearbox in itself,” Penders explained. “Mind you, bigger races have been lost by smaller issues, so it’s nice to know the problem was immediately located and dealt with.”

With zero points to their tally so far, it is clear that Rudi and Franz have only one mission for this race. “We must win our class,” Penders continued. “It is as simple as that. The way the points system is structured (overall points plus class points add to the overall standings), it will already be pretty difficult, if at all possible to have another record year like last year, where we came close to winning the championship overall. So we must now focus on the title in Class 2.”

“I am as ready as Rudi is,” Franz Lamot said. “Obviously it was a pity to have to retire for a small technical issue, especially when you’re leading, but it’s the kind of thing you’d rather have in the first race than later on in the season when we’re maybe fighting for the Class championship.”

One of the new items to get to grips with at Zolder will be the new chicane layout, as well as the new asphalt. “The new track is as smooth as a baby’s bottom,” Penders said. “And that should be to our advantage, having the engine and the weight in the back. Last year, the track was a lot bumpier, which sometimes could make our life a bit difficult. As for the new chicane, it appears to be a bit quicker when you go through it alone, but in testing we found that it’s actually a bit slower when you’re in a group of cars.”Also keen to get back to Zolder is Pascal Nelissen Grade, driving ProSpeed’s second car. “Zolder is where I learnt to race,” he said.

“I raced in the Zolder Touring Cup for quite a few years, so I almost know the pebbles in the gravel traps by name. Added to the fact that we do most of our testing here means that we should be able to improve on our Spa performance from round one. Both Christian and I are getting to grips with the car, and with two more days of testing scheduled, I think our ambition should be to finish in the top 6 in class and as close to the top 15 finishers overall as possible.“

Christian Kelders may only have just started racing again after a long break, but he hasn’t lost any of his abilities. Indeed, Kelders leads the “Welcome Challenge”, the official Rookie of the Year classification. All four ProSpeed drivers will face more competition than they did at Spa, as the Thiers brothers as well as Fred Bouvy are joining the Class 2 battle, coming from Class 1 and Class 3 respectively.

Finally, Patrick Poncelet and Jos Van Roij will be driving the third ProSpeed 911 GT3 in the Belcar Endurance Cup. In the opening round at Spa, they were forced to start last, but still managed to carve through the field like a hot knife through butter and finish a strong sixth overall. Another team looking for some suitable revenge and which should have a clear shot at the podium.

2006 PROSPEED COMPETITION SCHEDULE & RESULTS

April 9th MVD Belcar Round 1: Spa

#21 Penders/Lamot DNF (gearbox)#22 Nelissen Grade/Kelders 17th O/A, 6th Class 2Winner O/A Longin/Kumpen Chevrolet Corvette C5-RWinner Cl. 2 Severich/Josten BMW M3 GTR V8

May 21st MVD Belcar Round 2: ZolderJune 29th MVD Belcar Round 3: ZolderJuly 23rd MVD Belcar Round 4: Eurospeedway LausitzJuly 29th-30th FIA GT Round 4: Spa 24 HoursAugust 26th-27th MVD Belcar Round 5: Zolder 24 HoursOctober 8th MVD Belcar Round 6: SpaOctober 22nd MVD Belcar Round 7: Zolder

2006 BELCAR – OVERALL POINTS STANDINGS1. B Longin/A Kumpen (Corvette) 40 points; 2. D Hart/S Bleekemolen (Corvette) 34; 3. G Severich/M Josten (BMW) 31; 4. M Goossens/D Van Dongen (Marcos) 30; 5. C Mattheus/S Boden (Porsche) 30;… 18. P Nelissen Grade/C Kelders (Porsche) 11;…

2006 BELCAR – CLASS 2 POINTS STANDINGS1. G Severich/M Josten (BMW) 20 points; 2. R Grouwels/ E Grouwels (Dodge) 17; 3. P Schreurs/P Daniëls (Porsche) 15; 4. P Ceusters/K Jacobs (Porsche) 13; 5. J Vollebergh/D De Laet (Porsche) 11; 6. P Nelissen Grade/C Kelders (Porsche) 10;…