SLOW PUNCTURE PREVENTS PROSPEED SCORING THIRD WIN
Penders And Lamot Second Behind BMW
It was a case of what could have been as well as a case of what should have been. Reigning Belcar Class 2 champions, Rudi Penders and Franz Lamot came close to scoring a third consecutive class win in today’s fourth Belcar race at the German Lausitzring near the German-Polish border, but a slow puncture forced the team to consolidate its second place in class, rather than risk an accident.
Already in qualifying, Penders and Lamot paid the price for having been successful in the previous races. Forty kilograms of success ballast was their share for two wins and it showed on the time sheets. Penders set a fourth fastest time overall, but his lap time was a whopping 2.4 second slower than Thomas Mutsch in the BMW. “The 40kgs made themselves felt, of course,” Penders explained, “but the track knowledge of Mutsch in the BMW was undeniable.”In the race, the champion duo counted on all their experience to keep their chances alive. “Franz took the start and stayed within some ten seconds of the BMW. At the same time he covered his rear by lapping a second quicker than Bouvy in third. Rain set in after about 35 minutes of racing, but it wasn’t enough to give us a wet track. When it did pour Franz came in and we switched to wets as I took over. We passed the BMW in the pits by virtue of a quicker pitstop. Then it dried up again so everybody had to come in again for slicks, and this time the BMW crew was the quicker one.”
Back in second position in class and eager to go for the hat-trick, Penders chased down the BMW, coming to within three seconds. “We had rubbed doors already earlier, so I knew he’d be a tough customer to pass. Each time I closed in he responded so I decided to wait until the last fifteen minutes or so when the tyres normally start going off. Unfortunately, as I was closing in again near the end, I felt I had a slow puncture at the left rear. On the banking the tyre touched the bodywork so there was a real chance of having a blow-out, which made me decide that discretion is the better part of valour. Second place would have to do today.”
The team’s second car had a steady race to seventh in class, having started from pitlane after a late steering rack change after warm-up. “The radio didn’t work properly, so when the rain came our pitstops were not as smooth as they usually are,” Pascal Nelissen Grade said. “But our lap times were correct and although we lost some places by being sent on when we came in to change tyres and thus having to make an extra pitstop, it was good to finish the race.”
The team’s third car, entered in the Belcar Endurance Cup, scored a fine second place overall in the hands of Patrick Poncelet and Jos van Roij.ProSpeed Competition’s next outing is this weekend’s Spa 24 Hours, round 4 of the FIA GT Championship.
MVD BELCAR ROUND 4 – LAUSITZ – RESULTS1. Longin/Kumpen Chevrolet Corvette C5-R 68 laps2. Hart/Hezemans Chevrolet Corvette C5-R + 7s4243. Josten/Mutsch BMW E46 V8 GTR + 4 laps (1st Class 2)4. Penders/Lamot Porsche 996 GTR RS + 4 laps (2nd Class 2)5. Maton/Van Campenhoudt Porsche 996 GT3 Cup + 5 laps (1st Class 3)6. Neyens/Steinberg Porsche 996 GT3 Cup + 6 laps (2nd Class 3)7. Grouwels/Grouwels Dodge Viper RT/10 + 6 laps (3rd Class 2)14. Nelissen Grade/Kelders Porsche 996 GT3 RS + 7 laps (7th Class 2)
