First Of Five-Race International Programme To Prepare 2008
Next weekend, Belgium’s premier endurance racing team, ProSpeed Competition, will start its 2007 international programme with the fourth round of the FIA GT Championship in Monza, Italy. The team’s five-race programme – with their brand new Porsche 997 GT3 RSR – is to learn the ropes before they embark on a full season of international racing in 2008. After Monza, ProSpeed Competition will race in the Spa 24 Hours (FIA GT), the Spa 1000 Kilometres (LMS) and the famous 1000-Mile “Petit Le Mans” race (ALMS) at Road Atlanta, Georgia, USA.
An outing in the FIA GT finale at the team’s home track of Zolder is also a possibility. The team had of course already finished on the overall podium in the Dubai 24 Hours earlier this year, driving their older 996 GT3 RSR.
“Initially we had planned to do the full Le Mans Series,” team boss, Rudi Penders said. “But the endless discussions over winter on the future of our national Belcar Championship meant we couldn’t make a firm decision early enough. By the time we were in a position to commit to the LMS, the series organisers had put the “Sorry, Full” sign on the door as some tracks are limited in the number of cars they can run. So while still concentrating on the Belcar championship with our two GT3-spec 997s, we will use the 2007 season to discover and learn all about racing at an international level in the FIA GT Championship, the European Le Mans Series and the American Le Mans Series. From the outset, it has been ProSpeed Competition’s firm ambition to go racing internationally, and this season’s “delay” will ultimately allow us to be better prepared in 2008.”While the Spa 24 Hours have always – successfully – figured on ProSpeed Competition’s programme, racing in FIA GT races over the classic shorter 2-hour duration is new to both team and drivers, as will be those other classic distances like 1000 kilometres or 1000 miles. Yet, everyone at ProSpeed Competition is well aware of the strength of the opposition they will meet at the different events and of the fact that 2007 is all about learning.
“We were of course disappointed that we didn’t get an entry for the Le Mans Series or the Le Mans 24 Hours,” Penders continued, “but when you look at the quality of the entries one can’t but say the organisers were right not to accept us. Le Mans is an event one has to earn one’s entry for, and that’s what we will hopefully have achieved by next June. So, this year will be a kind of “back-to-school” season, where our first ambition will be to finish the races.”
The Monza FIA GT race might look odd in a programme centred around long-distance classics, but since the team hasn’t raced their 997 GT3 RSR yet (the car was earmarked for the Belcar Championship, but at the last instance the Belgian series went for GT3 only), so the shorter Italian race was the most interesting test race before attacking the two Ardennes classics.
“Monza is a track with so much history you just have to race there once in your life,” Rudi Penders’ regular co-driver, Franz Lamot, said. “Oschersleben just isn’t the same, is it? Plus the fast nature of Monza will make it easier for us to stay out of trouble. We have of course raced against faster GT1 cars in the Belcar championship, but never against so many of them, driven by professionals. It will be an eye-opener, but surely a valuable lesson learned as well.”After Monza, the team will prepare for the Spa 24 Hours, with a possible surprise guest driver to be announced later.
2007 PROSPEED COMPETITION INTERNATIONAL SCHEDULE
June 24th Monza (I), FIA GT Round 4July 28th-29th Spa 24 Hours (B), FIA GT Round 6August 19th Spa 1000Kms (B), LMS Round 4October 6th Petit Le Mans, Road Atlanta (USA), ALMS Round 11October 21st Zolder (B), FIA GT Round 10 (To be confirmed)
