PROSPEED COMPETITION AMONG FAVOURITES FOR 24-HOUR WIN
Zolder Marks First Ever 24-Hour Race For GT3 Class Cars
This coming weekend ProSpeed Competition will take part in their third 24-Hour race of the 2007 season.
After podium finishes in the Dubai (3rd overall and 2nd in class) and Spa 24 Hours (2nd in class), the Liège-based team is now looking at adding a third consecutive podium finish in day-and-night-races to their tally. Unlike at Spa a month ago, ProSpeed Competition is now gunning for the overall podium of the Zolder 24 Hours. The “other” Belgian classic is not only the main race of the Belcar Championship – in which ProSpeed Competition runs two Porsches 997 GT3 Cup – but also the world’s first ever 24-Hour race for GT3 cars. The only other time GT3s ran a 24-hour race was at Spa in July, but then they were allowed to run a relay race because of worries over the cars’ reliability.
Running Porsches, reliability issues are something team boss Rudi Penders does not fear, but he is nevertheless anxious to see how the race will develop. “If there is one car brand in the world that spells “endurance” in big bold letters it has to be Porsche,” he said. “But it will be interesting to see how we’ll all fare. Per definition, a GT3 car is not developed for long distance races, but I think we proved in Spa that at ProSpeed we’ve got a handle on that issue. The G3 class podium was all about Porsche, and it was just some bizarre issues – like the air jack – that cost us a shot at the win.”
The grid for the Zolder 24 Hours – rumoured to be only some 35-strong – may be smaller than in previous years, but that doesn’t mean ProSpeed Competition is taking this race lightly. After numerous podium finishes overall and in class at the Zolder 24, Penders now hopes to combine the team’s experience, the car’s pedigree and the drivers’ ambition to score an overall win. To do so, the lead car is now equipped with the latest 2007-spec factory updates – wider track and wheels at the front, revised aerodynamics front and rear, new flywheel, stabilizers, shocks – which worked flawlessly at Spa.
The driver line-ups reflect the team’s ambition: the lead Porsche 997 GT3 Cup will be driven by Belcar regulars David Loix and Fred Bouvy – a double Spa 24 Hours winner – who will be accompanied by rally ace, François Duval – second overall at the recent German WRC event – and endurance specialist Armand Fumal.
In the second car team boss Penders and co Franz Lamot – six Belcar titles between them – will be joined by multiple Belcar Endurance Cup race winner, Jos Van Roij, and twice overall winner of the Zolder 24 Hours, Kurt Dujardyn. “I don’t think there are many teams out there which can combine this kind of drivers’ experience with the reliability and pedigree of a Porsche,” Penders said. “So yes, we do like to think that we can count ourselves among the favourites for the win. Not that the other teams aren’t good or experienced enough, but apart from a Porsche not much else in GT3 has yet proved to be able to go the distance, have they?”
Practice and qualifying starts on Wednesday and continues on Thursday, with Friday off and a 4.00pm race start on Saturday.
