• Dylan Derdaele, winner of a spectacular race on Saturday, becomes the first two-time champion
• Victory and title for Floris Dullaart in Pro-Am
• Eventful final in Am and double victory for Geißelhart
With the overall title battle and the one in Pro-Am still undecided, much was expected from the grand final of the Porsche Carrera Cup Benelux at the Hockenheimring. And those expectations were all fulfilled! At the start of the first of two races the tension was cut and already at the first pass of the infamous hairpin bend of the German circuit there was already a pre-decision in the battle for the championship.
Polesitter Thierry Vermeulen (Team GP Elite) missed his start and it was Steven van Rhee (Team GP Elite) who took the lead. Behind him, Xavier Maassen (#TeamPGZ by Red Ant Racing) hit the new Am champion Jan Lauryssen (Q1 Trackracing by EMG) in the hairpin. Huub van Eijndhoven (#TeamPGZ by JW RaceService) was also involved in the collision as an innocent bystander and had to retire a few hundred meters further with a broken steering system. For the co-leader in the championship, that was his first retirement of the season and he immediately saw his title chances seriously compromised!
And that was far from all. After a brief safety car period to clear the track, Glenn van Parijs (NGT Racing) attacked leader Steven van Rhee, intent on boosting his title chances. However, the two cars touched each other, went through the grass in sync and awarded the first place on a silver platter to Dylan Derdaele (Belgium Racing). The 2016 champion had only started the race in seventh position, but made excellent use of the eventful start of the race to take the lead and not relinquish it. Derdaele thus captured his fifth victory of the season, ahead of Sebastian Freymuth (PG Motorsport) and Ghislain Cordeel (Team GP Elite).
From that moment on, the spearhead of Belgium Racing knew that he could control the last race of the season. A few raindrops had made the asphalt a bit more treacherous, but a sixth position on Sunday was more than enough for Dylan Derdaele to become the first double champion of the fastest single-player cup in the Low Countries. By masterfully winning the second race, ahead of Thierry Vermeulen and Steven van Rhee, Glenn van Parijs managed to steal the silver medal in the final standings from Huub van Eijndhoven. The latter, briefly in the lead in this last race, crossed the line in fourth after a missed braking point. The young Dutchman still takes third place in the Porsche Carrera Cup Benelux.
Pro-Am: Dullaart lives up to expectations
The champion in Pro-Am was known even before the start of the last season's race. After a great battle with Nicolas Saelens (Belgium Racing) for a whole year, Floris Dullaart (Team GP Elite) only needed a second place in Pro-Am on Saturday to secure the title, also because the Belgian with had to deal with technical problems and had to retire to the pit lane. Game, set and match for Dullaart!
On Saturday, Russian Andrey Mukovoz (DUWO Racing) took his first victory ahead of new champion Floris Dullaart and Filip Teunkens (Q1 Trackracing by EMG). The next day Nicolas Saelens again had to stop the fight prematurely, this time after contact with Filip Teunkens. Floris Dullaart further emphasized his title by driving to victory, ahead of John de Wilde (Speedlover) and Nicolas Vandierendonck (Q1 Trackracing by EMG).
Am: When the cat is away…
Jan Lauryssen (Q1 Trackracing by EMG) was already certain of the title in Am before the start of the last meeting of the season, and wanted to get involved in the battle for the places of honor overall in Hockenheim. When the hairpin was cut for the first time, the Belgian took second place, but was then tagged around by Xavier Maassen. In his catch-up race, he came into contact with teammate Nicolas Vandierendonck (Q1 Trackracing by EMG) and a retirement was inevitable.
Local hero Harold Geißelhart (PG Motorsport) seized the opportunity with both hands, and won the Am category ahead of Ad Geerts (#TeamPGZ by Red Ant Racing) and the eventually classified Jan Lauryssen.
The 2021 Am champion did not have his best weekend, because Lauryssen also retired early on Sunday. Harold Geißelhart (PG Motorsport) won a second time, again ahead of Ad Geerts. How this fascinating season of the Porsche Carrera Cup Benelux ended with a surprise!
