“The relationship with Porsche has been there from the very beginning and it is certainly still there today.”
It is a particularly good and successful year for 29-year-old Dylan Derdaele. Derdaele won his second title in the Porsche Carrera Cup Benelux, won the Porsche Endurance Trophy and, together with his teammate Nicolas Saelens, also became national champion endurance in the GT class of the Belcar Endurance Championship. The three titles were of course won with Porsche and also three times with his team Belgium Racing. The racing entrepreneur from Lommel has a special bond with Porsche and wants to continue racing in the legendary '911' in the future. A conversation ensued…
You have had a very nice season…
Dylan Derdaele: “It was indeed a special year, in 2016 with my first title in the Carrera Cup Benelux I also won the 24 Hours of Zolder with a Porsche 911, an extra icing on the cake. But overall, we can really speak of a very good season, because we also got to work with a new car in the Porsche Carrera Cup Benelux, the very impressive Porsche 992 GT3 Cup. The title fight was also very intense and the tension remained until the last meters.”
The final in Hockenheim was indeed strange for you, with a difficult start?
“Yes, absolutely, we weren't there in qualifying and we certainly weren't in an ideal starting position for the races, partly because we were the only ones unable to test beforehand. However, the matches themselves were totally unpredictable and luck gradually chose our side, especially as we approached the matches calmly and wisely. I have gained the necessary experience over the years and that experience and maturity has helped enormously in Hockenheim, as well as the support and guidance of the team. Belgium Racing has grown considerably due to the arrival of Marc Goossens, among other things, and we have, we may say, become more professional with Marc's help, but also through our own experience over the years. The experience that Marc has gained in his career, especially internationally, is a huge plus for us. We won that title as a team and we are very proud of that.”
In your and the team's career has Porsche always held an important place?
“I drove my first meters with a Porsche 911 and my first trackday was also with a Porsche, a Porsche 996 GT3 Cup from First Motorsport. The bond with Porsche has therefore been there from the very beginning and it is certainly still there today. I have also known several generations of the car, up to the Porsche 992 GT3 Cup today. It goes without saying that we want to defend our title in the Porsche Carrera Cup Benelux in 2022, if circumstances permit. It remains a beautiful and hotly contested competition in which everything has to be right if you want to be successful.”