• Doubles for Dylan Derdaele (Pro) and Nicolas Saelens (Pro-Am)
• Still undecided halfway through the season in both Pro and Pro-Am
• Lauryssen clear leader in Am
For the third of six meetings of this season, the drivers of the Porsche Carrera Cup Benelux had an appointment last weekend at the famous dune circuit of Zandvoort. At the end of the first half of the season, the title race in Pro and Pro-Am is still completely open. In Am, Jan Lauryssen (Q1 Trackracing by EMG Motorsport) remains firmly in the lead.
The first race of the weekend lived up to all expectations. When the lights went out, Thierry Vermeulen (Team GP Elite), third on the grid, takes a perfect start and manages to attack pole sitter Xavier Maassen (#TeamPGZ by Red Ant Racing). The two riders go side-by-side through the Tarzan corner, but in the second corner there is contact. Maassen loses control of his car and is hit by Andrey Mukovoz (DUWO Racing). The race is neutralized to remove the two cars and Thierry Vermeulen is devised with a drive-through penalty. Two of the favorites can already forget the victory.
The incident is completely in Dylan Derdaele's favor. The spearhead of Belgium Racing is storming towards its third victory of 2021, but it will not be a carefree race. Twice the race has been neutralized again, after shifts from Team GP Elite riders Ziad Geris and Ghislain Cordeel. After an exciting finish, Dylan Derdaele eventually shares the podium with Huub van Eijndhoven (#TeamPGZ by JW RaceService) and Glenn van Parijs (NGT Racing), who are separated by only two tenths of a second at the finish.
In Pro-Am, championship leader Nicolas Saelens (Belgium Racing) drives to another victory in the final minutes, ahead of Floris Dullaart (Team GP Elite) and Filip Teunkens (Q1 Trackracing by EMG Motorsport).
In his first Porsche Carrera Cup Benelux race of the season, Jean-Pierre Verhoeven (Speed Lover) uses a late puncture for Jan Lauryssen (Q1 Trackracing by EMG Motorsport) to take the victory in Am. He shares the podium with Ad Geerts (TeamPGZ by Red Ant Racing) and Jeroen Kreeft (Parker Revs Motorsport).
On Sunday, Xavier Maassen and Andrey Mukovoz, the victims of the collision the day before, will not appear at the start of the second race. When the lights go out, Dylan Derdaele Glenn van Parijs is immediately too quick and Limburger can no longer be kept up. A second victory of the weekend will be his share. Behind him there is close combat on every level. In a duel for eleventh place between Jean-Pierre Verhoeven and Filip Teunkens, the latter goes wrong, causing a short neutralization of the race. At the front, Derdaele, van Parijs, Vermeulen continue to ride in the same order for a long time, but ten minutes before the end, the disappointment for van Paris follows. First he is passed by Thierry Vermeulen, soon after that Huub van Eijndhoven does the same. The polesitter thus finishes just off the podium, ahead of Sebastian Freymuth.
For Nicolas Saelens, the second race will be a carbon copy of the first. He again secures himself in the final phase of the victory in Pro-Am, ahead of Floris Dullaart and Ziad Geris. The Belgium Racing driver thus emphasizes the excellent weekend of the Limburg racing stable.
Jan Lauryssen, leader in the Am championship, is determined to put things in order after the bad luck the day before. After a difficult start to the race, the driver of Q1 Trackracing by EMG Motorsport is steadily gaining places to stay ahead of Jean-Pierre Verhoeven and Ad Geerts. With 54 points ahead of the latter, Lauryssen can start the second half of the season with confidence.
The race weekend at the North Sea was a nice end to a hard-fought first half of the season. In Pro, Dylan Derdaele is only four and seven points ahead of Huub van Eijndhoven and Glenn van Parijs, respectively. In Pro-Am, Nicolas Saelens extended his lead over Floris Dullaart to eight units. After his resignation on Saturday, Ziad Geris has lost contact with the leaders. In a month's time the drivers of the Porsche Carrera Cup Benelux will be in action for the fourth meeting of the season in Zolder, as support act for the prestigious DTM championship.