- Two-time champion is once again among the favorites in the Porsche Carrera Cup Benelux
- First confrontation with the competition on May 5, 6 and 7 in Spa-Francorchamps
The start of the Porsche Carrera Cup Benelux 2022 is now approaching rapidly and after the test day in the Belgian Ardennes we also know who the main contenders for the title in 2022 will be, which is also the season of the tenth edition of the Porsche Carrera Benelux Cup. One name will not be missing on any list and that is that of the two-time champion Dylan Derdaele, who won his second title in Hockenheim last year. The rapid driver from the north of Belgium will of course remain loyal to Belgium Racing, the team led by Marc Goossens.
Ghislain Cordeel, Sam Dejonghe, Xavier Maassen, Maxime Soulet, Lucas van Eijndhoven… these are just a few of the names from the Pro category of the Porsche Carrera Cup Benelux 2022 that have been announced in recent weeks. In the meantime, Dylan Derdaele has also been added and introducing the Limburger is almost unnecessary. Derdaele drove his first race in 2013, the year of the launch of the Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge Benelux, won his first race in 2014 and in 2016 Derdaele took his first of two titles. Five years later he did that trick again, in a captivating final weekend at the Hockenheim circuit, in which his experience combined with his speed were decisive.
“Perhaps we can start with a compliment for the organization of the Porsche Carrera Cup Benelux 2022, because some beautiful new names have indeed been added. Maxime Soulet and I were teammates in 2012 at ProSpeed Competition, so that's a nice thing for me. The image of the brand cup is still growing and with this solid field the fans can absolutely expect great motorsport”, the reigning champion opens the conversation during the test day.
“I expect a title fight this season that will be really even more intense than in 2021, with even smaller differences. Every tenth of a second will count and the chain rider-engineer-team will have to be really perfect to win the title. The Porsche 911 GT3 Cup – Type 992 is a fantastic car that you can really race in and we will definitely see that this season.”
“You have to earn the title”
Strikingly, Dylan Derdaele definitely wants to perform strongly, but does not suffer from title stress. “No, that may be surprising, but I will not leave with title pressure and that third title is not a must. You earn such a title after a strong season and it crosses your path if you do everything right. Look at last season, after a difficult second weekend in Austria, the elements fell where they should one by one and after a strong season the title was a fact. You cannot 'demand' such an achievement, so to speak. In addition, I also enjoy the competition as such, it's just something I really enjoy doing and that's why I'm relatively relaxed at the start of the season."
For Belgium Racing and Dylan Derdaele, the season will start on May 5, 6 and 7 in Spa-Francorchamps with of course two races of 30 minutes and one round during the visit of the high-quality FIA WEC or World Endurance Championships to our country. Incidentally, the French and German Porsche Carrera Cup will also be present, so we can speak of a weekend dedicated to Porsche!