- Harry King continues to win on Saturday, Glenn Van Parijs on Sunday
- Koen Wauters and Jan Lauryssen take the wins in the Pro-AM category, Joan Vinyes and Sébastian Lajoux win in the AM category
After the meeting at Circuit Zandvoort this weekend, the Porsche Carrera Cup Benelux is already halfway through the season and the first lessons can be drawn. After a fifth victory, the young Briton Harry King is and remains in the colours of Parker Revs Motorsport undoubtedly the biggest candidate for the title, but Glenn van Parijs (NGT Racing) continues to push the Brit after a third-place and a first win of the season. Further, the weekend at the North Sea was full of tension and spectacle as we saw in the Pro-Am and Am classes four different winners, proof of how competitive this cup in the Benelux has become. The next appointment for the field of more than twenty Porsche 911 GT3 Cup – Type 992 cars is located in the north of the Netherlands, on the circuit of Assen from 5 to 7 August.
Harry King got off to a strong start to the weekend in the ADAC GT Masters and set the blue and white Porsche on pole position in both races. King cashed in on that pole position on Saturday, which means that his counter is now at five and he remains the championship leader. Behind him, the man of the weekend may have been Glenn van Parijs, with a lot of points scored due to those two particularly strong catch up races which included a third-place on Saturday and a win on Sunday. The Limburger in the colours of NGT Racing finished third in the first race of the weekend, behind Ghislain Cordeel (GP Elite).
Glenn van Parijs: “I'm very happy with my results, especially because qualifying didn't go well as I expected and on a track where it is not easy to overtake, I was still able to get third place and, above all, get a win out of the fire. Of course, I am satisfied and we now also know that Harry (King) sometimes makes a mistake, so it's up to us to keep pushing.”
So in the first race, it was King, ahead of Cordeel and van Parijs, but behind them, we lost after various incidents, Xavier Maassen (#Team PGZ by Redant Racing), Maxime Soulet (August Racing by NGT) and Rik Koen (PG Motorsport), while Jan Lauryssen, the favourite in Pro-Am, suffered a puncture. Sebastian Freymuth (PG Motorsport) and Sam Dejonghe (#Team PGZ by Redant Racing) as a result, finished fourth and fifth. Winning the Pro-Am class was Koen Wauters (Belgium Racing) and Joan Vinyes (Baporo Motorsport) did it in the AM class.
Koen Wauters: “It was a tough race again, but I really like this Cup racing with the Porsche and I am very happy with my victory, the first in the Porsche Carrera Cup Benelux this season.”
Dejonghe behind King and of Parijs
The second race of the weekend also provided a lot of spectacles, where Tom Boonen (#Team PGZ by Redant Racing), Joan Vinyes and Dylan Derdaele (Belgium Racing) fell behind. At the front, King crossed the finish line ahead of Parijs, but because the Briton crossed the safety car too early, he was given a five-second time penalty afterwards and the victory went to van Parijs. Sam Dejonghe was able to score second place, ahead of Maxime Soulet.
Sam Dejonghe: “I am happy with the continuous progression of the entire team and this second place here is proof that we are on the right track. I think i'll take my place for the rest of the season in the top 5 and we're going to work hard on that.”
Fourth and fifth place went to Ghislain Cordeel and Harry King on Sunday, with the winner of the Pro-Am category, Jan Lauryssen (Q1 TrackRacing), who was unlucky a day earlier. Lauryssen beat Koen Wauters and Didier Glorieux (Speedlover) and he is also still leading the championship standings. Sebastian Lajoux (DUWO Racing) won the AM category, after a second-place on Saturday and thus remains the championship leader.
Stijn Lowette (NGT Racing) finished third on Saturday, now second, ahead of Ad Geerts (#Team PGZ by Redant Racing).
See you on August 5, 6 and 7 in Assen for the seventh and eighth race of the season.
