- Home race for many Belgian teams and drivers
- Title fight in full swing. Will we see the first celebrations next Sunday?
Zonhoven, September 6, 2023. The Porsche Carrera Cup Benelux has started its last straight line. The ninth and tenth races of the season will take place at Circuit Zolder next weekend, while the final, at the Austrian Red Bull Ring, is scheduled for September 23 and 24. We will therefore know all the verdicts before the end of this first month of autumn. The intensity of the races will continue to increase. The battle is still open in all classes, with two or more candidates for the title. Appointment now Friday, Saturday, and Sunday at Circuit Zolder, in a unique setting: the Belgian round of the FIA European Truck Racing Championship.
Exactly four weeks after the very successful visit of the Porsche Carrera Cup Benelux to the Circuit of Assen in the north of the Netherlands, the teams and drivers of the fastest one-make cup in the Benelux are now pitching their tents at Circuit Zolder.
“For many of them it hasn't been very long since they were active here”, says Series Manager Olivier Aerts. “After all, our teams and drivers did a great job during the 45th edition of the 24 Hours of Zolder, with a nineteenth victory for Porsche as a result. This means that they have also traveled the necessary kilometers in preparation for this round of the Porsche Carrera Cup Benelux in Belgian Limburg. Many of our Belgian drivers also come from the region, just think of Speedover and Q1 Trackracing, but Circuit Zolder is also more or less the home base for AUGUST by NGT and RedAnt Racing. This also applies to drivers such as Luc Vanderfeesten, Glenn van Parijs, or Sam Dejonghe. I am therefore convinced that they will be very strong this weekend.
Baguette again with AUGUST by NGT
The entry list for the fifth meeting of the 2023 season will undergo some changes, including the second participation of Bertrand Baguette, the reigning Japanese Super GT champion. After Hockenheim, he again replaces his fellow countryman Benjamin Paque in the Porsche 911 GT3 Cup – Type 992 – of August by NGT and thus becomes the teammate of Glenn van Parijs, who is looking to strengthen his chances in the title fight on home soil. Van Parijs has 124 points and must try to make up part of his deficit on leader Robert de Haan (Richardson Racing – 174).
But there are still new names. For example, Ryan Ratcliffe will be replaced for the last two meetings by Robin Knutsson, the fast Swede who drove the final of the Porsche Carrera Cup 2022 in Hockenheim last season. He also took part in the entire Porsche Sprint Challenge Southern Europe 2023. Rik Koen then finds accommodation at JW Raceservice for the meetings at Circuit Zolder and on the Red Bull Ring. Ad Geerts will also ride with the same team this weekend as a guest. In principle, Hans Weijs Jr. will also be there again, of course in his team. We also note that Ariel Levi and Horst Felix Felbermayr have been held back by commitments elsewhere.
In the sporting competition, it is not excluded that there will be several awards on Sunday, especially in the PRO-AM class, where Sacha Norden leads firmly, and also in the Rookie Division, where Robert De Haan has a considerable bonus. In the AM class and the teams, the battle will certainly continue until the finish in Austria.
Appointment this weekend, with both races on Sunday, starting at 11.55 a.m. and 3.15 p.m. respectively. Both races can of course be followed live via the YouTube channel, the website, and the Facebook page of the Porsche Carrera Cup Benelux.