Spa Francorchamps Proximus 05/08/2001   The 24 Hours Part 1 - First Hour   © Janos Wimpffen Although several cars and drivers qualified beyond the 125% rule they have all been allowed to start. This is not surprising given the paucity of entrants. There has been an important last minute change in the classifications. Four of the erstwhile N-GT cars have been shifted to Category 2, the national championship formula class. All are Porsche 996s. They include the no. 78 PSI, the no. 79 Seikel, no. 80 AD Sport, and no. 81 Cirtek entries. All are irregulars when it comes to the FIA GT and were found to conform closely to the generally more liberal rules in their respective series than in the world championship. The PSI entry is from Belcar, Seikel from ALMS, the AD car is set up to German specs, and Robert Schirle’s Cirtek Porsche is from the BRDC. Crowds are thick. As of yesterday ticket sales were running thirty percent ahead of last year’s total. The tribunes are nearly full and the paddock is crawling with people. It seems equally crowded elsewhere and traffic is backed up on the motorway. This is a very welcome surprise to the FIA GT organizers but has led to problems such as having run out of programs (my extra copy is going for $150). The Jürgen Barth story is not all fiction. He had actually hoped to drive with Larbre. Having experience in all manner of updated cars is a passion for him, but there were a few too many conflicts of interest at hand. Wiessach considered it sleeping with the enemy, while Barth’s position as part of SRO, the race organizers, could be seen as leading to favoritism for Larbre. Tire wars will be a feature of the race. Larbre, Carsport Holland, and Rafanelli are all Michelin runners while the three Belmondo cars are Dunlop shod. The weather remains unstable as the start approaches. It is as Francorchampsi as it gets. I strolled out of one meeting squinting in the sun, only to huddle out of the rain five minutes later. Since then it’s been sun-clouds-rain-sun-clouds-sun. Off to the north I see blue sky and clouds to the NW. Ah, the blue is gone over there and I see a patch over Le Radillion, etc. etc. The reshuffling of the classes means that there will be 10 starters in N-GT and 10 in Category 2. The latter group has speed and interest that may surprise many. The shift makes it likely that the winner will be one of the Porsches not one of the the oddball marques like Marcos, Gillet, and Renault. The now Cat. 2 AD Sport Porsche was bought from Freisinger just before this race. It will only be used here and may go to Daytona in 2002. They are very much on learning curve with the car, hoping to glean bits of information from the former owners parked next door. Their goal is a top 15 finish. Initially AD was also going to manage the Gammon effort but as their hands were full, the Chinese entry instead turned to Bernard Winderickx’ shop for race management expertise. The AD car will be started by Wauters with Belgian legend Albert Vanierschot then taking over. Vanierschot is quite pleased by the quality of driving talent both on his team and that of the others. He considers it a pleasant switch from some of the lesser talent found within Belcar. The two main drivers expect to put in 8 hours each with the other two doing 4 hour stints. They have set the car up to the more liberal Belcar standards and hope to run it again at the Zolder 24 Hours later this month. Motocross champion Eric Geboers is here as a guest driver for the PSI turbo 996. Team owner Christian Schumacher reports that this effort is quite independent of any factory support. Schumacher simply appreciates the challenge involved. The no. 85 JMT Racing / Ice Pol Porsche Speedster is built upon a 964 clone using a Speedster kit body. Their goal is simply to finish. Peter Van Delm and Rudolf Stevens are normally BMW drivers in the Belcar series while Thierry Bouillon is a Belgian Touring Car veteran. Loïc Deman comes across from the Renault Clio Cup race. The Gillet Vertigo is a new factory car using a 3.0 Alfa Romeo V6. It is not the one used in the Belcar series that is a private entry. After the 24 Hours the works car will be competing at the Belcar rounds. Your tax dollars at work--One of the most interesting team structures comes from the no. 91 East Belgian Racing Team Lotus Elise. It is sponsored by Forem, which is the Wallonian government’s unemployment insurance agency. They have a very specific goal in mind. Wallonia hopes that within a few years a major racing development center will be built at Blanchimont. It is modeled on Silverstone, which for many years has housed all manner of ancillary services adjacent to the circuit. The FOREM program trains adults in a variety of technical skills such as electrics, aerodynamics, and engine mechanics. All of the crew for the car this weekend are pupils. It is all spearheaded by team principal and co-driver Jose Close, and uses grant monies from the European Funds for Social Development. They are also receiving technical help from Lotus UK and Lotus Belgium. The no. 84 Ecurie Bruxelloise Porsche RSR is emblematic of some of the odd quirks of this race. It is a team comprised of consortium including Rudi Penders, team manager Kurt Bastiaens, and drivers Kurt Dujardyn and Arnold Herreman. They had given thought to entering once it became clear that the race would run to a GT formula. But the dates and exact rules had not yet been set forth. Meanwhile, team principal Penders had set his wedding date to August 4th. Does that date sound familiar? Readers may be familiar with Bastiaens as the manager of the all-Belgian GT3R at the 2000 Le Mans. That particular car is now running successfully in the Belcar series with the likes of Marc Goossens and Marc Duez among the drivers. They unearthed an atmospheric engine GT2 based Porsche chassis and are running it for perhaps the last time. Penders had some sweet talking to do with his girl friend before it all transpired. This involved penciling in a date change on the invitations, reverting to Friday, August 3. This meant that the whole pit crew could attend. Of course, they stayed out late and partied, but that is basically their approach to the race—enjoy and never mind that they are running perhaps 15 seconds off their potential. Starting Drivers: GT 3, Hezemans 4, S. Bleekemolen 5, Naspetti 7, Bouchut 10, Gosselin 11, Derichebourg 12, Clerico 17, Goueslard 18, Mollekens 21, Daems 26, Dierick N-GT 54, Peter 55, Neugarten 57, Ortelli 58, Verbergt 59, Haezebrouck 62, Terrien 66, Horion 77, Riccitelli 82, Franchitti Cat. 2 78, de Groodt 79, Buttiero 80, Wauters 81, Hardman 83, de Dryver 84, Dujardyn 85, Bouillon 87, Delobe 88, Ugeux 89, Giovanni Cat. 3 91, van de Wauwer 92, “Segolen” 93, Kremer 94, Corthals 95, Lorent 96, Witmeur 97, van de Vyver 98, de Sterck The race begins under partly cloudy skies with a few patches of wet, but drying, track out on the back portion. Most have gone out on slicks. Mike Hezemans immediately opens up a few car lengths on Emanuele Naspetti’s Ferrari, with the other Carsport Holland Viper swept up by the trio of Belmondo cars. The no. 17 Larbre Viper pits at the start to go from intermediates to slicks. The no. 91 Lotus and no. 92 Porsche do the same. Mollekens made a good start with the PSI turbo Porsche, passing several Vipers at Eau Rouge and another on the outside at La Raidillon. After 6 laps Hezemans has opened up a 6 second lead. Bouchut in the main Larbre car has gone around the Belmondo cars of Gosselin and Derichebourg, and a lap later takes Clerico as well. Sebastiaan Bleekemolen tucks in behind so that the order is Carsport Holland-Rafanelli-Carsport Holland-Larbre-Belmondo-Belmondo-PSI. Big drama with Derichebourg’s no. 11 Viper as it pulls into the garage with a bad propshaft / gearbox, a 15-30 minute stop is expected. Buttiero is in ninth overall and leading Category 2 with the Seikel entry. Riccitelli’s RWS Porsche is on his tail, first among the N-GTs. The Marcos is up to 20th overall after starting last. Frank Kremer’s no. 93 Lamborghini leads Category 3. A dozen laps down and the gap at the front has grown to 9.5 seconds. The Mollekens Porsche has dropped a few notches, passed by the surprisingly quick Silver Racing Viper of Robert Dierick. Twenty-nine cars remain on the lead lap. The Porsche Speedster, along with the Belmondo car, have stopped. Heading towards the end of the first hour the clouds have moved in while the gaps on the circuit have widened. Hezemans is 23 seconds clear of the Ferrari, another five seconds back to the second Carsport Holland entry, and then a long 30 seconds to Bouchut (Larbre Viper). At 50 minutes a true rain begins all over the circuit. Pascal Witmeur (no. 96 Lambo.) is the first to stop for refueling and a change of drivers. The Porsche Speedster goes back out on the circuit. Race leader Hezemans comes for wets as do several others. Bleekemolen has inherited the lead with Clerico second. At almost exactly the one-hour mark Bleekemolen comes in from the lead for a routine stop. It is now dry on the front straight and wet nearly everywhere else. Moments later the Brisset Lamborghini (Frank Kremer at the wheel) goes into a tire wall and the safety car is dispatched. Clerico holds the lead under caution. Copyright ©2000-©2023 TotalMotorSport