This coming Saturday, August 27, will see the start of the 27th 24 hours of Zolder, and it will inevitably be a very exciting 27th running of the race. Not only will there be the fight for the overall victory; with double points to gain, this race could also be a very important moment in the ongoing MediaGroup Van Dyck Belcar championship. Given these double points, these Euphony 24 hours of Zolder, the 5th race of the year, is also exactly the halfway mark for championship points. Nothing is sure yet, but this 24-hour race will anyway be very important in determining the outcome of the season.

An open race as never before...

Throughout the history of the Zolder 24 hours, the race has rarely been so open and unpredictable. Never before could so many teams potentially claim overall victory. The role-played by GLPK could be a determining factor: the team seems to be no longer in contention for the championship but could, on the other hand, be a major influence on the points scored by others.

A 4th consecutive win for the team, and a 5th overall victory for Anthony Kumpen, becoming the new record holder, would be very significant historically. The value the team places on such a result is proven by the immense efforts being made this weekend, as they also race their Corvette at Oschersleben, in FIA-GT, this weekend. Travelling between Germany and Belgium will be both a physical and organizational challenge for GLPK and both Kumpen and Longin. Marc Duez and Val Hillebrand will be in the GLPK-Viper on Sunday...

Anthony Kumpen: ”We are there to win even though the opposition will be very tough. The 6 and 12-hour marks do not interest us, only the starting grid on Saturday and of course the result on Sunday afternoon grab our attention. We have worked out a very strong strategy and run several computer simulations. The Viper is stronger than ever before and race simulations related with three computer programs will help us manage the race. Controlling the fuel consumption will be very important, even more so because the Viper is a rather thirsty car and the refuelling system in Zolder is time intensive.

“Getting pole will be very difficult, but the front row on the other hand is almost a must, as it’s very important for the sponsors. I think that throughout the race, GLPK will show once again how important a race strategy can be. We will certainly not chase from the start, but even if the championship seems lost, victory is our goal once again.” Combative words from the popular Belgian.

A 4th overall win for Bert Longin would equal the number of victories obtained by Vincent Dupont.

Counting...

The current championship situation is far from being decided. Overall contenders Kuismanen / Vosse in the Viper have Duncan Huisman joining them in Zolder: th etwo regulars have a 16-point lead over the GTB TT-Porsche Penders / Lamot and 33 over the SRT-Corvette of Goossens / Hart, who will have the support of Verheyen / Heylen. Palttala / Van Sande (Porsche biturbo), Qvick / Geoffroy (Ultima) and Menten / Bouvy (Porsche biturbo) are equal 4th on 40 points. 80 points during the 24 hours and 160 over the entire second half of the season are still to be gained, so Vosse / Kuismanen are far from home.

Vincent Vosse: ”The Euphony 24 hours of Zolder is the most prestigious national race of the year, but also a very tricky one. We want to win this race, but without forcing it, a podium spot is a must. Our championship lead is very important and we will without any doubt maintain our own rhythm. The Corvette will be the car to watch for us whereas the GLPK-Viper is not so important as it’s not a major opponent in the championship.

“The opposition of the GTB-cars is somewhat confusing to me, but we’ll also have to take into account the TT-Porsche of Penders / Lamot as they are now runner-up in the championship.”

With double points to score, 25% after 6 hours another 25% after 12 hours and 50% after 24-hours, Penders / Lamot, joined by Bart Couwberghs and Kurt Dujardyn have a fair chance to bother the fatser GTA-cars. The team has already won 3 out of 4 races in GTB with their fast and reliable Porsche. If they finish well, after taking good points at the 6 and 12-hour marks, they could even score more points than many of the GTA-cars. This proves the value of scoring at the intermediate points for every team.

If Marc Goossens puts the SRT-Corvette on pole, it will be his 8th consecutive one. The very fast SRT car proved its reliability during the recent Spa 24 hours and is among the main contenders for the race. The Kuismanen Viper, the SRT Corvette and the PSI Porsche of Menten / Bouvy have each won a race this year, and will try to renew their victory celebrations.

But there are plenty of other competitors. AD scored a good third at Brands Hatch and Wauters / Wauters / Schreurs / Bruynoghe are endurance specialists and they were in contention for the overall victory last year. After 4 race weekends, they are 7th in GT and 4th in GTA.

RS racing is back after the terrible accident in Spa in June. The Biturbo has been completely rebuilt by Olaf Manthey. Maes / Verbist / Tanghe / Casteleyn were 3rd last year and driving a refreshed car, a good result is likely.

PSI has two horses to bet on. Palttala and Van Sande drive the regular 996 biturbo whereas Bouvy / Menten / Mollekens will race an impressive 996 RSR. This car is not only fast on track but will also gain time in the pitlane, owing to a better fuel consumption than most. A car to watch...

Eurotech hs been consistently fast with its Marcos Mantis this year, and with Euser and Bleekemolen completing the driver line-up, the British car will be very competitive. Last but not least, there is the dream-team Audi TT with Freddy Loix and Ellen Lohr joining Chris Mattheus.

GTB

With 22 cars on the entry list, GTB is by far the most popular class of the field. Penders / Lamot / Couwberghs / Dujardyn will find some tough competition.

“Our main goal is to ensure our top position in GTB,” says Franz Lamot. “But our position in GT overall opens up perspectives. In Spa, we proved to be reliable and again at Zolder, we will use a less thirsty supercup engine. We will therefore complete longer stints keeping us out of the refuelling zone. What’s important too is to finish here in Zolder. This is my 4th attempt and I have never seen the finish line before.” But TT is not the only team aiming for victory. Porsche is of course the main make in GTB and one of strongest among the Zuffenhausen cars could be the Thiers / Thiers / Van Mol / Van Moerkerke one. Both in 2003 and 2004, they won GTB and finished 4th overall in the 24 hours. Russell Racing lost all chances on the GTB crown in the opening half of the season and these Euphony 24 hours of Zolder could see their revenge. Frank Thiers even aims for the overall podium. Like the TT Racing Porsche, the Russell 996 will get a SC engine.

If it’s not a Porsche in GTB it will be an Ultima. The Qvick and Belgium Racing cars have made an impressive progression throughout the season. Derdaele / Empsen / Verhoeven and Qvick / Geoffroy / Van Delm / Chouvel could be spring a surprise, certainly with the latter finishing on the podium at each race so far.

Even a Porsche Super Cup could be a strong weapon, as First Motorsport proved last year by finishing on the GTB podium. First Motorsport, AD Sport, Markant, Speedlover, GPR, NGT, S&P, Coast en Ham Car all enter Porsche Cup 911s and could be on the class podium on Sunday. And what about the G&A BMW Z3 and the MRS Gillet Vertigo? A steady race and no problems could mean a strong finish for all of them.

Touring

The Touring division has a somewhat surprising leader. The racing for Belgium TB-BMW of Broodcoren/De Coster leads the division due its strong reliability. Together with the Dehoen/Essers car, it’s the only car finishing every race. Their task is clear for the Euphony 24 hours of Zolder: finishing. On pure speed nothing can be done against the faster TA BMW M3 GTR V8 of G&A Racing (Smets/De Keersmaecker/Verdonck), GS Motorsport with Severich/Steinberg/Neyens, Beliën/Jakobs/Brinkmann/Colman and Carlier Racing. Beckers, Cassiers and the Van Samang family complete the TA list. In TB, competition will come from other BMW: Josten/Van Campenhoudt/Cracco, Dehoen/Essers/Grouwels/Wijnen, Moore/Cox/Cloet on the brand new BMW E46, the beautiful BMW E46 Compact of Van der Kolk/Ambaum/Köhler/Thuis and last but not least, the Daikin-MINI driven by Ickx/Van de Velde/Grifnée/ Uljee. Vanina Ickx already showed strong pace throughout the season and certainly in the international LMES series.

KS Motorsport enters two BMW Silhouette for Bellingen/Leyssens/Vandermaesen/Fumal and Moonens/Lippens/Werckx/Van Gorp. The team is confident and a top finish should be possible. The other guests drive Porsche GT3. Teams from touring cup and BTCS join the Belcar regulars. H&M Racing, Luc Gabriël Racing, BPO Racing, Jes Competition, the Dumarey family, another car from Speedlover and AD Sport complete the grid of the 24 hours