Last week, the first entries for the Mediagroep Van Dyck Belcar Original 2006 became official. Just like last year, AD Sport was an early entrant, with two Porsche Biturbos: one for Steegmans/Steegmans and one for Wauters/Wauters/Vanierschot. The Danish/British duo Bo McCormick/Calum Lockie will come to Belcar for a full season in class 2 with their Ferrari 360 Challenge. The first teams in class 3 were new, ex-WTCC BMW of the Euroracing pair Joosen/Vroman and CEO-Racing with a new Porsche GT3 Supercup for Van Rossem/Van Hoepen.

CEO-Racing is the brand new name for the former Markant Racing squad. Little but the name will change and Marc Claes stays team manager. The spearhead of the team remains the ex-Seikel Porsche 996 GT3-R of De Laet/Volleberg. The latter will race in class 2.

H&M Racing transfers from the Touring Cup to the Mediagroep Van Dyck Belcar Original 2006. After a good season in the Touring Cup, Ronald Vetters/Wim Jeuris were the only ones to beat the AD-Sport squad, and now the team has decided to join the Belcar original. A newer water-cooled engine, delivering about 430 bhp, will replace the old air-cooled unit. Ronald and Wim will race their 996 in class 2 with no ambitions except the fun of racing. H&M remains a pure fun team, with Mark Oppers being the manager, and the only aim is to have a good time with the entire team.

Werner Van Herck will be back too with his Mazda RX7. The engine gremlins are now in the past and the car had an entire mechanical upgrade during the winter season. Among the evolutions are a new electronic system, a sequential gearbox and a new turbo. The car now has more power and will thus be faster. The only problem still is the weight; even if the minimum weight in class 2 is only 1000 kg, it’s almost impossible to get the Mazda under 1150 kg. Further aerodynamic evolutions are planned during the season. Marcel Booten joins the team and will replace Wim Van Herck, the father of Werner.

Michaël De Keersmaecker has finally made up his mind and he will join Guino Kenis in the Mosler MT 900 R for the entire Belcar season. The G&A driver will combine the European Rallycross championship with the Belcar series. With no dates clashing, this makes a full program for the young driver. Originally he wanted to compete in the Belgian and Dutch Rallycross championships instead of the full Belcar original, but with his recent decision we welcome Michaël back to Belcar, where he has strong ambitions. The Mosler pair hopes to grab the title in class 2.

As the civil engineering work at the Zolder track will last for a while, teams are currently looking for alternative testing opportunities. Eran Racing offers testing possibilities on the North French track of Croix-en-Ternois. For only €120 teams have 5 sessions of 30’ on both the 3rd and the 17th of March. More information on www.skylimitevents.be or by telephone: 00 32 472 25 69 08.

The Dutch Winter Endurance Championship is also a fine testing opportunity. G&A is still fine-tuning the BMW 130i but this work is complicated by the severe noise limitations at Zandvoort. First Motorsport is also a regular in the Winter Series. During the last race, Bert Van Rossem overtook under yellow and instead of the traditional stop & go penalty, the driver will have to support the marshals’ work for an hour during the next race weekend. David Hart got the same unconventional punishment. Next weekend the team of Jo Jamers will be present in Holland, plus four Porsche GT3 Supercup cars, all intending to do some tyre testing. There will be some impressive line-ups: Ian Khan/Peter Kox, Haane/Waaijenberg, Van Rossem/Van Hoepen and Ceusters/De Laet/Lumbeek will defend the First Motorsport colours. Meanwhile, Peter Van Delm has signed up with this team for a seat on the 3rd Porsche 996 Supercup entered in class 3. The experienced driver is still looking for a second driver to complete the team.

In the BSN3 we presented the Bongou Speedlover-team. The team has now changed plans for the upcoming season. Gevers/Tavernier will drive the Porsche 997 GT3 Supercup which Chris Mattheus will enter in the Porsche Supercup. The latter will drive a 996 GT3 in Belcar class 3, instead of his 997 in class 2. André Van Hoof, team owner, explains that the 997, under the current rules, will not be competitive in Belcar in class 2. And what’s more, the team wants to save the new car for the Supercup. Van Havermaet will drive a 993 in the Belcar Endurance Cup. The team is still looking for a second driver in the Porsche 996 GT3 of Jurgen Van Hover.

As already known, SRT acquired a second Pratt & Miller Corvette C5-R. The team now owns both chassis number 5 and 7. The number 5 was the car that won the GTS class in the Le Mans 24 Hours, while the number 7 was the spare car. The #5 also won the GTS title in ALMS. Patrick Selleslagh: “It’s our aim to race the Belcar 2005 winning car (chassis number 7) in France with Eric Cayrolle and Thierry Soave for the entire French FFSA-GT championship. If we find any valuable candidates, we could rent the car for a selection of races, for example the Zolder 24 hours, in Belcar. The chassis number 5 on the other hand will do the full Belcar season with Hart and Bleekemolen and a selection of races in France. This is all because the Belcar and FFSA-GT calendars clash twice, with 7 rounds each.” “Presuming that GLPK comes to Belcar with a younger and technically more updated Corvette, we also decided to purchase a more recent engine, delivering more torque and weighing less. Our car is 50 kg heavier than the GLPK one, but we will race with bigger restrictors. I hope that Kumpen and Longin will race in Belcar with the Corvette as this is a gain for the championship and it’s magic.”