R8 : Season Finale in Zolder
As the leaves change colour and the weather grows colder, the arrival of autumn signals that another racing season is drawing to a close. But even if winter is fast approaching, a fantastic weekend of competition at Circuit Zolder should make the temperatures rise ! With the FIA GT Championship, FIA GT3 European Championship, Belgian GT Championship MVD and BTCS all holding their season finales at the famous Belgian track, and titles to be claimed in all categories, this is sure to be an action-packed weekend around the 4 km circuit.
For the FIA GT Championship, Zolder marks not only the end of the season, but the end of an era. After 13 seasons and 131 races, everything is changing, and 2010 should see a metamorphosis of the single Championship into two : the FIA GT1 World Championship, and the FIA GT2 European Championship. But before the excitement of the future, there is still plenty to settle in 2009 !
In the GT1 category, the main battle of the year has been between the Vitaphone Maserati MC 12 cars and the various Corvette Z06 cars. And so the final battle is shaping up between the reigning Champions, Andrea Bertolini and Michael Bartels in the nr 1 Vitaphone Maserati MC 12, and the crew of the nr 4 Pekaracing Corvette Z06, Anthony Kumpen and Mike Hezemans. With just four points separating them, there is no room for mistakes, on either side. May the best men win !
In GT2, the fight is equally close. Only three points separate reigning Champions, AF Corse drivers Toni Vilander and Gianmaria Bruni from their nearest rivals, Prospeed Competition’s Emmanuel Collard and Richard Westbrook. Both the AF Corse Ferrari and the Prospeed Porsche 997 GT3 have won three races apiece, and both will be carrying the maximum of 100 kg penalty weight around the challenging Zolder circuit. Prospeed are on home ground, and won the 24 Hours of Zolder recently. Toni Vilander, GT2 Champion for the past two years, has won both Zolder rounds in 2007 and 2008. Take your positions, ready, set …
With two races remaining, a grand total of 15 drivers could still claim the title of ‘FIA GT3 European Champion 2009’. Zolder will be welcoming this action-packed series for the very first time; the cars will share the track with the GT3 cars from the Belgian GT Championship, which should make a packed grid and give the enthusiastic spectators plenty to watch ! The final meeting of the year will see the culmination of the battle for the overall title that has been the hallmark of the series, with eight different driver pairings and four different manufacturers - Ford, Aston Martin, Audi and Morgan – having claimed victory so far this season. Those in close contention for the title include Phoenix Racing’s Haase and Mies, driving an Audi R8 LMS, Team Rosberg’s duo of Armindo and Campanico, and the four Hexis drivers – Accary/Rodrigues and Makowiecki/Rodrigues. With less than ten points between them, anything could happen in Zolder... The fight is likely to go down to the line…
The Belgian GT Championship MVD is also approaching the end of the season, and everything is still to play for. Six drivers – or rather three pairs of drivers – can still hope to claim the 2009 Belgian GT Championship, racing in the GT3 category. Just before this final showdown, Koen Wauters and Jeffrey Van Hooydonk are leading in the KRK Dodge Viper, they have accumulated 141 points, while their nearest rivals, Jean-François Hemroulle and Tim Verbergt, have scored 132, both with the Team Phoenix Audi R8 LMS and the Speedlover Porsche 997 they drove during the 24 Hours of Zolder. Mathematically, François Verbist and FIA GT driver Bert Longin can still hope to claim the title, but they will need circumstances to be on their side during the final races…
Last but definitely not least, the Belgian Touring Car Series, with its large and varied grid, should give guaranteed entertainment for the Belgian spectators. With the title battle open in all categories, the fight for the lead is likely to be among the Silhouette cars, where the Renault Mégane Trophy of Frédéric Bouvy-Christian Kelders will be up against the BMW M3 of Steve Vanbellingen-Ruben Maes. Add in the young guns in the S2 class, the fight in T3 between the BMW and SEAT cars, and the smaller cars in T2, there is guaranteed entertainment at all levels.
Zolder should see an action-packed weekend of GT and Touring Car competition – a fitting way to end a thrilling season.
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