Belgian GT Championship : two decisive rounds for the title

Six drivers – or rather three pairs of drivers – can still hope to claim the 2009 Belgian GT Championship, racing in the GT3 category.
All will be defending their hopes vigorously during the final two races of the season, in Zolder, which will take place in a specific context : the Belgian competitors will be racing along with the cars from the FIA GT3 European Championship, whose season will also come to a close at the Limburg circuit.  A separate classification for both series will mean that the final hierarchy of the Belgian series can be drawn up. 


Just before this final showdown, Koen Wauters and Jeffrey Van Hooydonk are in the lead ; behind the wheel of the KRK Dodge Viper, they have accumulated 141 points, while their nearest rivals,  Jean-François Hemroulle and Tim Verbergt, have scored 132 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.  They currently have 113 points, and can only score 40 during the last two races, if their Porsche 997 GT3 Cup S should win both rounds… therefore, their fate is really not in their own hands…


However, the First Motorsport drivers – in good position to claim the Teams title – will surely animate the two Zolder rounds, along with the other leaders in the Belgian GT Championship. These include veteran Finnish driver Pertti Kuismanen, who drives with extremely fast Dutch driver Duncan Huisman in a Ford GT,  reigning Champions Frédéric Bouvy and Damien Coens in a Ferrari 430, or the other leading Dodge crew, Kris Wauters (Koen’s brother) and Raf Vanthoor (father of young Laurens, German Formula 3 Champion).


This final meeting of the 2009 season will also see the debut of a driver who is expected to quickly reach the front.  Maxime Soulet, who shone in the Total 24 Hours of Spa in the SRT Corvette C6R, will be sharing the Barwell Motorsport Aston Martin DBRS9 with Eddy Renard.   From the first test session, ‘Max the Menace’ was quickly at ease behind the wheel of the beautiful British car, which will be decorated in the famous colours of a petrol company renowned at the 24 Hours of Le Mans.  From there to the front of the grid, for a driver who knows the Limburg circuit like the palm of his hand, is just a short step.  However, the same can be said for all of the Belgian GT Championship drivers, and it will be interesting to see how they compare to the stars of the FIA GT 3 European Championship.

Championship : 1. Koen Wauters-Jeffrey Vanhooydonk (Dodge) 141 pts ; 2. Jean-François Hemroulle-Tim Verbergt (Audi+Porsche) 132 ; 3. François Verbist-Bert Longin (Porsche) 113 ; 4. Pertti Kuismanen-Duncan Huisman (Ford) 97 ; 5. Frédéric Bouvy-Damien Coens (Ferrari) and Arjan Van der Zwaan (Lamborghini) 90 ; 6. Eddy renard-Vincent Vosse (Aston Martin) 73 ; etc.