18 cars will take to the grid for the opening round of the Belgian GT Championship at Zolder this weekend.
Class 1, for GT3 machinery, is the best supported category with 12 entries, while Class 2 for GT4 and Supersport machinery has five entrants with a single car entered into Class 3.
The GT3 category has a healthy mix of manufacturers and models with eight different types of cars set to take the field including the Ferrari 430, Dodge Viper, Lamborghini Gallardo, Audi R8, Ford GT, Ford Mustang, Porsche 911 and Aston Martin DBRS9.
The Barwell Motorsport-run Aston of Eddy Renard and Vincent Vosse is likely to be among the front runners and the pair showed well in an exploratory outing in the British GT Championship over the Easter Weekend.
The new Audi R8 makes its Belgian GT debut in the hands of Jean-François Hemroulle and Tim Verbergt and will be run by leading squad Phoenix Racing with support from the Belgian Audi VW club. Both drivers have been classified as ‘gold’ meaning the car must carry an extra 50kg of ballast.
Bert Longin and François Verbist will also carry the extra weight in their First Motorsport Porsche 911 as they too have been given ‘gold’ status in the series which is designed as a Pro/Am category.
Kuismanen Competition enter the series with the Ford GT which enjoyed so much success in the FIA GT3 European Championship with team owner Pertti Kuisamanen and the rapid Duncan Huisman at the wheel, while VDS Racing Adventures also represent Ford, albeit with the Mustang FR500 model, Stephane Lemeret and Raphaël Van der Straten have the driving duties.
Scuderia Monza and Delahaye Francorchamps Motors Racing Team will field Ferraris with Lamborghini represented by KS Motorsport who will run a pair of Gallardos. KRK Racing and Accent Racing Team both field Dodge Vipers, with KRK having a two-car team.
In Class 2 the new Lotus 2 Eleven makes its debut with Lotus Verhiest Oostende running a pair of the Supersport machines. VDS will also run a GT4 Ford Mustang, with Match Racing fielding a pair of Ginettas.
The solitary Class 3 entry sees Westend Racing fielding a Porsche 997 GT3 Cup for Jorma Vanhanen and Niko Numrinen.
Entry List
Class 1
2. Scuderia Monza, Frank Thiers/Hans Thiers, Ferrari F430
3. Delahaye Francorchamps Motors Racing Team, Frédéric Bouvy/Damien Coens, Ferrari F430
4. KRK Racing, Koen Wauters/Jeffrey Van Hooydonk, Dodge Viper
5. JD by KS Motorsport, Joost Vollebergh/Patrick Ceusters, Lamborghini Gallardo
8. KRK Racing, Rafael Vanthoor/Kris Wauters Dodge Viper Competition Coupe
9. Phoenix Racing, Jean-François Hemroulle/Tim Verbergt, Audi R8
10. JD by KS Motorsport, Danny De Laet/Arjan Van Der Zwaan, Lamborghini Gallardo
12. Kuismanen Competition, Pertti A. Kuismanen/Duncan Huisman, Ford GT
16. VDS Racing Adventures, Raphaël Van der Straten/Stéphane Lemeret, Ford Mustang FR500
50. First Motorsport, François Verbist/Bert Longin, Porsche 911 GT3 Cup
69. Accent Racing Team, Philip Cracco/Peter Van Audenhove, Dodge Viper
72. Barwell Motorsport, Eddy Renard/Vincent Vosse, Aston Martin DBRS9
Class 2
111. Lotus Verhiest Oostende, Harry Steegmans, Lotus 2 Eleven Supersport
114. Match Racing, Menno Kuus, Ginetta G50
115. Match Racing, Niels Lagrange/Eric Bruynoghe, Ginetta G50
117. VDS Racing Adventures, Christian Deridder/Amin Bentchikou, Ford Mustang
121. Lotus Verhiest Oostende, Michaël Damoiseaux, Lotus 2 Eleven Supersport
Class 3
250. Westend Racing, Jorma Vanhanen/Niko Nurminen, Porsche 997 GT3 Cup
Watch highlights from the opening round on Motors TV on Saturday 6 May at 6pm (BST).
Andy Wilkinson
International
