Christoff Corten and Jeffrey van Hooydonk achieve pole position and win at the Nürburgring
Winners in Germany also leave as championship leaders for the final round on October 9 at Circuit Zolder
Nürburgring, September 18, 2022. For the penultimate meeting of the Porsche Endurance Trophy Benelux, the Porsche teams and drivers went to the German Nürburgring. While the first meetings this season were bathed in sunshine and motorsport in good weather, the weather gods in the German Eifel played a very different role, with changeable weather, perfect conditions to highlight the qualities of the various Porsche. Winners Christoff Corten and Jeffrey van Hooydonk also finished second in the Belcar Endurance Championship standings, while Benjamin De Cock and Arthur Peters in their Tip Top Rent Porsche Cayman GT4 lead as leaders in the overall Belcar Endurance Championship towards the final at Circuit Zolder.
After twice Zolder, Magny-Cours and Spa-Francorchamps, the participants of the Porsche Endurance Cup now went to the German Nürburgring, of course again as part of the Belcar Endurance Championship or the national endurance championship. There was a race of 125 minutes on the program, a race that took place in very varied weather conditions. Pole position, on a wet track, went to Jeffrey van Hooydonk (Russell Racing by NGT Porsche 911 GT3 Cup – Type 992), the former F1 test driver and he took it out for Dylan Derdaele (Belgium Racing Porsche 911 GT3 Cup – Type 992) and John De Wilde, who did it solo in the Speedlover Porsche 911 GT3 Cup – Type 992.
The opening phase of the race saw a solid fight between the three protagonists, but as the race progressed, Van Hooydonk and Corten were still able to collect a small bonus and in the end they made it to the very regular brothers Kris and Koen Wauters, of course also in the colors of Belgium Racing and John De Wilde who was given a time penalty after the race, after initially crossing the line in second. The highest performing Porsche Cayman GT4, that of Benjamin De Cock and Arthur Peters, came in fourth and Dylan Derdaele and Michael Cool closed the top 5.
Christoff Corten: “It was not an easy race, but the Porsche 992 GT3 Cup proved its qualities on both dry and wet surfaces. For our team it is the second victory of the season, with which we move as leaders in the championship towards the final at Circuit Zolder and I really make this great competition an important item in my agenda. Just make a note that I definitely want this title!”
The final in Limburg on October 9 will be a battle between Russell Racing by NGT Porsche and the reigning champion, Belgium Racing with the #99 of Dylan Derdaele and Michael Cool, in an identical Porsche.
Strikingly, in the general Belgian endurance championship or the Belcar Endurance Championship, Tip Top Rent's Porsche Cayman GT4 leads as leader to the last race, of course also the race on 9 October.
Arthur Peters: “Due to the philosophy of the scoring in Belcar, somewhat similar to that of the VLN endurance championship on the legendary Nordschleife, we are indeed leading in the points position. After all, the performance in the class is also 'rewarded' and because our Porsche did not shrink this season, we are indeed playing for the overall title. It won't be easy to beat a much faster GT2, but the reliability of our Porsche is our greatest asset!”
So see you during the weekend of 8 and 9 October at the Circuit Zolder in Limburg for the final of the Porsche Endurance Trophy Benelux.