Spa-Francorchamps, 17 July 2022. Last weekend the third round of the Porsche Endurance Trophy Benelux took place in the Belgian Ardennes, of course in the Belcar Endurance Championship. The championship was ready for its third event of the 2022 season, after races at Circuit Zolder and in the French Magny-Cours. On the program was a 125 minute race and after two wins for Belgium Racing it was Russell Racing by NGT’s turn to get on the top step of the podium, twice in front of Belgium Racing. The season is now reaching its peak with the 24 Hours of Zolder on August 13 and 14, a race where Porsche has been particularly successful.
During qualifying, it was still up to Dylan Derdaele to be the first on the charts, but the 125-minute race of the Porsche Endurance Trophy Benelux would turn out in favor of the competition from Flemish Brabant. Jeffrey van Hooydonk drove the black-red Porsche 911 GT3 Cup - Type 992 - to second place on the grid and during the race the ex-test driver of Midland Toyota F1 would lay the foundation for a first victory for Russell Racing by NGT with a strong start, together with his Tiense teammate Christoff Corten.
“Jeffrey has put in an amazing race and I am very happy to be able to finish his wonderful work,” said two-time winner of the Zolder 24 Hours, Christoff Corten. “We didn't have it easy at the start of the season making the transition from the CN prototypes to the Porsche 911 GT3 Cup, but this is clearly a sign that we are doing well. We are now going to have to prepare very well for the next 24 hours of Zolder and that's where things really get serious, because in addition to the regular teams in the championship, there will certainly be additional competitors that will not be underestimated. But with the Porsche you can go for the overall victory in this beautiful classic.”
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Behind the Porsche of the winning duo, the battle for the two remaining podium places was only fought in the final phase, with a Belgium Racing Team battle between Koen and Kris Wauters on one hand and Michaël Cool and Dylan Derdaele on the other. In the end it was Clouseau's men who settled the matter in their favor and in this way they sneak closer to the leaders, Cool and Derdaele in the championship. Haverans-Goossens (Belgium Racing Porsche 991) and Renmans-Dons (Speedlover) closed the classification for the various '911', just ahead of the winners in GTB, Arthur Peters and Benjamin De Cock in the Tip Top Rent Porsche Cayman GT4.
“Once again, all Porsche of the various models saw the end of the race, even in these warmer conditions and without any problems,” said Lars Plato, Series Manager of the Porsche Endurance Trophy Benelux. “It is clear that Porsche is preparing excellent cars and then I involuntarily think of the 24 Hours of Zolder, the next race of the Porsche Endurance Trophy Benelux. I am convinced that we will also see the diverse Porsche 911 GT3 Cup at the front of the final result of the race itself. See you on 13 and 14 August at Circuit Zolder!”
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