 'Pedersen Gr.N-winner' Persbericht: ERC
Foto: Willem Wittenberg | RSSP.eu
Dennis Kuipers forges past his father in the Euro Rally Challenge. In the ultimately thwarting Condroz Rally, a race on a terrifyingly slippery and greasy course, René Kuipers got off to the best start in the field and held his own until Sunday, when he was forced to retire his Ford Focus RS WRC06 . The engine overheated due to a broken alternator belt. Dennis Kuipers didn’t let the opportunity slip by, he scored the maximum points and marched on to take the second place in the final standings.
'This was undoubtedly the most difficult race that I have ever driven,' recounted Kuipers Jr. 'I had already seen the stages about five times before the start of the race, but that was just not enough time to learn to read the asphalt and to know where you have grip and where you don’t.”
In Group R Jan de Winkel was once again the only ERC participant with his Renault Clio R3, but there was no wanting for competition. Jan began with caution and steadily built up the tempo resulting in a good rhythm on Sunday and eventually giving him the win in the A7 class: 'Kris Princen was in a class apart, but the Belgian broke his drive shaft and was forced to retire. Our times were about the same as Servais. Sunday morning I took the gamble to drive on slicks, while the others chose to start on rain tyres or intermediates. I made the right choice as I was instantly faster than Servais, whom has already lost two minutes on Saturday due to a flat tyre.”
In Group H Hans-Ole Funch didn’t make it over the finish line. On Sunday he had a close encounter of the worst kind with a ditch….
The other Danish driver, Michael Pedersen, experienced possibly the single toughest weekend in his rally career. Pedersen absolutely had to finish in order to secure his lead in Group N in the Euro Rally Challenge. He succeeded, but only after a weekend of working himself to the bone: 'What a weekend! Saturday we broke a wheel rim, which caused emense damage to the steering. Eventually the turbo gave up the ghost on Saturday evening. Luckily we were able to start in the Super Rally on Sunday. I was a wreck. We had worked through the night to repair the car and only had an hour or so sleep. It turned out Sunday, that the turbo still wasn’t working at its’ optimal capacity, but we made it over the finish. That was all that mattered. Under those conditions, rally driving is not pleasant. I was constantly having to be very cautious and keeping it on the safe side, but after driving the whole season in the ERC I couldn’t let the Group N title slip by.'
Janina Depping got down to business and did what had to be done. She won for the first time in Group N, but due to the fact that Pederson managed to drag himself over the finish, she remained in second place in the overall standings in the ERC: 'This was one of the most difficult races in my rally career. I have previously driven in Monte-Carlo with a Suzuki in the snow and ice, but these slippery stages were just as challenging. You have to have years of experience here in order to be able to read the asphalt and know where the road offers some grip!”
Drivers decide over the future of the Euro Rally Challenge
Together Erik Wevers and Mark van Eldik, initial organizers of the Euro Rally Challenge, were both present in Hoei although not participating. The ERC champion having to let the Condroz challenge pass him by this year due to his Focus undergoing a full overhaul. He did, however, let a few comments slip over the future plans for the Euro Rally Challenge.
“There will definitely be a sequel in 2009.The reactions from the drivers and the organization have all been overwhelmingly enthusiastic. In Hoei, we received application request from various teams and we had contact with almost all of the organizers from Belgium. The Euro Rally Challenge however, is and remains foremost a “drivers championship”. The drivers want to compete against each other in attractive races with a good ambiance and a challenging course. We have organized a championship party on the 20th of December where all of the teams can come together along with some potential candidates for next year. We will let the teams decide which races will appear on the calendar for next season .There are so many races to choose from and we are certainly not restricted to the Netherlands, Germany and Belgium, there are also possibilities in France and Denmark. It is possible that we will be expanding the championship out to six countries…
It all depends of course; on which drivers subscribe to compete in the ERC in 2009. This year, for example, we didn’t have any participants from Belgium even though there were two Belgian rallies on the calendar. That isn’t very logical. We will have to see how we can better accommodate the wishes of the interested drives next season. Due to unforeseen circumstances the season finale was a little meager. However the injuries of Mark van Eldik, the crash of Kuzaj before Vogelsberg, the technical problems of Stebani, were all factors that were out of our hands…'
Practical Information
Condroz Rally
7-9 November 2008, Hoei, BE
Course 811,3 km with 275,02 km stages. 3 race days (1x1, 2x5 and 2x3)
Website: www.condrozrally.be
Results Euro Rally Challenge
1 Dennis Kuipers - Kees Hagman (Ford Focus RS WRC06 A8) 2h41'54'6.
2 Jan de Winkel - Radboud van Hoek (Renault Clio R3 A7) 2h47'18'5.
3 Janina Depping - Sabrina Beier (DE-Mitsubishi Lancer Evo7 N4) 2h52'53'7.
4 Michael Pedersen - Mie Petersen (DK-Mitsubishi Lancer Evo9 N4) 3h03'40'8.
Retirees
René Kuipers - Erwin Mombaerts (Ford Focus RS WRC06 A8) alternator belt
Hans Ole Funch - Thomas Funch (DE-Opel Kadett GT/E) crashed
Final Standings Euro Rally Challenge
Group A
1 Erik Wevers-Jalmar van Weeren (NL) 36.
2 Dennis Kuipers-Kees Hagman (NL) 28.
3 René Kuipers-Erwin Mombaerts (NL) 25.
4 Harry Kleinjan-Annemieke Hulzebos (NL) 21.
5 Mark van Eldik-Michel Groenewoud (NL) 18.
6 John Temmink-Henk-Jan Elbert (NL) 9.
7 Mihali Hodula-Mark Varhidi (HU) 6.
Group R
1 Jan de Winkel-Radboud van Hoek (NL) 50.
Group N/S20001 Michael Pedersen-Mie Petersen (DK) 48.
2 Janina Depping-Sabrina Breier (D) 42.
3 Dennis Kuipers-Kees Hagman (NL) 18.
4 Edwin Schilt-Peter Verschuur (NL) 11.
5 Leszek Kuzaj-Craig Parry (PL/GB) 6.
6 Gerard Sharkey-John F. O’Mahony (IE) 6.
Group H
1 Hans-Ole Funch-Thomas Funch (D) 30. |
