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2003 Race
Reports
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Zolder, Belgium, 20 - 22 June
2003
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Race 1 - Ralf Kelleners 1st, Nigel James 2nd (left), Michael Schuster
3rd (right) |
Race 2 - Ralf Kelleners 1st, Justin Law 2nd (left), David Mercer 3rd
(right) |
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Click here for more photos from this
race |
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Ralf Kelleners took a relatively easy victory for Porsche Kremer
Racing in Race 1. Pole sitter and race leader, David Mercer (Spice-Cosworth
SE90C) stripped second gear on only the second lap retiring instantly. Justin
Law (Jaguar XJR-10) took over at the head of the field with Kelleners now on
his tail from fourth on the grid. A reoccurrence of the misfire, which had
troubled Law's V6-turbo motor in qualifying forced two visits to the pits and
dropped him well down the field.
Nigel James (Spice-Cosworth SE86C) comfortably held second to the
flag. Behind him, David Coplowe (Jaguar XJR-6) just had the legs on the
battling Nick Randall (Porsche 962CK6/3) and Michael Schuster (Argo-Judd
JM19C). Unfortunately, another Jaguar misfire dropped Coplowe to fifth, and
spoilt a good drive to what would have been a fine podium position.
Schuster managed to nip by
Randall and fend him off for the remainder of the race to claim third.
Following desperately bad luck with engine troubles, it was a ray of light in
what has been a dark season for Schuster to date. Rounding out the top six was
Michael Jankowski (Spice-Cosworth SE88C), who improved dramatically throughout
the weekend. Gearbox failure would force him to retire early in Race 2 however.
In stark contrast, a frenetic
battle between Kelleners and Law saw 40 minutes of wheel to wheel racing in
Race 2. Kelleners retook the lead at Sterwacht with 2 laps to go to take the
flag. Such was the fearsome pace, the sportscar lap record, formerly held by
Didier Theys in a Ferrari 333SP, was broken by the two leaders. David Mercer
charged his Spice-Cosworth SE90C from the back of the field to claim third
despite a broken exhaust.
James
once again won his class, with fourth overall. Another battle between the
Randall Porsche and Schuster's Argo was most entertaining. This time, it was
Nick's son Chris at the wheel of the newly acquired Porsche and fortunes were
reversed. Jean-Francois Veroux became acclimatised to his Spice-Cosworth SE88C
with a good run to seventh. Drive shaft failure had put him out of Race 1 just
after 10 minutes.
Ian Stinton
(Harrier-Cosworth GT1) took honours in the invitation class ahead of Neil Clark
on Saturday, and Bill Tully on Sunday, in Clark's Harrier-Cosworth LR9. Richard
Bateman (Tiga-Rover GC287) rewarded his team's sterling efforts with two class
wins. They worked through the night on Friday to replace a gearbox input, which
arrived by motorcycle courier in the early hours. Philipp Brunn (Porsche 908/3)
retired from both races with engine concerns. The same troubles afflicted Jim
Graham's Porsche 962C preventing him from gridding in either race.
Race 1
1 |
GTP1 |
Ralf
Kelleners |
Porsche 962
CK6 |
19
Laps |
30:06.464 |
150.585
kph |
2 |
GTP3 |
Nigel
James |
Spice
SE86C |
19
Laps |
30:16.355 |
149.765
kph |
3 |
GTP1 |
Michael
Schuster |
Argo
Judd |
19
Laps |
31:53.251 |
142.180
kph |
4 |
GTP1 |
Nick
Randall |
Porsche 962
CK6 |
18
Laps |
30:31.112 |
140.739
kph |
5 |
GTP2 |
David
Coplowe |
Jaguar
XJR6 |
18
Laps |
30:35.183 |
140.427
kph |
6 |
GTP3 |
Michael
Jankowski |
Spice
SE88C |
18
Laps |
31:16.732 |
137.318
kph |
7 |
GTP1 |
Justin
Law |
Jaguar
XJR10 |
18
Laps |
31:20.898 |
137.014
kph |
8 |
GTP5 |
Ian
Stinton |
Harrier-Ford |
18
Laps |
31:37.366 |
135.825
kph |
9 |
GTP4 |
Richard
Bateman |
Tiger
Rover |
17
Laps |
31:57.038 |
126.963
kph |
10 |
GTP5 |
Neil
Clark |
Harrier-Ford |
16
Laps |
30:23.308 |
125.637
kph |
11 |
GTP3 |
Jean-Francois
Veroux |
Spice
SE88C |
7 Laps |
12:19.157 |
135.587
kph |
12 |
GTP5 |
Philipp
Brunn |
Porsche
908-3 |
5 Laps |
09:32.830 |
124.969
kph |
13 |
GTP1 |
David
Mercer |
Spice
SE90C |
2 Laps |
03:41.977 |
128.997
kph |
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GTP1 |
Ralf
Kelleners |
Porsche 962
CK6 |
Fastest
Lap |
01:32.467 |
154.836
kph |
Race
2
1 |
GTP1 |
Ralf
Kelleners |
Porsche 962
CK6 |
26
Laps |
40:14.345 |
154.181
kph |
2 |
GTP1 |
Justin
Law |
Jaguar
XJR10 |
26
Laps |
40:15.451 |
154.111
kph |
3 |
GTP1 |
David
Mercer |
Spice
SE90C |
26
Laps |
41:13.360 |
150.503
kph |
4 |
GTP3 |
Nigel
James |
Spice
SE86C |
26
Laps |
41:36.426 |
149.112
kph |
5 |
GTP1 |
Chris
Randall |
Porsche 962
CK6 |
25
Laps |
40:45.539 |
146.360
kph |
6 |
GTP1 |
Michael
Schuster |
Argo
Judd |
25
Laps |
41:41.421 |
143.091
kph |
7 |
GTP3 |
Jean-Francois
Veroux |
Spice
SE88C |
24
Laps |
40:23.198 |
141.801
kph |
8 |
GTP5 |
Ian
Stinton |
Harrier-Ford |
23
Laps |
41:36.608 |
131.897
kph |
9 |
GTP4 |
Richard
Bateman |
Tiga
Rover |
21
Laps |
40:23.831 |
124.044
kph |
10 |
GTP5 |
Bill
Tully |
Harrier-Ford |
20
Laps |
40:18.884 |
118.379
kph |
11 |
GTP5 |
Philipp
Brunn |
Porsche
908-3 |
13
Laps |
36:02.987 |
086.049
kph |
12 |
GTP2 |
David
Coplowe |
Jaguar
XJR6 |
10
Laps |
17:15.056 |
138.323
kph |
13 |
GTP3 |
Michael
Jankowski |
Spice
SE88C |
3 Laps |
05:18.594 |
134.816
kph |
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GTP1 |
Ralf
Kelleners |
Porsche 962
CK6 |
Fastest
Lap |
01:31.242 |
156.915
kph |
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Click here for more photos from this
race |