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Dutch Winter Endurance Championship – New Years Race

© Planetlemans – Marcel ten Caat

The 2009 racing season in The Netherlands got underway this weekend at Zandvoort. 56 cars took part in the third round of the Winter Endurance Championship 2008-2009. After the Zandvoort 500 and the 4H of Hockenheim it was time for the traditional ‘Nieuwjaarsrace’, the New Years Race. Teams competing in the race faced low temperatures and racing in the dark!

Despite the fact that several cars were unavailable due to the Dubai 24 Hours next week and some drivers had other obligations, the number of cars on the grid was larger than in the two previous races.

In the 30 minute qualifying session, which took place just after 12 o’clock on Sunday afternoon, it was the Sotrax Albert Motorsport Porsche 997 GT3 Cup of Michael and Sebastiaan Bleekemolen and Kees Bouhuys which secured pole position. The session was red flagged when after a huge oil spill covered almost half the circuit. While the Zandvoort officials tried to get rid of the oil the teams were able to make the final adjustments to their cars in the two hours that remained before the start of the four hour race.

Just before the start of the race, with the cars already lined-up on the grid, it started to rain. Several teams rushed into the pit lane and changed to rain tyres, but a large number of cars stayed out. The VeKa Team KTM X-bow was the first car to retire, crashing out on its way to the grid. As the race got underway the little X-bow was being pulled towards the pit.

The first cars went into the pit lane immediately to get tyres, handing the lead of the race to cars that had originally started outside the top ten. But soon after all cars had switched to wets it was again a battle between the Porsches 997 GT3 Cup and the DNRT V8 Silhouette cars.

One of the VW Golfs in the field caused the first ‘code 16′ as it crashed heavily in its sixteenth lap. Not much later the winner of the Hockenheim round, the H&P Racing Team BMW Compact GTR, retired in the pit with mechanical problems. Despite several cars spinning and visiting the gravel traps the race continued without any major incidents. Unfortunately for the Sotrax Albert Motorsport team their race came to an end after completing 34 laps. The Porsche hit the wall at the Hugenholtz corner, completed two more laps before entering the pit and staying there for the remainder of the day.

As the rain continued darkness fell over the Zandvoort circuit and with two hours to go the lights on the car were switched on. At the front the Verschuur Porsche of Roeland Voerman and Duncan Huisman kept the lead, ahead of the DNRT V8 Silhouette of Frits Hessing and Huub Vermeulen. With one hour to go and after 76 laps had been completed, the Verschuur Porsche was aleady two laps ahead.

Ten minutes before the end of the race there was another ‘code 60′ when one of the Clio’s stopped on the side of the track. The car was quickly pulled to safety and with five minutes remaining the track was ‘green’ again. The Verschuur Porsche, still two laps ahead of the Hessing DNRT V8, stayed out of trouble and after 103 laps Duncan Huisman and Roeland Voerman crossed the finish line, taking the win in the third round of the Winter Endurance Championship. While fireworks went up in the air the Hessing car took second place, with the BMW E90 V8 of Sybren de Groot and Andre de Vries securing third place.

The top three of the New Years Race at Zandvoort (as well as Mick’s Mazda MX5):