GT3 Europe

ProSpeed Competition best Porsche representative in Brno

© Planetlemans – Marcel ten Caat

The second meeting of the FIA GT3 European Championship was on the programme this weekend at Brno in the Czech Republic. As was the case in previous seasons ProSpeed Competition is one of the three Porsche representatives in this prestigious FIA GT3 championship.

On Sunday ProSpeed Competition scored an excellent sixth and eighth place with respectively Marco Holzer and Paul van Splunteren and Petri Lappalainen with Markus Palttala, whereby the Belgian team came out as being the best Porsche representative.

On Saturday the unpredictable weather thwarted the team’s strategy plans. “We were far too conservative during the first race, resulting in a pretty average result”, Team Manager Rudi Penders commented. “On the other hand Sunday’s result somewhat made up for it, even though I would have preferred scoring twice in this extremely competitive championship.”

Qualifying:
In qualifying Paul Van Splunteren and Petri Lappalainen registered a 12th and 17th best time, whilst Marco Holzer and Markus Palttala clocked up a ninth and twelfth.

Race 1
“We gambled twice and lost”, was Paul van Splunteren’s opinion after the first race. “Just before the start it started to drizzle and I took the risk to remain on slicks, because it looked as though it would clear up. However just after the start for a brief period there was a heavy downpour, whereby the option turned sour. At the halfway mark it started to dry out and with the driver changeover, taking into account our position, we should perhaps have taken more risks and fitted slicks. The only team that ventured the gamble just managed to score points, but from our lost position it wasn’t to be. Proof that not everything is measurable or predictable and that a gut feeling also plays a part.”

Nec driver Van Splunteren and Holzer finished 21st , four places down on the ProSpeed Competition Finnish duo. “I’m in full agreement with my team mate Paul”, was Petri Lappalainen’s comment. “We should also have taken the gamble. Neither am I truly happy with my performance.”

Race 2
The second race ran far more smoothly for the Liège-based team and following a close-knit race the two cars crossed the line in sixth and eighth place, good for a 1-2 in both the race result as also the intermediate rankings of the Porsche Manufacturer’s Cup, where Holzer and van Splunteren now occupy the first place, ahead of their team mates. “Well, I’m satisfied with the result, because we are the best Porsche-team and that proves that we have a solid base to work on. On the other hand the difference here between the makes up front and the Porsche was too big. The Balance of Performance might well need to be adapted before the following race in Jarama on 19th and 20th June”, van Splunteren concluded.