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More good results for Team Bilderberg Porsche Eindhoven
Another good weekend for the Team Bilderberg Porsche Eindhoven in the Dutch GT4 Championship at Zandvoort, where Paul van Splunteren and Bas Schothorst only just missed out on a podium finish in the feature race with their Porsche 997 GT4. The Dutch pairing came home fourth. “After our success in the season opener, our engine power was reduced by some 25 horsepower. Moreover, we have to carry 40 kilograms of success ballast, so our fourth place is quite good when you keep that in mind”, said Paul van Splunteren.
Van Splunteren and Schothorst scored their best result in the 50 minutes’ feature race with mandatory driver change. Having started ninth, the Dutch pairing came home in fourth place. Bas Schothorst took the start and moved up to fifth before handing over driving duties to Paul van Splunteren, who gained one more place in the second half of the race and brought this result home. “We have driven a good race”, said Bas. “Early on, I was able to gain a few places. We had a good pit stop and Paul drove it home in a nice way. Given the circumstances, fourth is a good result with our car.”
In the first sprint race, Paul van Splunteren started sixth and kept that position throughout. “I had a fairly good start, but a part of the underfloor came loose during the race which reduced my top speed by a few km/h. As a result, I didn’t have enough speed to gain some more positions. On top of that, somebody also briefly punted me off the track. All in all, I am reasonably happy with my sixth place.”
Bas Schothorst was forced to retire from the second sprint race due to bodywork damage. This was caused when former Le Mans-winner Jan Lammers had run into Schothorst’s Porsche. “There was no point in carrying on, there was too much damage and the handling of the car was badly affected”, said Schothorst.
For the next round on July 4th and 5th, the Dutch GT4 Championship will be heading to the circuit of Assen, best known for hosting the Dutch TT MotoGP event. “This is a completely different circuit, I am curious to find out how our Porsche will do there”, says Paul van Splunteren. “Generally, I am happy with the results of the weekend. The Porsche 911 is a regular podium contender and we have seen some good racing with a good variety of cars. SRO’s balance of performance system works very well!”
The Porsche 997 GT4 was developed by GT3.nl, the competition department of the Porsche Centre Eindhoven, for use in the Dutch GT4 Championship and the European GT4 Cup. Interested teams and drivers can order a complete conversion kit, approved by Porsche AG, for a Porsche 997 GT3 from GT3.nl. If required, GT3.nl can also provide assistance for the preparation of a ready-to-race Porsche 997 GT4 and for the purchase of a suitable used Porsche 997 GT3.
Result race 1: 1. Junior Strous, Aston Martin GT4, 14 laps in 26:17.388; 2. Tim Buijs, BMW M3 GT4, 0.564 sec.; 3. Christiaan Frankenhout, Porsche 997 GT4, 1.000; 6. Paul van Splunteren, Porsche 997 GT4, 17.114.
Result race 2: 1. Jeroen Bleekemolen, Corvette C6, 14 laps in 26:18.583; 2. Phil Bastiaans, Porsche 997 GT4, 0.740 sec.; 3. Danny van Dongen, Corvette C6, 0.782; 18. Bas Schothorst, Porsche 997 GT4, 3 laps.
Result race 3: 1. Tim Buijs / Sebastiaan Bleekemolen, BMW M3 GT4, 26 laps in 50:37.074; 2. Simon Knap, BMW M3 GT4, 5.254 sec.; 3. Phil Bastiaans / Christiaan Frankenhout, Porsche 997 GT4, 7.156; 4. Paul van Splunteren / Bas Schothorst Porsche 997 GT4, 18.768.
Standings after six races: 1. Christiaan Frankenhout 44; 2. Jeroen Bleekemolen 40; 3. Paul van Splunteren 34; 7. Bas Schothorst 22.
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