After Martin Short took the checkered in the race on Saturday, both he and other Mosler driver Berry van Elk failed to make the finish on Sunday.
After missing the Superleague weekend at Zolder due to other commitments Rollcentre driver Martin Short returned to the Dutch Supercar Challenge to defend last years championship. In his absence Cor Euser took advantage of the situation by archiving a first and second place. This reduced the lead of the Mosler works team to only six points.
In the practice session both Mosler drivers were trying to find the best setup for the TT track near the Dutch city of Assen. Short experimented with the aerodynamics of his MT900R, while BlueBerry's Van Elk tried to get the best out of his tires. Since the BlueBerry Racing driver failed to score any podiums in four races at Assen last year, he was very eager to end his cold streak. Because both the Mosler drivers were concentrating on their setup instead of their pace, they only recorded the fifth and sixth time in practice with the Rollcentre Mosler 0,28 seconds ahead of Berry van Elk.
On Friday afternoon qualifying took place. Martin Short set his best time early in the session to see every opponent failing to beat it. Cor Euser in his Marcos came very close, but he found himself in second place a mere 0,009 seconds of the pace. René Snel returned to racing with his powerful Porsche 911 GT2, completing the top three. Berry van Elk struggled to get a clean lap and recorded only the fifth time, behind the duo Rick Abresch - Francesco Pastorelli in a Porsche 997 RSR.
When the lights turned green on Saturday for the first Dutch Supercar Challenge race of the weekend, Peter Versluis had a fantastic start moving up to fourth from ninth in his Ferrari 430 GT2. The ETEC Viper SRT 10 driven by Philippe Ribbens started in sixth position, but was already in P3 after the first lap. At the front Cor Euser sticked closely to the Mosler of Martin Short. They quickly created a gap with the pack behind. Meanwhile the Ribbens dropped back to fifth after being past by Peter Versluis and René Snel.
Euser successfully attacked Short in lap two to gain the lead of the race. The Marcos driver opted for the soft compound Dunlops, where the Mosler was on hard tyres. This gave Dutch ace Cor Euser to possibility to move away from the Englishman during these important first few laps. Behind them Versluis, Snel, Ribbens and Van Elk had a very exciting time racing each other hard but fair. Unfortunately René Snel had to let them go after a while, leaving Ribbens in the Viper in third place just in front of Versluis and Van Elk.
During the mandatory pit stops Martin Short had passed Cor Euser, but the Marcos driver quickly overtook the Mosler MT900R. Not long after, Short had warmed up his tires again and was able to overtake Euser in the Ruskenhoek corner. Euser's tyres were completely worn out by the battles between him and Short, and he had to settle for second. Because Peter Versluis did not have as many success penalty seconds added up to his total mandatory pit stop time, he was able to take the lead after the pit stops. But Short and Euser were closing him down and increased the pressure. This resulted in Versluis overshooting his braking point. The Ferrari had to take a detour through the scenery, ruining his tyres and allowing Short and Euser to pass him. Short was able to cruise to victory, in front of Cor Euser who was over twenty seconds behind on his worn out tyres. "My call to do the whole race on the hard compound paid off. During the first few laps, Cor was able to push a bit harder, but near the end he had to pay the price." according to the winner of the Saturday race. Robbert de Graaff drove the ETEC Viper to the podium ahead of Danny Werkman and Nicky Pastorelli in an Opel Omega V8 Star. Peter Versluis lost a couple of positions after he ruined his tyres, resulting in a fifth position. Van Elk never really got it together and finished sixth.
The race on Sunday proved to be an eventful one. In front of a crowd of 57.000 the cars lined up on the starting grid. While there was a ongoing threat of rain, Martin Short started from pole position, accompanied by the Marcos of Cor Euser.
Just into the first lap, Euser applied a lot of pressure on Short, causing him to push to hard and spin in the tight left hander Strubben. A rare fault by the experienced Englishman. The spin caused a chain reaction throughout the field. Euser had to brake hard and was hit from behind by Berry van Elk. The Marcos got stuck in a gravel trap and was unable to restart his engine for minutes until he was towed by the rescue marshals. The big winner in this mayhem was Robbert de Graaff in the ETEC Viper who took the lead in front of Peter Versluis, Nicky Pastorelli and Martin Short who had quickly turned his Mosler around.
Not long after Versluis got passed by both Pastorelli and Short. Meanwhile it had started to drizzle, but the racing line on the track was still dry. Van Elk was making up for lost time, passing René Snel. Even though his BlueBerry Mosler had a damaged front end, Van Elk was able to close the gap to the Ferrari of Versluis. As Peter Versluis saw he was losing time on the Mosler, he decided to make his pit stop early in the window. To make the pit lane, he had to brake very hard. Van Elk did not expect this and lost control of his car at 140mph. He could only brace himself for the inevitable. The impact tore out the front window, broke parts of the bodywork and suspension and several other parts of the Mosler, but thankfully Berry van Elk was able to step out of the wreckage unharmed. "I was not aware Berry was that close behind. I am very sorry for him." Versluis said after the race.
After the pit stops Danny Werkman was the new leader of the race in his Omega V8 Star, leading the ETEC Viper, now steered by Philippe Ribbens. Versluis was in third place until Ribbens made a small mistake, allowing the Ferrari driver to move up into second. The two sticked together creating an interesting battle until Ribbens tried to overtake Versluis, but hit him in the process. Ribbens took advantage, but Versluis was not willing to let go. Just one corner after the first contact Versluis was to eager and the two cars hit again, resulting in a spin for Versluis and a trip though the gravel for Ribbens.
Martin Short was in fourth place until his engine failed. "Yesterday I already knew it would be very hard to reach the finish today, because the engine was not okay. I was hoping to cruise to some important points in the championship, but I had to retire. Shit happens." was the reaction of Martin Short. Porsche driver René Snel gratefully took a fourth place, just ahead of the Corvette of Alex van 't Hoff. The podium was taken by Danny Werkman and Nicky Pastorelli in their Omega V8 Star, ahead of De Graaff and Ribbens sharing the Viper. Peter Versluis finished third in his Ferrari.
After missing the Superleague weekend at Zolder due to other commitments Rollcentre driver Martin Short returned to the Dutch Supercar Challenge to defend last years championship. In his absence Cor Euser took advantage of the situation by archiving a first and second place. This reduced the lead of the Mosler works team to only six points.
In the practice session both Mosler drivers were trying to find the best setup for the TT track near the Dutch city of Assen. Short experimented with the aerodynamics of his MT900R, while BlueBerry's Van Elk tried to get the best out of his tires. Since the BlueBerry Racing driver failed to score any podiums in four races at Assen last year, he was very eager to end his cold streak. Because both the Mosler drivers were concentrating on their setup instead of their pace, they only recorded the fifth and sixth time in practice with the Rollcentre Mosler 0,28 seconds ahead of Berry van Elk.
On Friday afternoon qualifying took place. Martin Short set his best time early in the session to see every opponent failing to beat it. Cor Euser in his Marcos came very close, but he found himself in second place a mere 0,009 seconds of the pace. René Snel returned to racing with his powerful Porsche 911 GT2, completing the top three. Berry van Elk struggled to get a clean lap and recorded only the fifth time, behind the duo Rick Abresch - Francesco Pastorelli in a Porsche 997 RSR.
When the lights turned green on Saturday for the first Dutch Supercar Challenge race of the weekend, Peter Versluis had a fantastic start moving up to fourth from ninth in his Ferrari 430 GT2. The ETEC Viper SRT 10 driven by Philippe Ribbens started in sixth position, but was already in P3 after the first lap. At the front Cor Euser sticked closely to the Mosler of Martin Short. They quickly created a gap with the pack behind. Meanwhile the Ribbens dropped back to fifth after being past by Peter Versluis and René Snel.
Euser successfully attacked Short in lap two to gain the lead of the race. The Marcos driver opted for the soft compound Dunlops, where the Mosler was on hard tyres. This gave Dutch ace Cor Euser to possibility to move away from the Englishman during these important first few laps. Behind them Versluis, Snel, Ribbens and Van Elk had a very exciting time racing each other hard but fair. Unfortunately René Snel had to let them go after a while, leaving Ribbens in the Viper in third place just in front of Versluis and Van Elk.
During the mandatory pit stops Martin Short had passed Cor Euser, but the Marcos driver quickly overtook the Mosler MT900R. Not long after, Short had warmed up his tires again and was able to overtake Euser in the Ruskenhoek corner. Euser's tyres were completely worn out by the battles between him and Short, and he had to settle for second. Because Peter Versluis did not have as many success penalty seconds added up to his total mandatory pit stop time, he was able to take the lead after the pit stops. But Short and Euser were closing him down and increased the pressure. This resulted in Versluis overshooting his braking point. The Ferrari had to take a detour through the scenery, ruining his tyres and allowing Short and Euser to pass him. Short was able to cruise to victory, in front of Cor Euser who was over twenty seconds behind on his worn out tyres. "My call to do the whole race on the hard compound paid off. During the first few laps, Cor was able to push a bit harder, but near the end he had to pay the price." according to the winner of the Saturday race. Robbert de Graaff drove the ETEC Viper to the podium ahead of Danny Werkman and Nicky Pastorelli in an Opel Omega V8 Star. Peter Versluis lost a couple of positions after he ruined his tyres, resulting in a fifth position. Van Elk never really got it together and finished sixth.
The race on Sunday proved to be an eventful one. In front of a crowd of 57.000 the cars lined up on the starting grid. While there was a ongoing threat of rain, Martin Short started from pole position, accompanied by the Marcos of Cor Euser.
Just into the first lap, Euser applied a lot of pressure on Short, causing him to push to hard and spin in the tight left hander Strubben. A rare fault by the experienced Englishman. The spin caused a chain reaction throughout the field. Euser had to brake hard and was hit from behind by Berry van Elk. The Marcos got stuck in a gravel trap and was unable to restart his engine for minutes until he was towed by the rescue marshals. The big winner in this mayhem was Robbert de Graaff in the ETEC Viper who took the lead in front of Peter Versluis, Nicky Pastorelli and Martin Short who had quickly turned his Mosler around.
Not long after Versluis got passed by both Pastorelli and Short. Meanwhile it had started to drizzle, but the racing line on the track was still dry. Van Elk was making up for lost time, passing René Snel. Even though his BlueBerry Mosler had a damaged front end, Van Elk was able to close the gap to the Ferrari of Versluis. As Peter Versluis saw he was losing time on the Mosler, he decided to make his pit stop early in the window. To make the pit lane, he had to brake very hard. Van Elk did not expect this and lost control of his car at 140mph. He could only brace himself for the inevitable. The impact tore out the front window, broke parts of the bodywork and suspension and several other parts of the Mosler, but thankfully Berry van Elk was able to step out of the wreckage unharmed. "I was not aware Berry was that close behind. I am very sorry for him." Versluis said after the race.
After the pit stops Danny Werkman was the new leader of the race in his Omega V8 Star, leading the ETEC Viper, now steered by Philippe Ribbens. Versluis was in third place until Ribbens made a small mistake, allowing the Ferrari driver to move up into second. The two sticked together creating an interesting battle until Ribbens tried to overtake Versluis, but hit him in the process. Ribbens took advantage, but Versluis was not willing to let go. Just one corner after the first contact Versluis was to eager and the two cars hit again, resulting in a spin for Versluis and a trip though the gravel for Ribbens.
Martin Short was in fourth place until his engine failed. "Yesterday I already knew it would be very hard to reach the finish today, because the engine was not okay. I was hoping to cruise to some important points in the championship, but I had to retire. Shit happens." was the reaction of Martin Short. Porsche driver René Snel gratefully took a fourth place, just ahead of the Corvette of Alex van 't Hoff. The podium was taken by Danny Werkman and Nicky Pastorelli in their Omega V8 Star, ahead of De Graaff and Ribbens sharing the Viper. Peter Versluis finished third in his Ferrari.
