After the successful introduction of the Mosler Challenge as part of the Dutch Supercar Challenge's GT class in 2008, the decision to continue in 2009 was an easy one. Its success even inspired the creation of the Britcar Mosler Challenge in the United Kingdom.
When the Dutch Supercar Challenge presented its calendar for 2009, the teams were happy to see races in The Netherlands at Zandvoort and Assen, in Belgium at Spa-Francorchamps and Zolder and the return of a race in Britain, at Donington Park. Unfortunately the races at Donington could not take place due to a problem with the circuits safety certification, but the Dutch Supercar Challenge and the Britcar moved their races to Rockingham instead.
Martin Short proved in 2008 the Mosler MT900R is a very competitive car by winning the Dutch Supercar Challenge GT class in his debut year. He was back for 2009 to defend his crown. The young Berry van Elk, by now a DSC regular, was keen to continue racing in his blue Mosler and to show he learned a lot during his first year in the GT class. Due to the recession some other teams had to cut back on their activities, but luckily they were able to make some guest appearances during the season. And of course the rest of the GT cars were determined to beat the Moslers and win the title themselves.
As the teams arrived at Spa in April it was clear it was going to be an exciting year. Martin Short had developed his MT900R during the winter and continued where he left of in 2008 by being quickest in both practice and qualifying.
Berry van Elk did some winter testing as well, but had to end his final test before the season started when his engine overheated. Inspection in the workshop failed to find any damage, but the moment the car went full throttle on the track it was clear the engine had to be replaced. After a full nights work the car was good to go but straight into free practice the gearbox developed an oil pressure problem due to faulty engine management electronics. Between practice and qualifying the unit was replaced by a new one, and Van Elk put his Mosler on the second row for the race on Saturday. A great result as these laps in qualifying were his first laps of the weekend.
The Woodcock brothers entered the third Mosler of the weekend. During practice they recorded the seventh quickest time in class, but in qualifying they failed to improve and had to settle for tenth.
When the race on Saturday started Martin Short took the lead just ahead of Cor Euser in his Marcos "La Bomba" LM600. Nicky Pastorelli shared a Passat V8Star with Danny Werkman and was not far behind. After just three laps Euser's Marcos developed a braking problem and he had to let his car checked in the pits. This cost the Dutch ace a lot of time and a chance at a podium result. Fourteen laps into the race technical difficulties ended the hopes of the Pastorelli - Werkman duo to score some points. Meanwhile Martin Short did not look back and developed a handsome lead over Peter Versluis in his Corvette Z06 GT3 and Mosler driver Berry van Elk who had a great fight. "Racing Berry was very exciting", according to Versluis. "In some corners I was quicker, in some he was. When Berry spun at the bus stop chicane our fight was over."
After his spin Van Elk was gaining on the Corvette again, but he was handed a drive through and he had to settle for the final podium position, just eight seconds behind Versluis. Short won the first race of the season with ease.
At the start on Sunday Short again took the lead, but the red Viper driven by the Xavier Maassen - Edward Grouwels duo had a great start too. Maassen overtook both Berry van Elk and Peter Versluis as soon as the lights turned green to follow Short into the first corner. Behind the two leaders Versluis and Van Elk had a thrilling fight just like the day before, but it was not to last as Van Elks gearbox again developed some problems and the talented Dutchman decided to park his car in the pits. Cor Euser started the race from the pit lane where the light stayed red terribly long. After he was finally on his way he steamed through the field to reach fourth position just before the pit stops. After the mandatory stops Versluis' Corvette had to retire with technical problems and Pastorelli parked the Passat V8Star in the gravel trap. Short had disappeared in the distance and won the race by a big margin ahead of Euser and Maassen - Grouwels.
The next weekend was staged at Rockigham, England. As this was a race on known territory for Martin Short, he was asked for tips and tricks on the oval and infield track by the other drivers. In free practice Cor Euser was fastest, while Short did not go out on the track. The second Mosler, driven by Berry van Elk, recorded the third fastest lap time. Qualifying saw Short topping the chart, followed by Euser, the Werkman - Pastorelli duo and Van Elk, who was one of the very few to go flat out through the oval section.
As usual Martin Short reacted fastest when the lights turned green at the start on Saturday. Cor Euser and Nicky Pastorelli were close on his tail. Van Elk lost his fourth place to Arjan van der Zwaan who shared a Lamborghini Gallardo LP560-4 Super Trofeo with Siebrand Dijkstra. Eager to regain his position, Van Elk tried to outbrake the experienced Van der Zwaan but unfortunately hit him.
The Mosler lost its nose bodywork on the track and Van Elk had to retire in the pits. The bodywork on the track caused a safety car period which worked to the advantage of Euser as he overtook Short directly after the restart. During the pit stops Short had to stay in longer for his success penalty seconds from the previous races and Euser was able to create a gap of about half a minute. Things got exciting again when Euser was handed a drive through penalty because he had not stopped for long enough during his mandatory pit stop. In the end Short was having difficulty lapping some back markers and Euser steered his Marcos to victory, just four seconds ahead of the Mosler. Danny Werkman completed the podium in his Passat V8Star.
As winner of yesterdays race, Cor Euser started from pole on Sunday, but again local hero Short in his Mosler MT900R had the best start. Short lead Euser in a close fight for laps until in lap nine Euser found a gap in the Englishman's defence and took the lead. Berry van Elk had to start from the back but quickly made his way towards the head of the field. When the pit lane opened for the mandatory stops Short immediately went in to do his. His team put on a set of brand new Dunlops to allow him to give it all on the track again. After Euser made his stop as well the Dutchman was in the lead by about ten seconds but Short was gaining on him second by second. Unfortunately for the spectators a real fight did not take place as Euser was distracted by smoke in his car as he spun in the hairpin, allowing Short to pass. The Marcos driver was able to continue, but he had to let the win to Martin Short. Werkman and Pastorelli came in third just like the day before, ahead of other Mosler driver Berry van Elk who finished at a good fourth place after he had to start the race from the very back.
The first races on Dutch soil took place at Zandvoort. Cor Euser was not able to capitalize on his home advantage in free practice as Martin Short recorded the fastest lap through the dunes with quite a margin. A remarkable result as Short had arrived from a business trip to Malaysia just a few hours before. Euser ended up just behind guest driver Rob Knook in a spectacular Stealth B6 in third. Berry van Elk did only a few laps so his seventh place was not very surprising.
In qualifying Marcos LM600 driver Cor Euser showed he had already done an uncountable amount of laps on this track during his long career by taking pole for Saturday's race. Martin Short completed the front row ahead of Rick Abresch who teamed up with Francesco Pastorelli in a Ferrari 430 GT3 and Ronald van der Laar and Sebastiaan Bleekemolen sharing a Porsche 997 GT3 Cup S. Viper drivers De Graaff and Ribbens shared the third row with Berry van Elk.
The sun was shining unusually bright for Dutch standards when the cars lined up for Saturday's race. Just like the last few races Martin Short reacted fastest to the starting lights. Euser was unable to fight him off and had to settle for second place in the first corner. The yellow Viper driven by Robert de Graaf and Philippe Ribbens had a good start too, going from fifth to third. Meanwhile Short and Euser had their usual intense fight, resulting in a successful passing maneuver for the Dutch driver in lap six. Euser clearly was the fastest man on track and he was able to build a small lead. However, he could not enjoy it for long as the safety car came on the track to allow the marshals to remove a large piece of bodywork lost by Van Elk. "I went a bit hard over a curb stone," according to Van Elk, "my team had to attend me to it, I had no idea."
The safety car created a bit of a mess as it entered the track just before the window for the mandatory pit stops opened. Martin Short wanted to create maximal advantage so he slowed down to make sure he did not enter the pit lane to early. By doing so he blocked the track and was given a drive through penalty later in the race. Both Elmar Grimm in an DTM Audi TT and De Graaff - Ribbens spent to little time in the pit lane which cost them a drive through as well later on.
When the safety car left the track again the restart was not flawless either. Both De Graaff - Ribbens and Peter Versluis suffered from cold tires and brakes and had to take a detour through the gravel at the first corner. This handed the lead to Van Elk in his Mosler MT900R. His team chose the perfect moment for the pit stop during the safety car period which brought him a huge advantage. Unfortunately the young Van Elk could not handle the pressure and he spun off and deep into a gravel trap.
After the dust had settled and all the penalties were payed the surprising leaders were the guest team of Ronald van Laar and Sebastiaan Bleekemolen. They successfully defended their position and took the checkered flag ahead of Euser and Short. After the race however Euser was given a thirty seconds time penalty for a pit lane rule infringement. This demoted him from second to third, behind Short.
After the lights went green on Sunday yesterdays winners Van Laar - Bleekemolen could not hold on to the lead for a full lap as Short, Euser and Grimm tried to improve their results from Saturdays race. After a couple of laps of intense battle Martin Short had a problem accelerating out of the first corner. Short: "Unbelievable! My engine stalled just as I wanted to go on the throttle again. I was afraid Cor would hit me, but it was just a minor scratch so I was able to resume my race." Both Short and Euser had collected a fair amount of result penalty seconds during the previous races. This gave Elmar Grimm the lead after the pit stops. Berry van Elk, who started from the back of the field after his mishap on Saturday was in third, but not for long. Francesco Patrorelli, who had taken the wheel of the Ferrari 430 GT3 from Rick Abresch was the quickest man on track and he overtook Van Elk without to much trouble.
Cor Euser was handed the lead by a penalty for Grimm, just before Grimm had to retire in the pits with gear box issues. The last laps of the race were very exciting as Pastorelli was trying everything to overtake Euser, but without success. During the very last lap Pastorelli ran almost out of fuel and he had to cruise slowly towards the finish. Behind Euser and Pastorelli Van Elk was reeled in by Short, but the margin was big enough to end Van Elk's disappointing weekend on a high.
Click here for part two of the year review.
When the Dutch Supercar Challenge presented its calendar for 2009, the teams were happy to see races in The Netherlands at Zandvoort and Assen, in Belgium at Spa-Francorchamps and Zolder and the return of a race in Britain, at Donington Park. Unfortunately the races at Donington could not take place due to a problem with the circuits safety certification, but the Dutch Supercar Challenge and the Britcar moved their races to Rockingham instead.
Martin Short proved in 2008 the Mosler MT900R is a very competitive car by winning the Dutch Supercar Challenge GT class in his debut year. He was back for 2009 to defend his crown. The young Berry van Elk, by now a DSC regular, was keen to continue racing in his blue Mosler and to show he learned a lot during his first year in the GT class. Due to the recession some other teams had to cut back on their activities, but luckily they were able to make some guest appearances during the season. And of course the rest of the GT cars were determined to beat the Moslers and win the title themselves.
As the teams arrived at Spa in April it was clear it was going to be an exciting year. Martin Short had developed his MT900R during the winter and continued where he left of in 2008 by being quickest in both practice and qualifying.
Berry van Elk did some winter testing as well, but had to end his final test before the season started when his engine overheated. Inspection in the workshop failed to find any damage, but the moment the car went full throttle on the track it was clear the engine had to be replaced. After a full nights work the car was good to go but straight into free practice the gearbox developed an oil pressure problem due to faulty engine management electronics. Between practice and qualifying the unit was replaced by a new one, and Van Elk put his Mosler on the second row for the race on Saturday. A great result as these laps in qualifying were his first laps of the weekend.
The Woodcock brothers entered the third Mosler of the weekend. During practice they recorded the seventh quickest time in class, but in qualifying they failed to improve and had to settle for tenth.
When the race on Saturday started Martin Short took the lead just ahead of Cor Euser in his Marcos "La Bomba" LM600. Nicky Pastorelli shared a Passat V8Star with Danny Werkman and was not far behind. After just three laps Euser's Marcos developed a braking problem and he had to let his car checked in the pits. This cost the Dutch ace a lot of time and a chance at a podium result. Fourteen laps into the race technical difficulties ended the hopes of the Pastorelli - Werkman duo to score some points. Meanwhile Martin Short did not look back and developed a handsome lead over Peter Versluis in his Corvette Z06 GT3 and Mosler driver Berry van Elk who had a great fight. "Racing Berry was very exciting", according to Versluis. "In some corners I was quicker, in some he was. When Berry spun at the bus stop chicane our fight was over."
After his spin Van Elk was gaining on the Corvette again, but he was handed a drive through and he had to settle for the final podium position, just eight seconds behind Versluis. Short won the first race of the season with ease.
At the start on Sunday Short again took the lead, but the red Viper driven by the Xavier Maassen - Edward Grouwels duo had a great start too. Maassen overtook both Berry van Elk and Peter Versluis as soon as the lights turned green to follow Short into the first corner. Behind the two leaders Versluis and Van Elk had a thrilling fight just like the day before, but it was not to last as Van Elks gearbox again developed some problems and the talented Dutchman decided to park his car in the pits. Cor Euser started the race from the pit lane where the light stayed red terribly long. After he was finally on his way he steamed through the field to reach fourth position just before the pit stops. After the mandatory stops Versluis' Corvette had to retire with technical problems and Pastorelli parked the Passat V8Star in the gravel trap. Short had disappeared in the distance and won the race by a big margin ahead of Euser and Maassen - Grouwels.
The next weekend was staged at Rockigham, England. As this was a race on known territory for Martin Short, he was asked for tips and tricks on the oval and infield track by the other drivers. In free practice Cor Euser was fastest, while Short did not go out on the track. The second Mosler, driven by Berry van Elk, recorded the third fastest lap time. Qualifying saw Short topping the chart, followed by Euser, the Werkman - Pastorelli duo and Van Elk, who was one of the very few to go flat out through the oval section.
As usual Martin Short reacted fastest when the lights turned green at the start on Saturday. Cor Euser and Nicky Pastorelli were close on his tail. Van Elk lost his fourth place to Arjan van der Zwaan who shared a Lamborghini Gallardo LP560-4 Super Trofeo with Siebrand Dijkstra. Eager to regain his position, Van Elk tried to outbrake the experienced Van der Zwaan but unfortunately hit him.
The Mosler lost its nose bodywork on the track and Van Elk had to retire in the pits. The bodywork on the track caused a safety car period which worked to the advantage of Euser as he overtook Short directly after the restart. During the pit stops Short had to stay in longer for his success penalty seconds from the previous races and Euser was able to create a gap of about half a minute. Things got exciting again when Euser was handed a drive through penalty because he had not stopped for long enough during his mandatory pit stop. In the end Short was having difficulty lapping some back markers and Euser steered his Marcos to victory, just four seconds ahead of the Mosler. Danny Werkman completed the podium in his Passat V8Star.
As winner of yesterdays race, Cor Euser started from pole on Sunday, but again local hero Short in his Mosler MT900R had the best start. Short lead Euser in a close fight for laps until in lap nine Euser found a gap in the Englishman's defence and took the lead. Berry van Elk had to start from the back but quickly made his way towards the head of the field. When the pit lane opened for the mandatory stops Short immediately went in to do his. His team put on a set of brand new Dunlops to allow him to give it all on the track again. After Euser made his stop as well the Dutchman was in the lead by about ten seconds but Short was gaining on him second by second. Unfortunately for the spectators a real fight did not take place as Euser was distracted by smoke in his car as he spun in the hairpin, allowing Short to pass. The Marcos driver was able to continue, but he had to let the win to Martin Short. Werkman and Pastorelli came in third just like the day before, ahead of other Mosler driver Berry van Elk who finished at a good fourth place after he had to start the race from the very back.
The first races on Dutch soil took place at Zandvoort. Cor Euser was not able to capitalize on his home advantage in free practice as Martin Short recorded the fastest lap through the dunes with quite a margin. A remarkable result as Short had arrived from a business trip to Malaysia just a few hours before. Euser ended up just behind guest driver Rob Knook in a spectacular Stealth B6 in third. Berry van Elk did only a few laps so his seventh place was not very surprising.
In qualifying Marcos LM600 driver Cor Euser showed he had already done an uncountable amount of laps on this track during his long career by taking pole for Saturday's race. Martin Short completed the front row ahead of Rick Abresch who teamed up with Francesco Pastorelli in a Ferrari 430 GT3 and Ronald van der Laar and Sebastiaan Bleekemolen sharing a Porsche 997 GT3 Cup S. Viper drivers De Graaff and Ribbens shared the third row with Berry van Elk.
The sun was shining unusually bright for Dutch standards when the cars lined up for Saturday's race. Just like the last few races Martin Short reacted fastest to the starting lights. Euser was unable to fight him off and had to settle for second place in the first corner. The yellow Viper driven by Robert de Graaf and Philippe Ribbens had a good start too, going from fifth to third. Meanwhile Short and Euser had their usual intense fight, resulting in a successful passing maneuver for the Dutch driver in lap six. Euser clearly was the fastest man on track and he was able to build a small lead. However, he could not enjoy it for long as the safety car came on the track to allow the marshals to remove a large piece of bodywork lost by Van Elk. "I went a bit hard over a curb stone," according to Van Elk, "my team had to attend me to it, I had no idea."
The safety car created a bit of a mess as it entered the track just before the window for the mandatory pit stops opened. Martin Short wanted to create maximal advantage so he slowed down to make sure he did not enter the pit lane to early. By doing so he blocked the track and was given a drive through penalty later in the race. Both Elmar Grimm in an DTM Audi TT and De Graaff - Ribbens spent to little time in the pit lane which cost them a drive through as well later on.
When the safety car left the track again the restart was not flawless either. Both De Graaff - Ribbens and Peter Versluis suffered from cold tires and brakes and had to take a detour through the gravel at the first corner. This handed the lead to Van Elk in his Mosler MT900R. His team chose the perfect moment for the pit stop during the safety car period which brought him a huge advantage. Unfortunately the young Van Elk could not handle the pressure and he spun off and deep into a gravel trap.
After the dust had settled and all the penalties were payed the surprising leaders were the guest team of Ronald van Laar and Sebastiaan Bleekemolen. They successfully defended their position and took the checkered flag ahead of Euser and Short. After the race however Euser was given a thirty seconds time penalty for a pit lane rule infringement. This demoted him from second to third, behind Short.
After the lights went green on Sunday yesterdays winners Van Laar - Bleekemolen could not hold on to the lead for a full lap as Short, Euser and Grimm tried to improve their results from Saturdays race. After a couple of laps of intense battle Martin Short had a problem accelerating out of the first corner. Short: "Unbelievable! My engine stalled just as I wanted to go on the throttle again. I was afraid Cor would hit me, but it was just a minor scratch so I was able to resume my race." Both Short and Euser had collected a fair amount of result penalty seconds during the previous races. This gave Elmar Grimm the lead after the pit stops. Berry van Elk, who started from the back of the field after his mishap on Saturday was in third, but not for long. Francesco Patrorelli, who had taken the wheel of the Ferrari 430 GT3 from Rick Abresch was the quickest man on track and he overtook Van Elk without to much trouble.
Cor Euser was handed the lead by a penalty for Grimm, just before Grimm had to retire in the pits with gear box issues. The last laps of the race were very exciting as Pastorelli was trying everything to overtake Euser, but without success. During the very last lap Pastorelli ran almost out of fuel and he had to cruise slowly towards the finish. Behind Euser and Pastorelli Van Elk was reeled in by Short, but the margin was big enough to end Van Elk's disappointing weekend on a high.
Click here for part two of the year review.
