While the Netherlands had a sunny Easter weekend, the start of the season for the Dutch Supercar Challenge at Silverstone was a wet and chilly one. Like the last few years the Dutch Supercar Challenge included a race on English soil in the calendar, but for the first time as the opening weekend. Unfortunately the races did not bring what the BlueBerry Mosler racing team was hoping for.
After a long winter everyone was excited to be on the track again. The Mosler MT900R had been rebuild over the winter and just a week before the British round it had its shake down at Assen, the Netherlands. This test proved to be useful as the team encountered some mechanical and electrical problems. Due to hard work by the mechanics everything was fixed before setting off to Silverstone early Wednesday morning.
During the winter period the team improved some aspects of the Mosler, including the suspension geometry. Thursday was test day for the modified car and straight away it was clear the setup was far from perfect. On the wet track young Dutch driver Berry van Elk had a very hard time keeping control of the car, and after half a dozen of spins everyone realised something had to be done. With guidance from the ever helpful people at Mosler Europe the setup was improved overnight resulting in a better drivable car. Qualifying on a wet track brought a fifth time in class.
Race 1 Saturday
After a difficult start of the weekend this was the moment to reap the fruits of the hard labour during the 60 minute race. As the cars lined up for the start the track was drying but the sky looked threatening. All front runners opted for slicks. The moment the cars started their formation lap the first drops of rain fell. Although the track got wetter by the minute not all competitors came in for a tyre change the first time around. The BlueBerry Mosler was among the first to switch to full wets which on the long run proved to be the right choice. The cars on slicks had a very difficult time as within a few laps the track was soaked, muddy and very slippery. After a strong first half of the race Berry van Elk was unable to follow the pace of the drivers who had switched to intermediate tyres during the mandatory pit stops. Van Elk finished on a decent seventh place in the GT class and fourth in the Mosler Challenge. The whole GT class podium was filled by Mosler drivers, as Martin Short steered to victory after an exciting battle with Ben Clucas and Andrew Beaumont in their Topcats Racing Mosler. Kevin Riley had to settle for third after a very impressive second half of the race.
Race 2 Sunday
The race on Sunday started on a dry and somewhat sunny track, but three of the six Moslers entered were not to enjoy the improved conditions as a massive start accident ended their race. When the lights turned green for the rolling start Dutch ace driver Cor Euser touched the Mosler of Kevin Riley who lost control and ended his first weekend in the pit wall. To avoid the wreckage everyone
suddenly steered to the left of the track, pushing both the BlueBerry and the Moore International Mosler of the track. Berry van Elk became a passenger of his own car as he slipped on the muddy run off strip and crashed hard into the pit wall. Paul White in the Moore Mosler was even less fortunate as his car took off and ended on its roof. With several cars on the home straight severely damaged the race director had no choice but to stop the race to allow the marshals to clean up the mess and check the physical conditions of the drivers involved. Luckily no one was hurt, but the three unfortunate Mosler drivers had to stand by as spectators as the race restarted. Because of the long cleanup and the tight schedule the race could only continue for ten minutes after the restart. Cor Euser won in a Ferrari F430 GT2, ahead of Mosler Europe's Martin Short and the Topcats Racing duo Andrew Beaumont an Ben Clucas, also in a Mosler MT900R.
The coming weeks the teams will be busy repairing their damaged Moslers for the next Dutch Supercar Round, which is held at the Nuerburgring on May 1st and 2nd.
After a long winter everyone was excited to be on the track again. The Mosler MT900R had been rebuild over the winter and just a week before the British round it had its shake down at Assen, the Netherlands. This test proved to be useful as the team encountered some mechanical and electrical problems. Due to hard work by the mechanics everything was fixed before setting off to Silverstone early Wednesday morning.
During the winter period the team improved some aspects of the Mosler, including the suspension geometry. Thursday was test day for the modified car and straight away it was clear the setup was far from perfect. On the wet track young Dutch driver Berry van Elk had a very hard time keeping control of the car, and after half a dozen of spins everyone realised something had to be done. With guidance from the ever helpful people at Mosler Europe the setup was improved overnight resulting in a better drivable car. Qualifying on a wet track brought a fifth time in class.
Race 1 Saturday
After a difficult start of the weekend this was the moment to reap the fruits of the hard labour during the 60 minute race. As the cars lined up for the start the track was drying but the sky looked threatening. All front runners opted for slicks. The moment the cars started their formation lap the first drops of rain fell. Although the track got wetter by the minute not all competitors came in for a tyre change the first time around. The BlueBerry Mosler was among the first to switch to full wets which on the long run proved to be the right choice. The cars on slicks had a very difficult time as within a few laps the track was soaked, muddy and very slippery. After a strong first half of the race Berry van Elk was unable to follow the pace of the drivers who had switched to intermediate tyres during the mandatory pit stops. Van Elk finished on a decent seventh place in the GT class and fourth in the Mosler Challenge. The whole GT class podium was filled by Mosler drivers, as Martin Short steered to victory after an exciting battle with Ben Clucas and Andrew Beaumont in their Topcats Racing Mosler. Kevin Riley had to settle for third after a very impressive second half of the race.
Race 2 Sunday
The race on Sunday started on a dry and somewhat sunny track, but three of the six Moslers entered were not to enjoy the improved conditions as a massive start accident ended their race. When the lights turned green for the rolling start Dutch ace driver Cor Euser touched the Mosler of Kevin Riley who lost control and ended his first weekend in the pit wall. To avoid the wreckage everyone
suddenly steered to the left of the track, pushing both the BlueBerry and the Moore International Mosler of the track. Berry van Elk became a passenger of his own car as he slipped on the muddy run off strip and crashed hard into the pit wall. Paul White in the Moore Mosler was even less fortunate as his car took off and ended on its roof. With several cars on the home straight severely damaged the race director had no choice but to stop the race to allow the marshals to clean up the mess and check the physical conditions of the drivers involved. Luckily no one was hurt, but the three unfortunate Mosler drivers had to stand by as spectators as the race restarted. Because of the long cleanup and the tight schedule the race could only continue for ten minutes after the restart. Cor Euser won in a Ferrari F430 GT2, ahead of Mosler Europe's Martin Short and the Topcats Racing duo Andrew Beaumont an Ben Clucas, also in a Mosler MT900R.The coming weeks the teams will be busy repairing their damaged Moslers for the next Dutch Supercar Round, which is held at the Nuerburgring on May 1st and 2nd.
