Francorchampions: The First BTCS Race

April 13th, 2009

Article By IPA Member: Guy Verstraeten
Guy594 Photography

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On April 12, 2009, started the First BTCS (Belgian Touring Car Series) Race in Francorchamp in Spa, Belgium.
The first race started with a full-packed grandstand.

But the competition was immediately started by a heavy collision between Bert Redant in the BMW and the KIA from Philippe Steveny requiring them to automatically loss their chances of winning the race.

On the lead, David Dermont took an excellent start with the Mazda RX8 but some electrical problems caused him to fall an early set-back in the ranking. Frédéric Bouvy didn’t let this chance go by and the reigning champion took resolutely the overhand.

The positions changed barely at the pit stops, although three pilots (Frédéric Bouvy, Ruben Maes and Koen Wauters) wasted their joker by diving under the standard time. The pit stop for KS Motorsport was a less pleasant surprise: BMW no. 3 lost a spark plug and it lasted two rounds before Steve Vanbellingen could drive further. All hopes for a good result were given up because the remaining leading cars obviously did not want to wait. Christian Kelders finished nicely the great work of Frédéric Bouvy and gave Renault the first victory.

The second start went bad for Christian Kelders who stood at the pole position with the Renault Mégane. Steve Vanbellingen took the head position from the hands of Julien Schroyen and Stéphane Lémeret, but had to give up the lead due to mechanical problems on his RX8. The leader could not beat the gap on Julien Schroyen who felt himself comfortable in the Audi A4.

Eventually the chequered flag fell first for BMW van Vanbellingen-Maes, before the Audi and the Renault. Redant-Moonens completed the beautiful result of KS Motorsport with a fourth place for Schmetz-Gomez, who finished first in S2 after an impressive rush of the French pilot.

Race 1 : 1. Bouvy-Kelders (Renault Mégane Trophy), 36 rounds ; 2. De Crem-Schroyen (Audi A4 Silhouet) in 33.425 ; 3. Smits-Cleynhens-Thiry (Jaguar X-Type Silhouet) in 1.50.155 ; 4. Wauters-Vanthoor (KIA Pro Cee’d Silhouet) in 2.07.465 ; 5. Fumal-Soulet (Touring Cup) in 1 round, winners in S2 ; 6. Qvick-Jonckhere (BMW M3), winners in T3 ; 7. Schmetz-Gomez (Touring Cup) ; 8. Franchi-Vannerum-Warroquiers (Jaguar X-Type Silhouet) ; 9. Servais-Fontaine (Touring Cup) in 2 rounds ; 10. Vanbellingen-Maes (BMW M3 Silhouet)… 15. Jamar-Néri (Volvo S60 bio) in 3 rounds, winners in T4 ; 16. Plennevaux-Katsers (Alfa Romeo 156), winners in T2 ; etc.

Race 2 : 1. Vanbellingen-Maes (BMW M3 Silhouet) 36 rounds ; 2. De Crem-Schroyen (Audi A4 Silhouet) in 22.472 ; 3. Bouvy-Kelders (Renault Mégane Trophy) in 1.11.653 ; 4. Moonens-Redant (BMW M3 Silhouet) in 1.50.736 ; 5. Schmetz-Gomez (Touring) in 1 round, winnerrs in S2 ; 6. Fumal-Soulet (Touring Cup) ; 7. Servais-Fontaine (Touring Cup) ; 8. Smits-Cleynhens-Thiry (Jaguar X-Type Silhouet) ; 9. Latinne-Radermecker (Touring Cup) in 2 rounds ; 10. Adriaenssens-Van Riel (SEAT Leon), winners in T3 ; 11. Jamar-Néri (Volvo S60 bio), in 3 rounds, winners in T4… 13. André-De Vits-Arbaud (Honda Civic), winners in T2 ; etc.

Championship (official) : 1. Bouvy-Kelders 35 pts ; 2. De Crem-Schroyen 34 ; 3. Vanbellingen-Maes 26 ; 4. Smits-Cleynhens-Thiry 23 ; 5. Fumal-Soulet 21 ; 6. Schmetz-Gomez 20 ; etc.