Motorsport - 2008,KS Motorsport experience a difficult 24 Hours of Zolder
Miroslav Sanytrák | 1.9.08 | FIA WEC
ZOLDER. KS Motorsport entered no less than three Ginetta G50Rs for the 24 Hours of Zolder, the fifth round
of the Belgian GT Championship and the highpoint of the national motorsport season. In addition to the two Belgian Ginetta
G50Rs, we were able to welcome a car with an entirely British crew. Unfortunately none of the three Ginetta G50Rs finished
the race, “but none the less we’re not dissatisfied”, Koen Leyssens concluded after the race. “Where the cars had performed
well during the qualifying sessions and were able run well during the opening hours, we paid heavily for the lack of
experience in such a long race. Certain elements of the G50R were not set-up for the distance and now it’s up to us to
develop the car further, because the potential is definitely there.”
The qualifying sessions for the 30th edition of the 24 Hours of Zolder were held on Wednesday and Thursday last. The three brand new Ginetta G50Rs performed without any problems and qualified 19th (#321 Vanbellingen-Redant-de Crem-Vandermaesen), 22nd (#350 Tomlinson-Dean-Moore-Watts) and 25th (#322 Moonens-Redant-Steegmans-Smets).
“We worked hard on the aerodynamics and road holding and that has paid off”, Steve Vanbellingen explained after the qualifying sessions. “It goKS Mes without saying that we do lack power, we’re rather down with our 350 bhp, but this is greatly compensated by the good aerodynamics and perfect balance of the car. On top of that it is our intention to further develop the engine in collaboration with Ginetta in England.”
“We still have some worries regarding the transmission, which is an unknown factor in such a long distance”, Koen Leyssens continues. “Let us not forget that Zolder is a circuit which is highly demanding on the transmission. You can definitely assume that for the brakes and the transmission Zolder is definitely the most gruelling 24 hours race in the world.”
And in addition, after a sad summer, another unknown element reared its head. On Saturday the start of the 30th edition of the 24 Hours of Zolder was given under a high summer heat, definitely not an advantage for either the drivers or the machinery.. “Indeed, in the car it’s a leaden heat and you really feel it. But the mechanical parts suffer just as much”, Werner Moonens told us after his first stint. “All the same it’s an enjoyable car to handle.”
“Unfortunately after a few hours we discovered the same problem on both of the KS Motorsport cars”, the Belgian importer of the British make, Benny Smets told us. “Due to a problem with the cooling the final driven heated up and it would have been nonsensical to replace the entire transmission. We were able to detect the problem and in the coming weeks we’ll be reviewing the car’s entire drive set-up. I’m fully convinced that the Ginetta G50R is a perfect car for endurance work, but the basis remains sprints, which obviously calls for adjustment work. I’m truly proud to know that a Belgian team is allowed to carry out development work for Ginetta.”
KS Motorsport is presently considering entering both Ginetta G50Rs for the 10 Hours of Zolder and the 24 Hours of Dubai
It goes without saying that KS Motorsport will obviously be present at the next BTCS-weekend on 20th and 21st September at Spa.
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