Small chat

Engines, setups and the weather discussed at the departure gate.

Waiting at an airport is most of the time pretty boring. Sometimes if gives you the opportunity to speak briefly with a driver or the mechanics of the teams. At Amsterdam airport early Friday morning RallycrossWorld had the same flight as Belgian driver Michaël De Keersmaecker to Trondheim (Norway). Normally De Keersmaecker would have skipped the race in Norway. “My father in law said to me I’ll bring the truck to the Norway. That made the decision to race in Norway a lot easier for me.” Next week the Belgian Rallycross-ace is also racing in Höljes. At the gate waiting for boarding the KLM flight the conversation was first the weather. “It’s raining in Hell and the weather does not look that good for the weekend. Let’s hope for a fast and dry track,” said De Keersmaecker. Another ‘issue’ that passed by was the fact that the De Keersmaecker is going to look for a good setup at the Lånkebanan, preparing for the ERC-events in Sweden and specially Belgium. The ERC event on his homeground is on top of the list of good performance for him. “At Maasmechelen I really hope that I can have a good race,” said the former Super1600 European champion. “The driver is ready,” he smiles.

De Keersmaecker supports the idea of limiting the number of engines used in Supercars. “Reducing the use of engines will bring the costs seriously down for a lot of teams,” he says. “I think it will also bring the drivers closer to each other on the track and that is what the spectators want to see. Close-racing.” How a limit is introduced has to be in the hands of the FIA Off-Road Commission, but an idea according De Keersmaecker could be a maximum of the use of one engine in two races. “If the engine breaks in race one you still have the chance to compete in race two. The engines have to be reliable. With eight spare turbos in the service-truck you can imagine how fast costs can go sky high. You have to have to bring them with you. Just in case. And better a turbo failure and a repair of €1000 to €1500 than a damaged engine with a repair cost of…?”

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