Belgian championship at Maasmechelen

Patrick Van Mechelen (Supercars),  Davy Van Den Branden (Super1600), Koen Pauwels (TouringCars) and Steven Maris (SuperNationals) are the 2011 Belgian Rallycross champions.

Jochen Coox took victory in his Škoda Fabia, before pole sitter Jos Kuypers (Ford Fiesta), Ron Snoeck (Seat Leon) and Patrick Van Mechelen (Subaru Impreza). Van Mechelen took the title home with a fourth place in this last race of the season. Van Mechelen and Coox stand equal in points, but Van Mechelen scored during the 2011 season mored second places than Coox. Just before the finals went underway, rain made the Duivelsberg very slippery. “I had to drive on eggs”, said the 2011 Belgian Supercar and Supercar BelNed champion Patrick Van Mechelen. “The track was so slippery.” Jochen Coox about missing the title: “This was all I could do today. Win the race. I could not have done anymore”, said the silver medalist. Third man in the championship is Jos Kuypers driving under an Italian license. Fifth place in the race was for Wil Teurlings (Volvo S40) and sixth place for Jos Jansen (Ford Focus). Jansen is aiming his arrows on a full European championship in 2012. “We are looking for C- or and D-finals and have some fun during the race weekends. If there is no change at all, that I can make it into the C-finales. We will adjust maybe mid season our program.” Jansen wants to do more testing and racing before the 2012 season begins. The team is planning to do the race in Dreux (France) at october 15 and 16. Ronny Scheveneels was after his crash in Holland in july back on the track. “Afterwards the doctors concluded that I had a broken rib”, said again the unfortunate driver at Maasmechelen. “The subframe of the Scirocco was slightly bent after the crash in July. Our carbuilder Thiebaut Racing, with more then 30 years experience in autosport made a new subframe for us. An improved and better version they told us.” After one heat the beautiful Scirocco had to stay in the paddock. The new subframe was broken. “The front differential is broken and also the driveshafts. This is something that was out of the hands of my team and I was also very cautious on the track. It just broke”, said a very disappointed Scheveneels.

TouringCar driver Koen Pauwels had already the championship in his pocket after the last race in September. For Pauwels it was at the Duivelsberg in Maasmechelen his fifth win of the season. The race for second place was behind Pauwels between Mandy Kasse (Opel Astra) and Patrick Mertens (VW Polo). With Mertens trowing the towel after heat 1, with gearbox problems on his VW Polo, second place in the Belgian TouringCar championship fell in the hands of the 18-year old Mandy Kasse in the Opel Astra. For the Astra it was the last race with a Kasse behind the steering wheel. A Belgian sponsor, who wants to stay anonymous, will make it possible that Mandy is racing next year in a Ford Fiesta VII in the TouringCars. The brand new Fiesta has already landed in the workshop of Kasse. The TouringCar Astra is sold. For Mandy it was a double party. She was the best driver in the combined Dutch and Belgian championship, the BelNed. After two years in a row being Dutch Champion in de Ford RST Junior Cup she scored now second place in the Belgian championship and the title in the BelNed.

The Super1600 class victory and the title went to Davy Van Den Branden in his Citroën C2. He defeated Dennis Remans (Ford Fiesta) who was second in the race and also second in the championship standing. For Van Den Branden also a double championship, the Belgian and the BelNed title. The 2010 Super1600 champion Andy Martin (VW Polo) finished in third place. In the standings of the 2011 championship Martin became fourth. Dutch Super1600 2011 champion, Marcel Snoeijers (Renault Clio), racet to fifth place in the race and took third place in the championship. Pole sitter Peter van de Wege had no traction at all at the slippery track with his Toyota Yaris. “I have no clue what went wrong. The same rain tyres that I used before. The car is on a wet set-up. I have no clue.”

Kristof Bex (Volvo S40) won the race in the and missed the title at three points. The title was taken by Steven Maris (Volvo 242). In his third appearance in the SuperNationals Michaël De Keersmaecker set his Volvo 242 on pole. In the rain the start was won by Bex who drove his S40 from start to finish into victory lane. Champion Steven Maris walks in the shoes of his father Luc, who became third in the 2011 championship. Luc Maris is the BelNed champion in the SuperNational class.

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