• Van Eijndhoven and Derdaele side-by-side after Assen, Van Parijs's closest pursuer
• A first victory for Vermeulen on Sunday
• Dullaart double winner and new leader in Pro-Am
• Lauryssen already champion in Am
For the fifth of six rounds, the drivers of the Porsche Carrera Cup Benelux headed for Assen to compete on the famous TT Circuit. As it is so often, there were two eventful races. With one meeting to go, the title battle in Pro is still wide open. In Pro-Am, Floris Dullaart did an excellent job in the title fight, and in Am Jan Lauryssen has already been crowned champion
Pro: Derdaele goes well, a bit scary for van Eijndhoven
During the first race on Saturday, Huub van Eijndhoven (#TeamPGZ by JW RaceService) was able to extend his lead in the championship. The Dutchman got off to an excellent start from fourth on the grid and was able to take advantage of the squabble in the first corner to quickly take the lead. Afterwards he managed to control his lead to drive to his second win of the season.
Despite a time penalty of 10 seconds (for exceeding the track limits twice), Dylan Derdaele (Belgium Racing) managed to limit the damage with a second place. Thierry Vermeulen (Team GP Elite), Xavier Maassen (#TeamPGZ by Red Ant Racing) and Glenn van Parijs (NGT Racing) suffered similar penalties and were led by Germany's Sebastian Freymuth (PG Motorsport), third.
The next day pole sitter Thierry Vermeulen took a resounding revenge. Thanks to a good start and an excellent race, the Dutchman managed to record a first victory in the Porsche Carrera Cup Benelux. Dylan Derdaele, Glenn van Parijs and Xavier Maassen finished on a handkerchief behind the Team GP Elite rider.
Huub van Eijndhoven, meanwhile, completed an eventful race. The Saturday race winner came into contact with Steven van Rhee (Team GP Elite) at the start and fell way back. Thanks to a double intervention by the safety car and some nice overtaking maneuvers, he managed to climb up to fifth place. As a result, Van Eijndhoven is now tied with Dylan Derdaele at the top of the standings.
Pro-Am: Dullaart makes his move
Four points: for Assen that was the difference between Nicolas Saelens (Belgium Racing) and Floris Dullaart (Team GP Elite), the two title candidates in Pro-Am. However, this weekend turned out in favor of the Team GP Elite rider. The Dutchman won twice in his home race: on Saturday for the Russian Andrey Mukovoz (DUWO Racing) and his compatriot Ziad Geris (Team GP Elite), on Sunday for the Belgian John de Wilde (Speedlover) and Ziad Geris.
Nicolas Saelens, who dominated the class at the start of the season, had a nightmare in Assen. In the first race, the Belgian could not avoid a spinning car, so he had to pass the pit lane and could only finish seventh. In the second race things hardly improved and he had to be satisfied with a fifth place. In the championship Floris Dullaart now leads by 15 points, good for an option for the title!
Am: Lauryssen crowned champion
In the Am category, the title fight is in its fold: with one meeting to go, Jan Lauryssen is already certain of the title! The Belgian had to retire early on Saturday, but with a victory on Sunday he was able to crown himself champion.
The Q1 Trackracing by EMG driver was ahead of the first race winner Luc Vanderfeesten (#TeamPGZ by Red Ant Racing) in the second race. Russian Konstantin Zakharevskiy (Speedlover), already second on Saturday, crossed the line in third.
After this eventful meeting, the Porsche Carrera Cup Benelux now heads for the Hockenheimring, where the season finale will be completed on 2 and 3 October as part of the DTM meeting.
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