Debut of two-time WRC world champion Kalle Rovanperä (RedAnt Racing) in the fastest one-make cup in the Benelux
Dirk Schouten (Q1 Trackracing) defends leadership position on home soil
Zonhoven, June 5, 2024. Just under a month after the spectacular opening round of the Porsche Carrera Cup Benelux at Spa-Francorchamps, which was driven in front of more than 88,000 spectators, the fastest one-make cup in the Benelux is now heading to a second international motorsport series: the DTM at Circuit Zandvoort. A total of 23 identical Porsche 911 GT3 Cup – Type 992 – will once again treat the audience to fantastic racing, not least because of the presence of Kalle Rovanperä, who is making his debut in the competition. But be aware, because the other participants, and especially the many Dutchmen who are completing their first of two home races, will not make it easy for the Finn.
Let’s take a look back to Spa-Francorchamps, where Benjamin Paque (D'Ieteren Luxury Performance) and Dirk Schouten shared the victories over the two races and both young talents immediately indicated that they would be there for the 2024 title battle. But they are certainly not the only ones. In the Belgian Ardennes, we saw many other candidates for success, not least the Swede Robin Knutsson, racing with NGT Racing, who after the passage in Spa, has the same number of points as Dirk Schouten, but of course has one victory less.
There also are some Dutch drivers who will want to do even better on their own soil than during the Belgian opening weekend. Naturally, this concerns the number three in the points standings, the experienced Paul Meijer (Hans Weijs Motorsport), but also Sacha Norden (JW Raceservice), who is in fifth place before the start of the weekend at the North Sea. Sam Jongejan (Team RaceArt), Niels Langeveld (Q1 Trackracing) and Nick Ho (PG Motorsport) will also put up a fight in front of the Dutch audience. Although Kobe Pauwels (D'Ieteren Luxury Performance) and Valters Zviedris (Q1 Trackracing) will also not be inferior. The latter two are currently also number one and number two in the Rookie Championship standings, ahead of Jurriaan De Back (JW Raceservice).
We also note that in the PRO-AM class, Jani Käkelä (39 Racing) comes to Circuit Zandvoort as leader, but he also feels the heat of the Jules Grouwels (Team RaceArt).
Guest drivers will also join this weekend, in particular Niels Troost, who is making his return to the competition with Team GP Elite, as well as Colin Jamie Bönighausen. The latter will race in the colors of Bas Koeten Racing, a team that is making a comeback and in the past, among others, looked after the young promise Loek Hartog.
“Indeed, our first of two weekends in the Netherlands will be extra exciting for many of the Dutch drivers. Don't forget that our competition has many Dutch teams and that this round is also very important for them," says Series Manager Olivier Aerts. “And especially considering the prestigious weekend on the North Sea coast, in the context of the Dutch DTM round. We expect a lot of people in the stands again. I think everyone in the Porsche Carrera Cup Benelux family is really looking forward to the second round of the season.”
Of course, Zandvoort will also see the debut of Kalle Rovanperä, the 23-year-old Finn, who became world rally champion in 2022 and 2023. Rovanperä clearly also wants to make a name for himself in circuit racing, in addition to rallying and drifting, and in that context, he opts for the Porsche Carrera Cup Benelux and RedAnt Racing.
All drivers are in for a great weekend, with two free practice sessions of forty minutes on Friday (1:50 PM and 6:15 PM), while on Saturday the starting order of both races will be determined with one qualifying session of 35 minutes at 9:00 AM. The first race will start on Saturday afternoon at 4:45 PM, lasting 30 minutes plus one lap, while the second event will get the green light on Sunday at 10:35 AM.
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