The most notable fact in the TCR Benelux fourth event at Zolder was the double victory of DG Sport Compétition’s Aurélien Comte in the third and fourth sprint races. These were also the first ever sprint race victories in TCR for the Peugeot 308.
Previously, Mathieu Detry had won Race 1 and 2 at the wheel of the Team WRT Volkswagen Golf he shares with Maxime Potty.
The weekend’s results meant that Benjamin Lessennes (Boutsen Ginion Racing Honda Civic) maintained the lead in the standings, although his margin was reduced to only three points ahead of Guillaume Mondron (Delahaye Racing Volkswagen). Potty-Detry rank third with a gap of 36 points, while Comte and teammate Kevin Abbring moved up to fourth, 49 points behind the leader.
Sam Dejonghe and Denis Dupont (Team WRT SEAT) won a lively Qualifying race on Saturday that saw the Honda of Lessennes-Lémeret forced to pit after a collision and the Peugeot of Comte-Abbring eliminated following a race incident. Other contenders were Potty-Detry and van Buuren-Meijer (Bas Koeten Racing Audi) who had to settle for second and third respectively.
Race 1 – At the start de Kimpe stalled from pole and Detry took the lead from Dupont. The latter retired after an incident on lap 1, which promoted Mondron and Lémeret to second and third. Detry and Mondron had a close fight for victory and finished in the order, with Lémeret third and Abbring fourth.
Race 2 – Detry encored with his second lights-to-flag win of the day; he was closely followed by Mondron throughout the race, while Abbring pipped Lémeret at the start and finished third.
Race 3 – Comte sprinted ahead of pole sitter Potty and led, Lessennes moved up to third while Donniacuo spun prompting the safety car. At the restart, Comte defended his lead, as he was chased by the trio of Potty, Lessennes and Dejonghe. Positions did not change and they finished in the order.
Race 4 – Once again Comte made the best start and left Potty to defend his second place from Lessennes. The latter pitted for checks after a spin and rejoined at the back. Comte took his second win ahead of Potty, while Donniacuo completed a great recovery by stealing third place from Dejonghe.
The next rounds of the TCR Benelux Series are scheduled at Mettet, on September 23 and 24.
