Olli Joukanen (Kuismanen Competition): "Zolder is our home circuit."Kuismanen Competition is heading on down from the high north to compete in the 24 Hours of Zolder, in Belgian Limburg. The team based around the Finnish veteran Pertti Kuismanen is swapping the Ford GT for the old faithful Chrysler Viper GTS-R. "It bears chassis number #43 straight out of the ORECA workshops. The mechnics are presently working on getting the car ready. There's still a fair amount of work to get through, but the Viper is still in pretty good shape. These last few years we have competed in numerous races, but these were all sprint events. This means that the car has hardly suffered", team manager Olli Joukanen kicks off.
As compared to the competition at AD Sport, Kuismanen Competition is opting for a sequential gearbox: "We haven't carried out any updates on the Viper these last few years. For the 24 Hours of Zolder we're kicking off with a Hollinger sequential gearbox. A few years back we switched over to Performance Friction brakes. In fact we're doing what most of the teams are doing. Double cheking everything, hoping for the best, and fearing the worst. In an endurance race just about anything can happen", Joukanen continues.
Good news for the Finnish troops is that this year refuelling will be allowed in front of the pitbox using a'refuelling tower'. No longer queuing at the petrol pump, but able to take 100 litres on board with a quick refuelling system "and that plays into our hands. It's not only quicker, but also safer. Our stints will definitely be shorter than in those of the good old Belcar era. In those days we had a 120 litre fuel cell, but today we have to make do with 100 litre one. Transporting fuel in 20 litre jerry cans might be somewhat childish, but it is undoubtedly safe. This time around we promise to avoid any fires, be they large or small", the likeable Finn smiles. Aficionados will undoubtedly recall the various fires on the Kuismanen Viper during their last two participations in the Zolder endurance race!
With Pertti Kuismanen Kuismanen Competition more than likely boasts at having the senior citizen of the entire field, "but this shouldn't necessarily create a problem? Pertti might be the oldest, but he detests losing. He spent his entire youth playing professional ice-hockey. Pertti represented Finland at international competitions and has retained his good physical condition", Joukanen emphasizes. The competition has been duly warned!
Through entering the Chrysler Viper GTS-R it means the end of Kuismanen Competition's ambitions for the title and that of the Finnish-Dutch duo Pertti Kuismanen-Duncan Huisman. The American nest of vipers is being entered via the Dunlop SportMaxx Endurance Cup and will not be scoring any points in the Belgian GT Championship Mediagroep van Dyck. "However we'll be back with our Ford in Zolder for the last race of the season. We have a multitude of faithful supporters in Belgium. And last but not least... we look on Circuit Zolder somewhat as our home circuit."  VZW 24u.be - Gordon McKay on Wednesday 12 August 2009 at 17:15. | 
