Kuismanen and AD dominate night-qualifying session - Great fight for third spot Trendsetters of the night-qualifying session were undoubtedly Kuismanen Competition and AD Sport. Both Duncan Huisman and Ron Marchal demonstrated the performance of the Chrysler Viper of respectively the Finnish and Belgian team. These two Dutchmen are constantly playing leap-frog, but Huisman finally drew the longest straw. The Kuismanen Viper boasts some additional evolutions and Marchal was forced to resign himself to the 1:31,936 set by his countryman. Most probably no one will achieve the top times of the Vipers on Thursday, and the general public will have to make do with the front row of the grid being filled 100% by American V10 muscle cars.
 Behind the Kuismanen Competition and AD Sport Chrysler Viper GTS-R an excellent battle for third place exploded. Frederic Bouvy (Delahaye Francorchamps Motors Racing Team), François Verbist (First Motorsport) and Maxime Soulet (Delahaye Racing Team) are fighting it out for every millimetre and are not giving in an inch. Initially Bouvy takes the lead, Soulet then takes command of the situation, but an ultimate effort from Verbist provides Jo Jamers' team the third place. The Porsche 911 GT3 Cup S is therefore on pole in the Belgian GT. Soulet offers Delahaye the other place on the second row whilst Bouvy and cohorts have to content themselves with a fifth place, second in the Belgian GT. Maxime Soulet: "We experienced a gearbox problem, but the team quickly sorted it out. An electrical failure in one of the components forced us to park the car, but luckily we manage to be towed back to the pits. "
 Rather disappointing was the performance of KRK Racing. The team spent a fair amount of the night running in parts, after which Jeffrey van Hooydonk was sent out during the last minutes with limited fuel and new rubbers. Van Hooydonk still managed to squeeze a sixth place out of the Dodge Viper Competition Coupé, giving five different cars in the top-six. On the fourth row of the grid we find the Lamborghini Gallardo GT3 of JD Competition by KS. The Porsche 996 GT3 RSR of ProSpeed Competition is back in eighth place, just ahead of the KS Motorsport BMW M3 Silhouette #21. The top-ten is rounded off by Topcats Racing with their Mosler MT900 GT3.
 Equipe Verschuur set a disappointing eleventh time, ahead of the second BMW of KS Motorsport. VDS Racing Adventures did not experience an easy night-qualifying session. Stéphane Lémeret explains: "the team decided to swap chassis especially for this race. We had hoped to carry out some test runs last Thursday, but the new Mustang wasn't ready. This chassis is not fully sorted as yet and we still need to work on a few minor ailments. The car understeers and the tyres are rubbing on the arches. On top of that the new brake system is not fully sorted either. Here's still a fair amount of work ahead of us, but the last few laps showed a definite improvement."
Jean-François Hemroulle and Tim Verbergt are still in contention for the title in the Belgian GT Championship - Mediagroep van Dyck. Due to the absence of the Audi R8 GT3 LMS the duo was obliged to move over to another Belgian GT car. The solution was found with André van Hoof 's Speedlover team, where Verbergt and Hemroulle will be sharing a Porsche 997 GT3 Cup with Jürgen van Hover and Gunther Raus. "It's great to compete with two such professional drivers ", van Hover smiled. We'll start off safely, in order to definitely gain points for the championship after 12 hours. Jean-Francois and Tim are going for the title and this obviously brings lots of motivation with it. Everyone is on a high to make it a race to remember."
We should also add that the AD Sport Porsche 996 Biturbo caused a Code 60 scenario. The left rear wheel broke off, bringing the car to a standstill on the track. Two sheared off wheels in a few hours time. Albert Vanierschot's troops obviously still have a fair mount of work ahead of them. The red flag was waved as the result of the ProSpeed Porsche 996 GT3 RSR careering off track in the First Left. The diffuser and several bodywork parts lay scattered across the track, and the race director took the decision to intercede.
1. #12 Kuismanen Competition - Chrysler Viper GTS-R - 1:31,936 (leader DSMEC)
2. #14 AD Sport - Chrysler Viper GTS-R +0,989
3. #50 First Motorsport - Porsche 911 GT3 Cup S +1,973 (leader BGTC)
4. #6 Delahaye Racing Team - Renault Mégane +2,104 (leader BTCS)
5. #3 Delahaye Francorchamps Motors Racing Team - Ferrari F430 GT3 +2,661
6. #4 KRK Racing - Dodge Viper Competition Coupé +3,344
7. #10 JD by KS Motorsport - Lamborghini Gallardo GT3 +3,812
8. #60 ProSpeed Competition - Porsche 996 GT3 RSR +3,827
9. #21 KS Motorsport - BMW M3 Silhouette +4,551
10. #44 Topcats Racing - Mosler MT900 GT3 +5,048
Photos: Marnik Mouchaers & Valentin Meuwissen
 VZW 24u.be - Gordon McKay on Thursday 20 August 2009 at 10:02. | 
