Circuit Zolder once again bathing in the sun this weekend

Not the exotic temperatures experienced last Wednesday and Thursday, but motorsport fans can look forward to a sunny weekend. On Thursday the mercury reached 36° Celsius, Saturday and Sunday it will be somewhat cooler. Enjoyable temperature around the 23 degrees will make it far more comfortable for the drivers in the cockpits of their fast cars. Kuismanen Competition will be relieved: "The Viper is almost in the same configuration that it was in when it last raced here in Zolder in 2004. We now have 150 kilograms less lead on board, but then the air conditioning has disappeared also. Good news for us is that fact that on Saturday and Sunday it will be somewhat cooler ", Duncan Huisman, the man on pole commented.

"Personally I was praying for rain ", Anthony Kumpen remarked, this weekend active in the Renault Mégane Trophy of Delahaye Racing Team. "We've got a pretty homogenous drivers' line-up, and the entire team is thoroughly well prepared. But I am aware of our weak points. The Mégane has relatively high fuel consumption and when it comes to intrinsic speed we are nowhere near the GT1 cars. We'll have to make do with our experience and constant lap times ", the Limburg driver remarked, who is now going for his fifth victory in the Zolder endurance race, as is his team-mate Marc Goossens - an absolute record.

"It's mainly the brakes that suffer, especially in extreme temperatures such as last Thursday ", Hans Thiers of Scuderia Monza added."For us it is important to run a well balanced race and systematically climb up the rankings. To achieve that you need to spend as little time as possible in the pits. The Dodge Viper is heavy on the brakes, so we need to be economical wish the material."

So we are about to enjoy a dry and sunny 31st edition of the 24 Hours of Zolder. Anyone looking for a bit of water sport should pop on down to the paddock, where the young ladies from the Bikini Carwash Team will be revealing their talents to the full.

VZW 24u.be - Gordon McKay on Saturday 22 August 2009 at 09:32.