MPM Racing in the lead after three hours of racing - Porsches up front The 30th edition of the Menzo 24 Hours of Zolder was given under a heavy sun. With 26 wagens on the grid the bustling crowds were in for an exciting race. At 16;00hrs on he dot Vincent Radermecker leads off the field, but in the first left the experienced driver is taken by surprise by Jeffrey Van Hooydonk. The former F3000-driver takes over the lead, ahead of Koen Wauters, who also took an incredible start climbing up from fourth into second spot.
 Radermecker loses ground and even falls back into seventh place. Up front Jeffrey van Hooydonk builds up a small gap, whilst Koen Wauters somewhat holds ip the pack. Worthy of mention is Markus Palttala's start who overtook no less than seven cars in one lap. The Flying Finn is holding his reputation high racing up from fourteenth into seventh place. Somewhat later Palttala in the MPM Racing by Verbist Porsche is lapping up in fifth place.
 In th battle up front Vincent Vosse and Fred Bouvy are the most noticeable. The Ferraristi takes over the command fom the Viper drivers Wauters and Van Hooydonk... and somewhat later Maxime Soulet also finds a way to pass both Dodge Viper Competition Coupés of A+ Racing and KRK Racing. Soulet soon has his Walloon friend in his sights and only needs a couple of laps to take over the lead. After one hour of racing the GPR Pino Racing-driver has a lead of six seconds over his immediate rivals, but after 65 minutes they need to head for the pits for refuelling.
 The Ferrari F430 GT3s are definitely the thirstiest cars, together with the Mosler MT900 and the Doge Viper Competition Coupé. Afterva first series of pit stops for the "thirty" cars, three Porsches take over the lead. Soulet has a comfortable lead over Markus Palttala and David Loix. The first unlucky ones of the race are the Powercars Racing Porsche (gearbox), McDonald's Racing Team (various problems), JD by Astromega Lamborghini (electrical problem, Moritz Racing (stuttering engine).
In the meanwhile Vincent Vosse puts on the pressure. The Sport Garage-driver needs to make up lost time in the pits and after pit stops of the Porsche 997 Cup S of GPR Pino Racing, ProSpeed Competition and the Porsche 996 GT3 RS Vosse once again takes the lead. The three Porsche drivers fall back, but easily keep contact with the top-five. Also worth mentioning that Patrick Scheurs is fast in the KRK Viper, and seems to be the only one keeping in close contact with Vincent Vosse.
Fred Bouvy needs to leave off. After an hour on the track 'Fred Bull' comes into the pits, but no fuel pump was free. Bouvy drives n through but passes by the speed gun too fast; Outcome: a stop & go penalty. One lap later the Brussels based diver returns for his refuelling stint, after which a further lap later he returns for his stop & go penalty. But once again when leaving the pitlane Bouvy is too fast resulting in a further stop & go; this time a 3 minute penalty. The Ferrari falls back and needs to start a small catch-up race, with 22.30hrs to go.
 Gravity Racing calls in Radermecker 20 minutes earlier then scheduled after he had lost lots of time on he track. No problem with the car, but an exhausted Radermecker, who was quite clearly suffering from the high temperature.
After three hours of racing it was obvious that a Porsche was the correct choice for these Menzo 24 Hours of Zolder. Both the Porsche Cup S and the Porsche 996 RS are making full use of their low fuel consumption. After three hours of racing they have only needed 2 pit stops , whilst the thirstier GT3's are getting ready for a third call at the fuel pumps.
Due to this the Sport Garage-Ferrari lost the lead to the Porsches of GPR Pino Racing, ProSpeed Competition and MPM Racing by Verbist. Jos Menten has taken over the wheel from Markus Palttala and is driving an impressive relay. In one hour he managed to close a 15 seconds gap with Penders, followed by increasing this into a lead of 30 seconds. Up front Bas Leinders retains the lead, with Menten in his wake.
 The greediest Porsche is the one driven by Leinders and co. After 2.50hrs they need to call at the refuelling zone for their second pit stop. Menten and Penders are able to postpone their second pit stop somewhat longer and pass the Cup S with the start number #1. And so after three hours into the race Jos Menten comes through in the lead, with an excellent advance on the Porsche of Rudi Penders. In Division 2 the #164 Speedlover Porsche is in the lead, whilst the works -Ginetta de has taken over the lead as the result of Vanbellingen and co falling back due to a couple of spins and a cooling problem in the gearbox.
After 3 hours of racing hereunder the standings:
1. #265 MPM Racing by Verbist - Porsche 996 RS - 105 laps (leader D3)
2. #52 ProSpeed Competition - Porsche 997 GT3 Cup S +32 seconds
3. #72 Sport Garage - Ferrari F430 GT3 +1 lap
4. #01 GPR Pino Racing - Porsche 997 GT3 Cup S +2 laps
5. #09 KRK Racing - Dodge Viper Competition Coupé +2 laps
6. #24 Gravity Racing International - Mosler MT900 +3 laps
7. #11 NGT Racing - Porsche 997 GT3 Cup S +3 laps
8. #04 A+ Racing - Dodge Viper Competition Coupé +4 laps
9. #03 Francorchamps Motors - Ferrari F430 GT3 +4 laps
10. #222 Belgium Racing - Porsche 996 Biturbo +5 laps
...
15. #350 KS Motorsport - Ginetta G50R (leader D4)
16. #164 Speedlover - Porsche 996 GT3 Cup (leader D2)
Pictures: Martijn Wouters & Marnik Mouchaers
 VZW 24u.be - Gordon McKay on Saturday 30 August 2008 at 19:53. | 
