LELYSTAD, 8th of September – Last month, the Donkervoort D8GT successfully covered its first race kilometers during the FIA GT4 Sports Light Series at Spa-Francorchamps, taking first and third place. Bearing its cautious success in mind, Donkervoort Racing has been busy preparing for the next FIA GT4 race in Brno, Czech Republic, September 13th and 14th.

The Donkervoort D8 GT, which was introduced during the Salon de l’Automobile in Geneva in 2007, is characterized by its light-weight and ultra rigid chassis/body. With a mere 650 kg, the D8 GT is considered the worlds’ lightest GT ever built and weighs just 20 kilograms more than its roadster equivalent. The higher speed potential is achieved through drag reduction and the improved down force. The improved aerodynamic drag factor can be accredited to the shape of the roof as well as to the horizontal left and right wings, which house the headlights.

The new Sports Light Series were introduced by the FIA for road-legal sports cars with a minimum weight of 750 kilograms. In the case of the Donkervoort D8 GT, it meant adding weight to be able to compete. The new series have adopted the current trend in the automotive industry to reduce further CO2 emission by decreasing the weight of their vehicles. The new GT4 Sports Light Series have been integrated into the existing FIA GT4 series. The lap times between the ‘heavy’ and ‘light’ class are not far apart. The D8 GT competes with brands such as KTM (X-Bow) and Lotus (2-Eleven) in the Sports Light Series, as well as Aston Martin (V8 Vantage), Audi (TT), BMW (Z4), Corvette (Z06-R GT4), Ford (Mustang), Maserati (Trofeo Light), Nissan (350Z) and Porsche (Cayman) in the GT4 championship.

Donkervoort Racing participates in this GT4 Sports Light Series with its own factory team. The two spotless white D8 GTs are driven by the French driver Stéphane Wintenberger (start number 102) and the Dutch Denis Donkervoort (start number 103). During the first race kilometers of the D8 GT at Spa-Francorchamps last month, Stéphane Wintenberger managed to be successful over all his competitors in the endurance race. Hereby obtaining 1st place in the Sports Light Series and an 8th place overall. In the sprint race, Denis Donkervoort was able to gain 3rd place.

Initially, Donkervoort set out to gain experience during the remainder of this GT4 seasons and become a competitive team in next year’s season. However, the first results at Spa seem promising for the upcoming event at Brno. During the last couple of weeks, the Donkervoort Racing team has worked hard to further optimize both cars. The team is confidently looking forward to the racing weekend of September 13th and 14th.

The provisional calendar for 2008 is: