ZOLDER, August 22nd 2009 – The next to last races of the FIA GT4 European Cup 2009 were driven at the opening event of the 24 Hours of Zolder in Belgium last weekend. The high temperatures and the battle for the points for the championship resulted in two exhilarating races. Donkervoort Racing obtained excellent results with a first place in the GT4 Supersports series in race 1. In race 2, drivers Denis Donkervoort and Stéphane Wintenberger managed to take first and second place in the Supersports series and a satisfactory sixth place in the overall GT4 field.

With temperatures rising up to 36 C° on the Thursday of the training sessions at the qualifying practices, the circumstances were not easy for neither car nor driver. Donkervoort Racing therefore had to settle for a twelfth overall qualifying time and a pole position in the Supersports series as a best result. Like the other races in this season, the cars participating in the Supersports series had to start behind the cars driving in the GT4 field.
 
Race 1
Race 1 was driven on Saturday morning with beautiful weather and milder temperatures. After an excellent rolling start of the three Donkervoort D8GTs, Frenchman Stéphane Wintenberger immediately won three places. Denis Donkervoort also managed to overtake two cars in the first lap of the race. Due to a punctured tire, the latter unfortunately had to forfeit the race prematurely. Stéphane Wintenberger drove up to an eleventh overall position and a perfect first place in the Supersports series. Dutch-Swiss Nico Pronk finished fifth.

Race 2
Saturday afternoon was when race 2 was driven. Similar to the first race, the three Donkervoort drivers managed to overtake a good amount of GT4 cars. Denis Donkervoort and Stéphane Wintenberger in particular managed to catch up with and overtake the established sports car brands such as Aston Martin, Ginetta, Corvette and BMW. Denis Donkervoort overtaking the BMW M3 in the final lap of the race particularly resulted in some exhilarating racing moments. The Supersports podium was occupied by two Donkervoort drivers again; Denis Donkervoort ended first and Stéphane Wintenberger ended with a second place. In the overall GT4 field Donkervoort Racing managed to obtain an excellent sixth and ninth position.

Joop Donkervoort, who celebrated his 60th birthday that same day: “Donkervoort Racing concluded this weekend with excellent results once again. I couldn’t have wished for a better birthday present than this wonderful score, particularly in the second race!”

The finale of the FIA GT4 European Cup 2009 will take place at the Formula 1 race track of Algarve in Portimão, Portugal. It promises to become a thrilling battle, as Denis Donkervoort can statistically still become champion of the Supersports series despite his misfortunes during the season. But if these GT4 races will be the last races of the Donkervoort racing season 2009 will remain a question for now..

The provisional calendar for this season:
Saturday 12th and Sunday 13th of September 2009  -  Portugal  -  Algarve