Uniroyal Fun Cup 2006 race qualification

The RACE...

The start of the VW Fun Cup 25hr is always a tense affair, but this year with 128 cars in the main field and 23 two-seater cars, it was more exciting than ever. Over 30,000 spectators were in attendance to witness the action, and the weather didn’t disappoint with lovely sunshine on Saturday.  Fortunately the start passed without any major incident, and this allowed the front row of Cornelis Racing Quick and RSR Racing 1 to lead the pack into the first of what would be 414 laps and 2,888km around the fabulous Spa Francorchamps circuit in Belgium.

For the next 10 laps the lead switched every time, such is the nature of the epic slipstreaming battles that are the hallmark of the Fun Cup.  Cars from Belgium, France, and the UK were trading the number one spot, with competitors from Germany, Spain, and Italy keeping close to the action.

The first car to make a break was #12 from the Belgian Auto Binche team. They stayed on top for the next 18 laps until a pitstop to refuel allowed the UK car #14 of RSR Racing 1 to take over.  They weren’t going to have it easy however, and over the next 30 laps there were 8 different leaders until on lap 59 the Ultra Team car #46 dominated the race for an entire hour.

5 hours after the start and the sun was setting, but with a full 20 hours of racing remaining, the competition was just warming up.  A flurry of pitstop activity to fit headlights meant that the lead was shared between FEK Zolpan, Colson Racing, and Ultra Team.  Each held the lead for around 1 hour, but the inevitable pitstops to refuel the car and change the weary drivers meant that there was no clear leader until lap 229 when Colson Racing made a break and headed the field for over 4 ½ hours.

It was becoming apparent that the 2005 winners were applying the same skills that secured them the trophy last year, and at one point they were 2 laps in front of 2nd place.  That was until early on Sunday morning, when after 18 hours of racing a broken accelerator cable required an emergency trackside repair, and then a visit to the pits. The overall cost was 3 laps and ended their dreams of back to back victories.

This misfortune allowed Ben Andre and his partners in the Bean’s Project car #44 to assume the lead.  They maintained their place at the front of the field for several hours until they were struck by a carburettor fault, which resulted in an encounter with the safety wall.  The driver sustained no injuries but a delay of 8 laps retrieving the car back to the pits dropped them to 13th position.

This left the Ultra Team car #46 to claim the ill fated 1st place with only 3 hours to the finish.  Just after they took the lead they were greeted to a sudden downpour of rain, which resulted in some drivers visiting the gravel traps.  Luckily car#46 kept a level head and drove conservatively to keep their car on the track, and more importantly their 1st place.  A safety car period ensued to clear the stranded cars, but it also bunched the leaders close together.  During this time the 2nd placed DUPON PUYPE team put in a spectacular effort to cut the gap from 2 laps down to just 1, but it was all in vain because the Ultra Team had done enough throughout the previous 22 hours to maintain their advantage to the chequered flag.

The Ultra Team claimed a well-deserved victory after negotiating the drama of the previous 25 hours with barely a scratch on their car.  All 5 of the drivers were ecstatic at their achievement, and they showed no fatigue whilst spraying the champagne from the top step of the podium.  The 2nd and 3rd places were both filled by Belgian teams, completing a clean sweep of the podium.

Overall Classification

1. Dubois-Maillet-De Keijser-De Keijser-Dubois (Bel-Ultra Team) 414 laps
2. Dupon-Puype-Qvick (Bel-Dupon Puype) -1 lap
3. Barbary-Charlier-Jamar-Brugmans (Bel-Autobinche) -2 laps
4. Capocci-Gressens-Feltes-Linnertz (Bel-Colson Racing) -2 laps
5. Matoul-Serexhe-Moszkowicz-Geoffroy (Bel-City FM) -2 laps
6. Decultot-Bonnel-Mathon (Fra-MV Racing Castrol) -3 laps
7. Rose-Harris-Cook-Pelle (GB-GB-Fra-Fra-JPR 1) -3 laps
8. Heymann-Perdieus-Perdieus-Sluys (Bel-Perdieus Motorsport) -3 laps
9. Connell-Connell-Cate (GB-Cuisine de France) -4 laps
10. Knauff-Servais-Houbben-Duculot (Bel-Ball Events) -6 laps
11. Rivière-Patier-Rivière-Delarue (Fra-Team Direct) -6 laps
12. De Keijser-Olivier-Colman-Dallemagne (Bel-Pequignet Allure) -6 laps
13. Jacob-Jacob-Lemma-Ianetta (Fra-FEK-Zolplan) -7 laps
14. Grenier-Grenier-Rigaux-Mongenot (Fra-Evorace Compétition 3) -7 laps
15. Nava-Paques-Systermans-Vanhakendover (Bel-Cornelis Racing Quick) -8 laps
16. Dohmann-Gebhardt-Scholzen-Godet (All-All-Bel-Bel-Uniroyal Presse 1) -8 laps
17. Courrier-Wittman-Hébert-Lanctuit (Bel-Bel-Fra-Fra-LO Racing) -8 laps
18. Stoll-Weibel-Rizzoli-Toussaint-Schief-Haugg (All-All-Bel-Bel-Bel-Bel-Stoll Motorsport) –9 laps
19. Delorme-Chioetto-Rebman-Hivert-Thirion (Fra-Delorme Automobiles) -11 laps
20. Alloin-Alloin-Pechard-Gaunot (Fra-A3 Compétition 1) -11 laps

Classification Belgium:

1. Ultra Team 414 laps
2. DUPON - PUYPE -1 lap
3. Auto Binche -2 laps

Classification English:

1. JPR 1 411 laps
2. Cuisine de France -1 lap
3. Racecar.com -9 laps

Classification French:

1. MV Racing Castrol 411 laps
2. Team Direct -3 laps
3. FEK – Zolpan -4 laps

Classification German:

1. Uniroyal Presse 1 406 laps
2. Stoll Motorsport -1 lap
3. Gummi Grassau -10 laps

Classification Italy:

1. Happy Racer 388 laps
2. Girasole -7 laps
3. La Gatta -21 laps