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Leonard Stolk is the 2011 Dutch Historic GT Touring Car Champion! Leonard sewed up the 2011 championship at the Nürburgring last weekend – he takes up the story:

We are just returning from the season finals of the Dutch GT /TC championships. Our final races were held at the legendary Nürburgring race track. There was a lot at stake for me this weekend,  because I only had a five-point lead on our friend Henk van Gammeren and his gorgeous black and gold Ford Escort. It meant that failling to finish in the points in one of the two races would have destroyed my chances for the championship.

Our little convoy left the Netherlands on Friday afternoon, with the Team Twinspark race transporter driven by Lex leading the charge. Four classic 911s were on board, with the Cayenne towing the tyre trailer behind. On the way to the Nurburgring many fast cars, specially modern Porches, slowed down next to the trailer to observe the visual feast!

All the racing activities were planned for the Saturday, as our championship had obtained three thirty-minute slots, woven around the VLN four-hour race on the Nordschleife. It made for a very early rise as the briefing was planned for 7:30 and qualifying to start thirty minutes later. To gain some time we all slept on our racing overalls! As we arrived at the track on Saturday morning, the sun had just come up and we were treated to a glorious day, clear blue skies and 22 degrees celsius, contrary to the usual drizzle that decorates any race at the Nürburgring.

To most of us, the slightly shortened version on the GP track was new, but attractive due to the technical character of some of the turns. For instance, instead of the 90 degree left/right chicane, we drove the motorcycle variant, which is not only much quicker, but also defended by two tire stacks. Bas Proper in his blue Carrera 3.0 narrow body with full-blown RSR engine, proved very quick noting a third fastest time. Gert Rijper, after so much bad luck during our last
races, did very well on fresh slicks, giving him the fourth position at the start. I set the second fastest time, and Lex running on near-finished slicks set an admirable 5th time.

As this was my first outing on this track I was pleased with the results, and because we used the rearmost starting line, it would make for a terrific Porsche drag race to the first corner.

As we launched to the first corner I tried to keep the door closed and defend my second place by gently veering to the right. But Lex, with his terrific talent for quick starts, was already next to me as we approached the first corner. Upon braking I managed to clear myself from Lex, but as I checked my mirror going through the turn I saw flashes of orange, white and yellow in a direction which was out of sync with the expected flow. Somehow a significant pile up was avoided, whilst Lex practiced his reverse parking skills amidst six other competitors and miraculously not an inch of paint got swapped. Although a hairy moment for everybody else, it allowed me to concentrate on retaining the second place, behind the red and yellow RSR.

Thus the race continued and everybody seemed to find a sparring partner. In the meanwhile I practiced my chicane technique, aiming to fly through this uphill challenge, faster and faster, but I could tell that my tires had seen their best times. Due to the shortening of the circuit, we put in 16 laps before the flag dropped and we all returned to the park ferme with smiles on our faces, be it each for a different reason. In my case it was excitement about the prospects offered by this result, but certainly also because the track with its subtle elevation changes and cambering was just a hoot to ride.  I then heard the “battle stories” of Bas, Gert and Lex who all had a tussle with other competitors and sometimes among them to keep their positions. Gerd and Bas were swapping positions three times a lap and they had an absolute blast!

For the afternoon race, the grid was determined by the first race’s result, and Team Twinspark was well represented in the first 3 rows. Having struggled to find my groove from the starting line earlier in the season, I now have the focus and timing right and I was off, taking advantage of my long first gear. Lex of course was right behind me, but the rest of the field was a few seconds behind very soon.

Lex and I lapped closely for six or seven tours, both of us on new slicks. The slight edge of the Hulk’s engine overcame Lex’s cornering technique and we started to drift apart. During the last few laps, the inclination would be to say: “oh well, I am lying second, the championship is secure, let’s take it easy”. However, this is motorsport, where a lot of things can happen in very little time, and a wise lesson I learned from Lex was to never back off under any circumstance during a race. You never know when you are going to need those few seconds.

As I drove underneath the start/finish bridge the clock said “13 seconds left” which meant I had two more laps to go: one to complete the 25 minutes of time and the next as the last lap. Weird things start to cross your mind like: “did that slippery feeling in turn eight mean I have a slow puncture?” or: “when I shift to fourth gear it feels a bit sticky, does that mean the gearbox is dying?” Obviously this is all nonsense, because the car has shown to be  bulletproof all season, but I guess this is what the human mind does.

The checkered flag dropped and the season was over. As we gathered after the race at the park ferme, there was high fives all around and we treasured the moment. At 18.30, the prizegiving ceremony started and at the end the organisers announced that the championship was mine! I took a moment to address some of the people that made this season so enjoyable.

I thanked Rob Bijster and Wim Heuving, who, together with other volunteers, ran the GT/TC class organisation, for their dedication as well as the partners of the drivers who support us and cheered us on in our exciting hobby. I especially thanked my buddy and partner Lex, for his mentorship and his support to Gerd, Bas and me in helping us prepare for the races. Bas Proper had brought a magnum of Moet & Chandon and we poured all of the competitors and organisers a glass of champagne, marking in this way the end of a fantastic season.