Two P1's and One P2 in First Race Weekend

Two P1’s and One P2 in First Race Weekend

May 6, 2014
Historic Racing 911, Porsche 911 RSR, R Gruppe Europe, TwinSpark Porsche Parts
Posted by Rick Bruins
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Parc Ferme at Zandvoort during 2014 Historic Zandvoort Trophy

Last weekend saw the start of the historic racing season for team TwinSpark with a few thrilling races at Zandvoort. Our Dutch Historic Racing Championship 66-81 saw a field of 34 cars head into qualification and 25 cars finishing the weekend’s last race. Quite an improvement in numbers compared to last year.

We believe that more and more drivers are gravitating towards classes which insist on FIA homologation compliant cars and the fair competition to match. Our races could not have proven the point of fairness better, looking at the bumper to bumper battle yours truly undertook with a very similar car of Jan van Elderen and fights going on in the group of Escorts behind us.

Left to right: Gerd Rijper, Jan van Elderen, Lex Proper, all participate in an RSR.

Everybody wins: participants, who feel they have really raced for their cups and spectators for seeing us slug it out as gentlemen. In our first race Jan headed for the lead from the rolling start, as the leading Escort tried to line me up away from the corner and thus leaving the door on the inside of the Tarzan corner wide open for Jan to sail through. The Escort of Marcel Frijlink soon recovered the lead, as he has about 1,5 second a lap speed advantage and I ended up on Jan’s rear bumper. I managed to get through in a sharp turn, but having to short shift onto the straight, Jan overtook me there.

The Escort dropped out with a broken crankshaft, so Jan and I, both in 74 RS/R spec cars, ended up fighting for P1. Trying to overtake Jan again in the same turn, this time I cut it too close and the back swing out a bit too much and Jan took 100 meters on me and so P1.

In the second race I decided to ignore possible noise issues and took the lead at the rolling start and never surrendered it.

Race 3 was an even more exciting affair with Jan’s blue RS/R against my green one. I won the start taking the inside line, but after a few laps and some short shifting to avoid noise penalties, Jan came by on the straight again. I managed to get closer and closer by braking later and later with the mighty Zuffenhaus RSR brakes and in the last lap, at the Audi S turn, Jan lined up behind a stalwart BMW and I managed to lock him in by steering the inside line and outbraking the two cars. P1 twice for the weekend.

R Gruppe friends Ronald and Gerd in their RS/Rs had a lot of fighting fun, even with a little bit of contact. Lex, in Woodstock, our 73 RSR, had some fuel issues but came in 6th in the last race. And Chris Mulder, who races a ’65 car in the championship for the older cars, came in as the first of the 911 2.0s in his class and he was delighted.

Next race is in Assen on July 12-13.

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