Some 75,000 racing fans attended JACK’S Racing Day, Europe’s largest combined car, motorcycle and kart racing event, at the TT Circuit Assen last weekend. Photographer Bert Kleiker took the pictures
With a free ticket distributed by JACK’S Casino & Sports, Ford Nederland and LKQ Fource, they were entertained by, among others, 13-time Formula 1 Grand Prix winner David Coulthard in the Oracle Red Bull Racing Formula 1 car and World Supersport Champion Dominique Aegerter on his Ten Kate Yamaha racing bike. Jeroen Bleekemolen let cyclist Puck Moonen experience the necessary G-forces during the ‘2-seater Experience’. Tim Coronel demonstrated his rally weapon from the Dakar rally, the current leader in the DTM Trophy Colin Caresani gave the DTM Trophy safety car the spurs and Sem Meijer did the same with the latest Ford Mustang Mach 1. The InMotion Team from TU Eindhoven offered a look at the future with their electric LMP3 racer, while motorcycle racer Theo Louwes offered a glimpse into the past on his Norton Manx, along with some pre-war Bugattis as a foretaste of the Classic GP Assen to be held on the TT circuit from 16 to 18 September.
Porsche Carrera Cup Benelux races
The debut of the Porsche Carrera Cup Benelux on JACK’S Racing Day resulted in two exciting races. Until the end it was uncertain who would win the first race of the Porsche Carrera Cup Benelux, but in the end there was a draw. It was Harry King who strengthened his leading position in the intermediate classification with the win. Three seconds later the Belgian Ghislain Cordeel finished. In race two, King clearly had to fight harder, but with a one second lead, the Briton managed to win again, this time ahead of Belgian Glenn van Parijs.
Hilster, Hartog and Van der Voort fastest motorcycle racers in Benelux Trophy
Rob Hartog, the international racing driver from Abbekerk, already had a lead of almost two seconds in the Benelux Trophy after one lap. But in the second phase of the race Hartog gave up little by little and two laps before the end he was passed by Jeroen Hilster who did not relinquish his lead. Hartog was second at two seconds. Race two was even more exciting, with Rob Hartog again taking the lead as fastest. He couldn’t break free for more than 0.7 seconds and Pepijn Bijsterbosch passed him as he entered lap six. For several laps Bijsterbosch remained in the lead, but little by little Hartog narrowed the gap again. He took the winner of race one, Hilster, in his wake. Three laps before the end, Hartog managed to take the lead again. Bijsterbosch came in second.
Melvin van der Voort was victorious in both the first and second Supersport race. Sander Kroeze was three seconds behind the winner in race one and finished second. Race 2 had the same result, but Van der Voort’s win was more marked. He was six seconds ahead of Sander Kroeze in that last game.
Dutch Superkart GP
The Dutch Superkart GP on Saturday yielded a win for German veteran Peter Elkmann with five seconds ahead of Englishman Liam Morley. On Sunday, Morley seized power and how. With a lead of almost twenty seconds on his compatriot Carl Hulme, he managed to take the win. In the third and final race Elkmann managed to beat Morley again.
Ford Fiesta Sprint Cup
The Ford Fiesta Sprint Cup showed that the cars and drivers are hardly inferior to each other. On Saturday there was hardly any difference between winner Alan Czyz from Poland and second man Sen Roodenburg. On the line there was only 0.038 of a second between the two. They didn’t give each other an inch the entire race. The second race, Sunday morning, was also exciting, but with other drivers in the lead. Czyz’s race car broke down two laps before the end, allowing Thomas Backer to take the win. Followed by the Finn Veeti Rajala one second.
Zwart wins Maxx Formula, De Waard in the historic touring cars and GTs
Thousands of visitors came especially for the class with some of the most powerful formula cars ever, MAXX Formula. Beautiful Formula 1 cars competed with each other and Klaas Zwart, the man who has triumphed more often on the TT Circuit, was the fastest on Saturday in his Jaguar R5, which is equipped with a Cosworth 3.0 V10 engine. It became clear on Sunday that Zwart had got the hang of it, when he again showed himself to be the fastest. In race two, he pointed Frenchman Christopher Bernier to second plan in the Panoz DP 09B Superleague Formula and doubled this weekend.
Roelant de Waard triumphed in the racing class with the most beautiful historic racing cars, the Historic Touring cars and GTs. In his beautiful Shelby Mustang GT350 he took the win on Saturday afternoon. Robin Rozema was second in the beautiful MG A. On Sunday morning De Waard won again and René Grüter was second with an MG B.
Aschoff and Dekker dominate Supercar Challenge and MX5 Cup
In the huge starting field of heavy touring cars of the Supercar Challenge, Max Aschoff was the man who already managed to distinguish himself on Saturday. He was the first to cross the finish line in his Ginetta Nissan G5B. The Mauer-Hauser team finished in second place. On Sunday, the win again went to Aschoff. This time, the second place went to the Piessens-Dejonghe-de Cock team. Marcel Dekker won, with minimal difference, both races in the Mazda MX-5 Cup.