September 6, 2017

2017 Belgian SCT Cup Rd5 – Report

Round 5 of the 2017 Belgian SCR Cup was traditionally held on the iconic MBV Kampenhout track. The flawless organisation allowed to run four instead of the usual three qualifiers, giving the drivers more opportunities to improve their lap times, on the very technical and demanding track that requires a good rhythm. The qualifiers started on a wet track but it dried up quickly with the nice and sunny weather making for good but not too high grip levels all day long.

In Pro2 qualifying, Géry Ledocq (Kyosho) was a class of his own and he easily secured the TQ position as he TQ’d three rounds. However he had to retire in Q2 due to transmission issues, with the round being won by Nicolas Evens (TLR) who has some difficulties to find the right setup. Stéphane Lecomte (Team Associated) recovered from a bad tyre choice in Q1 and finished all the other rounds behind Nicolas to grab P3 on the grid.

In Pro4 qualifying, Nicolas Evens has no such setup problems with his TLR truck and easily took the overall TQ courtesy of winning three rounds, while Sam Puttevils (Tekno) topped the second round by 1.5 seconds. Sam Damman (TLR) showed a good consistency by finishing all rounds in P3 and also taking this position on the grid.

In the opening Pro2 A-main, Géry and Nicolas pulled away from the pack right after the start. Behind them, the battle was open for 3rd place as Stéphane caused a collision with Tom Vercarre (TLR) after a few corners. While Stéphane waited for Tom to recover, Guillaume Laffut (Team C) snatched P3 and despite pressure from Stéphane and Tom all race long, he kept his cool and drove nicely and consistently to maintain his position until the finish line, while Géry won the leg with a clear nine seconds gap in front of Nicolas.

The second round was spoiled by bad luck: On the second lap, Guillaume had to pull over with a transmission failure. The lap after, it was Nicolas’ turn to retire, as he lost a wheel. Géry took the win easily with more than 25 seconds clearance on Stéphane. Edouard-Benoît Michez (Team Associated) takes a well deserved 3rd place after putting some pressure on Stéphane during the first half of the race. After his two wins, Géry decided not to run the third round. On the first laps, Stéphane managed to keep a good pace somehow right behind Nicolas until the latter slowly but steadily pulled away to win with a 7-second gap. The 3rd place was fought out between Tom Vercarre, Guillaume Laffut and Eric Clerix (Team Durango), all three finished in this order with respective four and 1-second gaps. This is how the day ended in Pro2 with an overall victory for Géry Ledocq from Nicolas Evens and Stéphane Lecomte.

In the opening Pro4 A-final Nicolas Evens lead from start to finish, being the only driver to achieve 13 laps, while Sam Puttevils crossed the finish line at the end of lap 12 only 8 tenths of a second after the 6-minute mark. Fabio Cumbs (TLR) came in 3rd some five seconds down.

The second was also smooth sailing for Nicolas who once again completed 13 laps. The battle for the 2nd position was pretty intense and ended up with the smallest gap ever seen in the SCT Cup, as Sam Damman crossed the finish line only 23 thousands of a second in front of Sam Puttevils. With two wins and the first place secured for the day, Nicolas decided not to run the third A-Final, which allows the Sam and Fabio to have a last on-track battle for the final podium positions. Ultimately Sam Puttevils took the win with a comfortable 10-second margin, earning the overall runner-up spot. The 3rd place was the property of Sam Damman as he took a 2nd place only three seconds ahead of Fabio.

Source: Belgian SCT Cup [belgiansctcup.be]



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