Ilia van Gastel wins in Groningen, takes title
Last Sunday the Dutch 1/8th scale National championship had its last race of the season, held on the very bumpy track of REAL80 in Groningen in the far north of Holland. The weather forecast was predicted a lot of rain starting in the morning but it stayed dry until the last semi final of the day. In the NK class it was Rick V taking the pole followed by Ilia v. Gastel, Jordy Blok and Gunther v. Stay. With rain falling in time for the main final, it was not only about who was the best racer in the wet, but also about who was best prepared to protect their car against the elements. At the start RickV was forced to make a pitstop allowing Ilia to take the lead followed by John Ermen. RickV managed to work his way back up to the front by the end of the race but could not take the lead and would take 2nd.
The final result:
1. Ilia van Gastel – 79 Laps in 30:17.972
2. Rick Vrielijnck – 76 Laps in 30:01.365
3. Arie Manten – 71 Laps in 30:13.492
4. Joey Sorber – 68 Laps in 30:03.514
5. Michiel Renting – 66 Laps in 30:10.839
6. John Ermen – 58 Laps in 25:24.140
7. Jordy Blok – 44 Laps in 25:38.566
8. Maurice van den IJssel – 26 Laps in 14:57.212
9. Gunther van Steay – 8 Laps in 12:08.610
10.Stefan Koenders – 3 Laps in 0:59.720
In the NOMAC class it was Peter van Koningsveld taking the pole followed by Lute Boelens, Glen van Oversteeg and Niels Reinders. Also for the 10 NOMAC finalists it was a wet final. Five cars had to retire in the first 10 minutes after the start of the 30 minutes final but the other 5 did reach the finish. Sjaak vd Wind was driving a steady race and took the win with a large lead. Glen van Oversteeg took 2nd folowed by Richard Engbersen.
The final result:
1. Sjaak van der Wind – 74 Laps in 29:59.388
2. Glenn van Oversteeg – 69 Laps in 30:05.048
3. Richard Engbersen – 66 Laps in 30:01.539
4. Peter van Marion – 51 Laps in 30:26.465
5. Alfred van Dijk – 42 Laps in 30:15.231
6. Niels Reijnders – 13 Laps in 6:00.728
7. Peter Ende – 10 Laps in 4:05.555
8. Wesley van Silfhout – 8 Laps in 9:11.132
9. Lute Boelens – 3 Laps in 1:35.072
10.Peter van Koningsveld – 0 Laps in 0:00.000
Final NK Championship standings:
1. Ilia van Gastel – 720
2. Rick Vrielijnck – 692
3. John Ermen – 626
4. Robin D’Hondt – 611
5. Jordy Blok – 561
6. Arie Manten – 545
7. Steven Cuypers – 522
8. Joey Sorber – 516
9. Stefan Koenders – 505
10.Gunther van Steay – 482
Final NOMAC Championship standings:
1. Sjaak van der Wind – 610
2. Glenn van Oversteeg – 602
3. Richard Engbersen – 583
4. Remo Franssen – 550
5. Wesley van Silfhout – 541
6. Niels Reijnders – 534
7. Peter Ende – 520
8. Dennis Hofstede – 495
9. Alfred van Dijk – 490
10.Tom Smolderen – 487
Thanks to Roelof Tooms for the report.
