Belgian FBA Electric On-road Nationals Rd3 – Report

The third round of the FBA Electric On-road Nationals was held in Bierset with the weather forecast not looking very good for Sunday. In the EFRA class Manuel Henriet managed to take the TQ in front of Olivier Bultynck and Nick Joosens. The opening A-final was held in totally wet conditions and with Olivier and Manu touching each other while Nick jumped into the lead in front of Nicolas. Meanwhile Manu was attacking hard while Olivier broke a tyre and came into the pits. Up front Nicolas was in the lead after he passed Nick and later Manu also found a way past Nick. At the end Nicolas took the win right in front of Manu and Nick.

The second final started without the polesitter as Manu had some issues with the electrics and was not able to start. After the start Olivier took the lead but he spun off on the straight. This allowed Nicolas to get into the lead in front of Nick and Stefan Rommens. After a nice fight between Nick and Stefan on the wet track Stefan took the 2nd place behind Nicolas. Olivier was just behind Stefan but the pressure was to much for Stefan. Shortly after Olivier was right on the tail of Nicolas and he did a splendid move on the outside of a corner to overtake Nicolas. Therefore Olivier took the win from Nicolas in 2nd and Nick in 3rd. The third final was the slowest because of the weather conditions. Olivier was in the lead right from the start, followed by Nick and Nicolas. Nicolas had some trouble with the setup of his car and lost his 3rd place to Stefan Rommens. At the end Olivier kept the lead and he took the win in front of Nick. Overall  Olivier Bultynck (VBC Racing) grabbed the win from Nicolas Delisé (VBC Racing) in 2nd and Nick Joosens (Yokomo) in 3rd place.

In the Stock class it was Athan De Witte who took the TQ after the qualifiers. Pasquinel Neys came in 2nd spot in front of Géry Ledocq and Frans Engelen. The first final then was a disaster for Athan. His car was difficult to drive in the wet conditions and the youngster has to work hard to keep his car on the track. This allowed Géry Ledocq to take the lead and he was closely followed by Frans Engelen. Frans was driving very well and kept the pressure on Géry, but he made a mistake and had to let Géry go. Jannick Rommens was now behind Frans and till the end the audience saw a fair battle. At the end Géry took the win and Frans managed to stay in front of Jannick. At the tone of the second final Christophe Charlier had a splendid start and he immediately put some pressure on Géry and Athan. Christophe took the lead and drove a very clean and fast final while Athan had some trouble in the wet and Géry tried to follow but Christophe was to fast. Frans again showed his skills and ended the leg in 3rd place while Christophe took the win from Géry in 2nd. With the results so far the final leg would decide the race. It was Athan who took a good start and went away from the rest. As in the other finals after four minutes his car broke and Athan had to stop. It was a disappointed weekend for the youngster but there are still many chances to come. Up front Géry proved that he was fast at any track condition and he took the win in front of Christophe Charlier who tried everything to pass while Jannick Rommens was a happy 3rd. Overall Géry Ledocq (VBC Racing) took the win from Christophe Charlier (Awesomatix) in 2nd and Frans Engelen (Serpent) in 3rd place.

In the Formula class it was Olivier Bultynck who took the TQ. Michel Mahieu was in 2nd in front of Nicolas Delisé. Because of the water the pan cars proved to be a handful to drive in the difficult conditions. In the opening final Michel Mahieu had some difficulties with the handling of his car and Steve Deblaere took the lead. With Kristof De Witte right behind Steve there was no space for any mistakes but Steve kept his cool and took the win. Kristof De Witte came in 2nd and Michel Mahieu finished in 3rd place. Second final was almost a copy of the first one. Steve in the lead was followed by Kristof and Michel with Sonny Vandenborre in 4th place and they would also finish in this order. The third final saw Kristof in the lead but it was Sonny who took the 1st place after the Krisof’s car stopped. Therefore Sonny took his first win on a Belgian national race with Kristof 2nd and Michel in 3rd. Overall Steve Deblaere (MD Racing) snatched the win from Kristof De Witte (WRC) in 2nd place and Sonny Vandenborre (VBC Racing) in 3rd.

Thanks to Krist Bultynck for the report.