Lovan Challenge finale – Report

The final round of the 2017/18 Lovan Challenge was held recently with the race also being the decider for the overall championship titles. Started as a local race series the championship, run by the Lovan RC Team, has matured a lot and it not only attracts local talent but also swift nationally and internationally experienced drivers. Already during the practice rounds on Saturday it was clear that, despite the season nearing its end, most racers were keen to end the indoor season on a high. In the EFRA class the stage was set for a thrilling finale. Youngster Liam Van De Wouwer (Yokomo) had his stripes earned in all of this season’s rounds but it was Capricorn’s 1/8th European Champion, Robin D’hondt ho took the win in Q1 in front of Liam and Guillaume Guffroy (Tamiya). Q2 on Sunday morning though saw Team Magic driver Rémi Callens taking the round TQ from the youngster of the class as Robin and Guillaume came in 3rd and 4th. Q3 then saw an unchanged top 2 as Guillaume ended the round one place up in 3rd in front of Robin. The final qualifier had again Remi ending on the top spot with a very consistent run from Liam, who had to settle for 2nd some four seconds short of Remi’s time. Robin kept his cool and scored a 3rd place from Guillaume, however the latter had the faster tie-breaker which award him the P3 spot on the grid.

The finals were all about Remi and Liam but it was Remi who would prevail, taking the day’s win from youngster Liam as Guillaume snatched the final podium spot from Robin 4th.

Touring EFRA overall results:
1. Rémi Callens – Team Magic
2. Liam Van De Wouwer – Yokomo
3. Guillaume Guffroy – Tamiya
4. Robin D’hondt – Capricorn
5. John Ermen – ARC
6. Hugo Ragaut – ARC
7. Thomas Stockman – Yokomo
8. Sidney Blokker – ARC
9. Robbin Hertong – ARC
10.Lorenzo Vandepoele – Team Magic

In the Touring Stock class Dimitri de Baeker (Xray) and Tom Adams (Schumacher) soon made their intensions clear and despite the pressure being high, both tried to keep it low as they knew that they both were in the position to walk away with the win on Sunday. In the opening qualifier it was Tom who would hold the upper hand, followed by Jeremy Deram (Xray), the latter still had a change to end the year on a podium spot. In Sunday’s Q2 it was Tom who seemed under pressure as he tried to keep his lines in the opening laps. Tom made a tyre change which looked to be a bad idea as Jeremy took the top spot followed by Steve Dellatre (Xray), who was the biggest challenger for Jeremy in the overall podium, as Gunter Lambrechts (WRC) came in 3rd. In the final two qualifiers it was again Jeremy who came out fastest in front of Dimitri and Tom.

Qualifying top 10 results:
1. Jeremy Deram – Xray
2. Dimitri De Baeker – Xray
3. Tom Adams – Schumacher
4. Steve Delattre – Xray
5. Gunter Lambrechts – WRC
6. Jannick Rommens – Team Magic
7. Julien Lefevre – Xray
8. Olivier Cornard – Schumacher
9. Joeri D’Eer – Xray
10.Peter Roeygens – Tamiya

The opening final was a rear thriller for Tom as Jeremy made a clear start with Dimitri at his tail as Tom ran into troubles with Steve. Up front Jeremy was in for a clear run and he did not disappoint as he took the win with a 20-laps run – something he would achieve in all of the finals – with Dimitri 2nd.

A2 then again saw Jeremy up from with Dimitri in 2nd as Tom had a horrible opening lap that saw him dropping to dead last. However he was able to get his nerves right and was able to recover after only two laps. In the end he ended the main only three seconds behind runner-up Dimitri, still conserving his chances to win the overall championship.

A3 was unfortunately a blueprint of A2 with Tom being hit as Jeremy and Dimitri made the hole shot. Steve received a stop & go for his move while Tom, with lots of confidence, stormed to the front. At the head of the pack it was again Jeremy with the win, this time from veteran racer Jannick Rommens as Tom again came in 3rd.

Touring Stock final results:
1. Jeremy Deram – Xray
2. Dimitri De Baeker – Xray
3. Tom Adams – Schumacher
4. Jannick Rommens – Team Magic
5. Julien lefevre – Xray
6. Steve Delattre – Xray
7. Gunther Lambrechts – WRC
8. Joeri D’Eer – Xray
9. Peter Roeygens – Tamiya
10.Olivier Cornard – Schumacher

When the dust had settled and the points were counted it was Tom Adams with the championship title in his first season, something he didn’t think of at the start of the season.

Touring Stock overall top 10 results:
1. Tom Adams – Schumacher
2. Dimitri De Baeker – Xray
3. Jeremy Deram – Xray
4. Steve Delattre – Xray
5. Peter Roeygens – Tamiya
6. Gunther Lambrechts – WRC
7. Joeri D’Eer – Xray
8. Julien Lefevre – Xray
9. Jannick Rommens – Team Magic
10. Giovanni Moguez – Xray

In the Formula class championship leader Willy wasn’t present at the final round and so it was Serpent’s Steve Deblaere who was the day’s frontrunner from newcomer Liam van de Wouwer (Xray), who only had a few race with Formula so far but he was already racing on a high level. Kris Vanbleu (Xray) came in 3rd and in the second qualifier it was liam who took the lead in front of Steve and followed by kris while in the final two qualifiers it was again Steve who set the pace in the front of Liam and Kris.

In the finals Liam was fighting to get closer to Steve, but the latter kept his cool and took a clean sweep in all legs from Liam and Kris in 2nd and 3rd respectively.

Formula overall results:
1. Kris Vanbleu – Xray
2. Willy Voisangrin – Serpent
3. Ghislain Mantrand – Team Associated
4. Laim Van De Wouwer – Xray
5. Frederic Favier – n/a
6. Philippe Pauvert – n/a
7. Thomas Blondeau – n/a
8. Jean Hannecart – n/a
9. Bjorn Frederickx – n/a
10.Kristof Dehert – n/a

In the Rookie class Fons Ally was the only pilot that weekend and he also took the overall win in front of Vic Dejaegere and Kas Ally who will now move up to the Stock class.

Thanks to Kris Vanbleu for the report.