European Rallycross Championship 2000
Round 5 : Belgium
Racereport:
It was very beautiful and hot weather at the Duivelsbergcircuit in Maasmechelen for the fifth round of the European Rallycross Championship. The startfield looked very strong as all the top drivers were present to defend thier own chances.
Martin Schanche, however, was the first driver to suffer from problems. During the second free practice session the engine of Martins car broke down. His mechanics worked very hard to build in a new engine to put Martin back in content for the race on Sunday. But after the first heat (8th) they had to throw in the towel with an other engine failure. Before the end of the second heat they were already on their way to Norway.
On Saturday, Hunsbedt set the fastest practice time, Jaroslav Marchal rolled his car and home driver Jos Sterkens also suffered from problems with his new Ford Focus.
In both run 1 and 2 Kenneth Hansen clocked the fastest time to secure him pole for the A-final in division 1. Behind Hansen the fight was hard. The most spectacular heat had 5 drivers at the start: Hunsbedt, Koutny, Kuypers, Pailler and Antonsson. In the first bend it went wrong. Antonsson was pushed round and Pailler ended up besides Antonsson in the gravel trap. Hunsbedt took the lead for Kuypers and Koutny. After two an a half laps Hunsbedt got problems, Kuypers had to break hard to avoid a collision and Koutny passed both to take the lead before suffering from a broken suspension two turns further. Kuypers was the only one to end this heat from the 3th run. Opland set the fastest time in this 3th run and passed Hunsbedt in the standings to line up besides Hansen in the final.
If you think the heats were hard, the finals were even harder. The C-final was breathtaking with spectacular driving from Antonsson, Jirovec and Tony Bell. Sallstrom took victory to go to the B-final. In the B-final belgian Jacques Franssen took victory after an even more breathtaking close battle with Jean-Luc Pailler. Franssen joined Hansen, Opland, Hunsbedt, Jernberg and Eklund in the Final.
As the lights went green Hansen stalled at the grid. Opland took and held the lead, before Jernberg and Eklund. It was Oplands first victory of the season. In division 2 the A-final ended up dramatic for Guttorm Lindefjell. At the start Lindefjell was pushed into a concrete wall before flipping the car on his roof. The car was total-loss. Luckily Lindefjell escaped unhurt. Magnus Hansen took the checkered flag. Benezet was second and home driver Scheveneels ended up on the podium. Nielsen won the 1400 Cup.