Report: ADAC Hansa Racing Days – TT Circuit Assen
Qualifying: Lotus Elan vs. Porsche 904
Jan van der Kooi was the man to beat in SuperSixties qualifying at the ADAC Hansa weekend on the Assen TT-Circuit. For a long time it looked like we would have an all Lotus Elan front row, with Luc de Cock second fastest, until one of the Rappange brothers took over the 904-6 and slotted it into second. Oliver Douglas claimed 4th in the Daytona Cobra from Jos Stevens in another Lotus Elan. Carlo Hamilton in his Ford Falcon was fastest of the touring cars in 6th, with the next Falcon up that of Norbert Gross in 10th. In between were the GTS12 cars of Smeer/Izaks (Shelby GT350), Niek van Gils (TVR Griffith) and Claudio Missaglia (GT350). In CT07 the two Rappange Mini’s were split by the #37 of Bert Mets and the mysterious Durk van Hardenberg, while CT08 belonged to Grade/Wentzel, then Patrick Vanspringel and Magnus Lillerskog third, all in Lotus Cortina’s of course. In GTS11, Thijs van Gammeren treated the spectators to some spectacular antics in the GT chicane at the wheel of the Porsche 911, with Albert van der Wal and Egbert Kolvoort second and third in MGB’s.
Race 1: Van der Kooi rules
Jan van der Kooi scored a lights to flag victory in the Lotus Elan at Assen on Saturday. Luc de Cock (Lotus Elan) and Oliver Douglas (Shelby Cobra Daytona) had a very entertaining scrap for second. An off-track excursion by Niek van Gils in the TVR caused a full course yellow, which allowed Douglas to close the gap. On the podium, he sportily changed places with De Cock to restore the order. Jos Stevens came fourth to confirm the Lotus dominance. First touring car home was Carlo Hamilton in the Ford Falcon, while Dante and Jop Rappange came a giant killing 6th overall in the white Cooper S. Hemmo Vriend was 7th overall and second in CT10, with the GTS11 winning Porsche of Thijs van Gammeren 8th overall. Ninth was the second Mini of Von Hardenberg/Mets while SuperSixties debutant Gianni Sanen brought the Ashley bodied MG Midget home 10th, winning the invitation class. Jur Nederpelt had a good debut as well, he brought his Shelby GT350 home 3rd in GTS12, while newby #3 Jerry Breg had a steady race in his BMW Tisa, which was a relief as he did not manage a single lap in qualifying. In CT08, Lotus Cortina land, Patrick Vanspringel took the win from Magnus Lillerskog and Gerrit Jan van Leenen, after Grade/Wentzel dropped out with a broken rear suspension A-frame. Frank Weidema scored the GTP<2500 win in his Mini Marcos after the Rappange Porsche 904-6 dropped out. Egbert Kolvoort was first of the MGB’s from Jürgen Felske, second and third in GTS11. Fernand Lelong beat Bernd Horlacher to third in CT07.
Race 2: 2 out of 2 for Van der Kooi.
Jan van der Kooi made it two out of two by winning Sunday’s SuperSixties race at Assen as well. In a repeat of his earlier performance, he led from the green light and only gave up p. 1 for a short while during the compulsory pitstop. He was followed home by Luc de Cock in another Lotus Elan. Oliver Douglas finished third on the road in the Daytona Cobra, but dropped to fifth after a 15 second time penalty was applied for a pitstop that was marginally too short. That handed the final podium place to Niek van Gils, who drove a great race from the back of the grid in his TVR Griffith. Jos Stevens was classified fourth in his Lotus. Carlo Hamilton was again unbeatable in touring cars, followed home by Norbert Gross and Hemmo Vriend in a train of Ford Falcons. Thijs van Gammeren was 9th in the GTS11-winning Porsche 911, with the Rappange brothers rounding out the top-10 in their Cooper S. The Von Hardenberg/Mets Mini actually set the fastest laptime in CT07, but both the team’s cars lost time in the pits. More Mini fun was provided by Bernd Horlacher and Fernand Lelong, who were never more than a few seconds apart. Egbert Kolvoort was first MGB home, followed at a distance by Jürgen Felske, who kept going despite gearbox bothers. Frank Weidema again won the small GTP class in his Mini Marcos. He was followed home by Patrick Vanspringel in the Lotus Cortina, who scored another CT08 class win from Magnus Lillerskog and Gerrit Jan van Leenen.
With 2 races to go it is very tight in the SuperSixties ranking. Jan van de Kooi, Luc de Cock and Norbert Gross are separated by just a few points. With a healthy entry in the GTS10 class at Magny-Cours, including a number of local heroes, anything can happen!
More news from Assen in SuperSixties Magazine 2025#5: https://www.supersixtiesracing.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/Super-Sixties-Magazine-Assen-edition.pdf
Points after 10 of 12 races: https://www.supersixtiesracing.com/standings/
