Archive for month: May, 2026

Qualifying: a thrilling finale

A largely trouble free qualifying session kicked off SuperSixties 2026. Le Mans veteran Volker Weidler was the first to set a competitive time in the green Falcon, before the Lotus Elans were up to speed, first Christoph Kjaergaard and then Jan van der Kooi. Roelant de Waard was next to jump to the top of the timing screens in the Shelby Mustang, only for Van der Kooi to go faster still. We then had a short full course yellow to retrieve Jos Stevens’ stranded Elan, before the Grand Finale. Roelant de Waard dipped into the 2:06 to claim pole, with Jan van der Kooi 0,4 of a second behind. Jop Rappange claimed 3rd in the Porsche 904-6 just ahead of Kjaergaard, with Gross/Weidler 5th in the first of the touring cars. Then it was more Lotus Elans with Marcel Kutak, Marc Morawietz and Jos Stevens and more Falcons with Hemmo Vriend and Jaap/Jack van der Ende. Father and son teams set the pace in GTS11 (the Michaelis’ Porsche 911) and CT07 (the De Vries’ Cooper S) while Magnus Lillerskog was fastest in CT08/09 in his Lotus Cortina. Camilla Brandt was the only runner in GTS05 in her little TVR and thus qualified first in class, but she also pipped Hanna Grade and Clara Felske to be fastest of the ladies. There were several cars with technical issues, but there was just about time for most of them to be fixed before race 1.

Race 1: Van der Kooi triumphs

Roelant de Waard led away the first SuperSixties of 2026 at the Hockenheimring in his Shelby GT350, but Jan van der Kooi passed him in the Motodrom to rupturous applause of the spectators. The Lotus Elan driver then pulled away to win by 13 seconds after 40 minutes of hard racing. The Rappange Porsche 904 retired on the first lap, while Christoph Kjaergard had to pit to fasten a loose bonnet. Marcel Kutak took full advantage and drove a clever race to secure the third podium spot in his Lotus Elan. Jos Stevens in another Elan managed to pull clear of the battling Ford Falcon duo of Weidler/Gross and Carlo Hamilton. These guys were hard at it for most of the race and on the way collected some time penalties, promoting the Van der Ende Falcon to sixth ahead of Hamilton. Hemmo Vriend in yet another Falcon was in contention for most of the race until the crankshaft of the V8 broke. Soon after, Marc Morawietz buried his Elan in a gravel trap, all of which enabled Kjaergaard to claw his way back up to 8th ahead of the Shelby Mustangs of Missaglia and Smeer/Izaks. Thijmen de Vries was very unlucky and clipped a Shelby under braking in the Cooper S, ending his race on the spot. Meanwhile the Rappange brothers passed Fernand Lelong, Bernd Horlacher and Bert Mets plus numerous others to win the Mini class and secure 11th overall. First GTS11 car home was the Florian Lübbert/Christian Henke Triumph TR4 after an eventful journey, while Didier Bourdot drove a strong race to finish second in class and first of the MGB’s, beating the Michaelis Porsche 911 in the process. Series returnee after many years, Richard Bateman beat Magnus Lillerskog to the win the combined CT08/09 class, the two Lotus Cortina’s having the legs of Jerry Breg’s BMW 1800. Hanna Grade was fastest of the ladies until she got squeezed into a spin, letting Camilla Brandt in the TVR past. Only 24 cars made it to the finish, but with a lot of spannering going on in the paddock, we were  expecting most of the retirees back on the grid for Sunda’s race.

Race 2: De Waard’s revenge

Roelant de Waard and Jan van der Kooi treated us to one of the best SuperSixties races yet, trading places for the entire 40 minutes duration. De Waard jumped ahead at the start, followed by Volker Weidler and Jack van der Ende, the heavy Fords benefiting from good traction on the still slippery track. Jan van der Kooi soon made amends, passed the two Falcons and reeled in the blue Shelby. The man on the move was Dante Rappange who went from 26th to 5th within two laps in the Porsche 904. He then handed the car to his brother Jop, only for the gearchange to give problems again, the temperamental Porsche only lasting 8 laps this time. Carlo Hamilton was on the move now, passing the two other Ford Falcons to move up into third. Christoph Kjaergard was the last to make a pitstop, which gave him the lead for a short time. He spent the entire race battling with fellow Lotus Elan racers Marcel Kutak and Jos Stevens. They finished in positions 4-5-6, as the order at the front was soon restored after the pit window closed. The finish flag came out moments before the 40 minutes had passed and it was De Waard who was in front when it counted. The Rappange family Mini was unbeatable in CT07 again, finishing 10th overall, with René and Thijmen de Vries second and Bert Mets third in class. Magnus Lillerskog and Camilla Brandt had a good scrap, both winning their respective class in the Lotus Cortina and TVR Mk. 2a. In GTS11 there was a lot going on, although Florian Lübbert and Christian Henke were never challenged in their Triumph TR4 and Thomas and Peter Michaelis in the Porsche 911 held second throughout. Nick Paul gradually dropped back in his MGB, Patrick Goetzinger made an extra pitstop in the Morgan +4SS and Egbert Kolvoort semi-retired in the pits, until the Felske brothers fixed the ignition and he came back out again. Through it all came Clara Felske to take a solid third in class in her yellow MGB.

As we packed up and handed out the trophies, the sun came out. Next stop: Donington, UK.

Results: https://www.supersixtiesracing.com/results.

More news from the Hockenheimring in SuperSixties Magazine 2026#1, download here:  https://indd.adobe.com/view/36fdd4ed-a051-42cd-9c11-a1669846c623

Ranking after 2 of 11 races: https://www.supersixtiesracing.com/nl/ranking/

NEXT RACE: HSCC Spring Trophy Donington Park (UK), May 30-31.