Archive for category: News

SuperSixties 2024 kicked off with mechanical issues for many drivers, from engine bay fires to broken diffs and wheels parting company. Through it all came Rhea Sautter and Andy Newall to claim pole in the Jaguar E-type, just 0,2 seconds ahead of Roelant de Waard in the Shelby GT350. Oliver Douglas in the Cobra Daytona was another 2/10th behind. Luc de Cock was fastest of the Lotus Elans in 4th followed by John Tordoff and Bob Stevens. Fastest in GTS11 was Erwin van Lieshout in the Porsche 911, with Brian Lambert first of the MGB’s ahead of Egbert Kolvoort. In touring cars it was the Jaap/Jack van der Ende Ford Falcon at the front from Adam Cunnington in his Lotus Cortina. Both retired from the session with serious suspension issues though. So it remained to be seen whether they would make it to the start. If not, Hemmo Vriend (Ford Falcon), Ties Meeuwissen (Ford Mustang) and Ralf Wagner (Lotus Cortina) were first in line for the spoils in TC. Jop Rappange was fastest of the Mini’s with Alexander Schlüchter not far behind, even though he lost a front wheel. That would be fixed for Race 1 at 16:15 in the afternoon as would be most other cars – there was a lot of spannering going on.

Rhea Sautter led away from the grid but was soon overtaken by Roelant de Waard. Then, at the end of lap 1, Oliver Douglas took over at the front. Bob Stevens was the man with a plan though. Having started 6^th, he took the lead on lap 4 and pulled out a small gap in his Lotus Elan, while the V8’s battled for second place. Oliver Douglas in the Cobra Daytona, the Adriaans AC Cobra and Niek van Gils in the TVR Griffith were all in with a chance. In the end Douglas took second while Van Gils incurred a time penalty that handed third to Newall/Sautter in the E-type, 4th to Adriaans/Adriaans and 5th to De Waard. Luc de Cock and John Tordoff had a great tussle for 7th in their Elans which Tordoff won in the end. Jack and Jaap van der Ende won the touring car class in the Ford Falcon, Adam Cunnington was next in the Lotus Cortina, then Hemmo Vriend in his Falcon. Next it was Jop Rappange in the Mini, Dieter-Karl Anton in his Lotus Cortina (for sale!) and Cees Lubbers in another Falcon. Alexander Schlüchter and Bernd Horlacher took 2nd and 3rd in CT07 in their Mini’s while Magnus Lillerskog was third in CT08 in yet another Lotus Cortina. In GTS11 Erwin van Lieshout was never headed in his Porsche, while Brian and Barbara Lambert outsmarted Egbert Kolvoort to finish first of the MGB’s. Holger Felske survived a spin to just stay ahead of the Mütschler sisters, while Clara Felske kept her nose clean and finished sixth in class. Finally, Marcel Peter deserves a mention for his open door policy. He drove into the paddock, jacked up the Healey, fixed the door, then rejoined the race.

On Saturday Bob Stevens made it 2 out of 2. He bided his time behind Oliver Douglas and Niek van Gils in their V8’s and pounced when they pitted for their compulsory stop. After his own pitstop the little blue Lotus came back on track with a healthy lead. Douglas had to work to keep his Cobra Daytona ahead of van Gils’ TVR. He lost ground after a small mishap, dropping behind van Gils and Roelant de Waard. De Waard finished third on the road in his Shelby GT350 but was awarded second overall and the win in GTS12 as van Gils collected another time penalty. Father and son Adriaans in the Cobra and Rhea Sautter/Andy Newall in the E-type were 5th and 6th while John Tordoff again claimed 2nd in GTS10 just ahead of Luc de Cock. Returnee Roland Zoomers claimed 9th in his beautifully rebuilt E-type while Rob Rappange rounded out the top-10 in the Porsche 904-6 GTP. As usual GTS11 fell to Erwin van Lieshout in his Porsche 911, while Egbert Kolvoort had to work hard to hold on to second from Holger Felske in the first of many MGB’s. Pit window problems caused a host of time penalties in the various touring car classes. Adam Cunnington made no mistakes and was classified first TC home in his CT08 Lotus Cortina, then Hemmo Vriend in the CT10 winning Ford Falcon and Alexander Schlüchter in the first of the Mini’s. Cees Lubbers and father and son Van der Ende were second and third in CT10, Dieter-Karl Anton and Magnus Lillerskog ditto in CT08 and Bernd Horlacher was second in the Mini Cooper class, CT07.

Results can be found here: http://spasummerclassic.alkamelsystems.com

All in all, a great start of the season with two incident free races. Our thanks to Vincent and Anne from Roadbook and all the marshals and volunteers at Spa-Francorchamps. The next race is at Charade on May 31 and June 2. There are still a few entries available. Please contact us as soon as possible if you want to participate. Anyone with an FIA compliant pre-’66 Touring Car, GT or GTP is invited to join us!

More news from Spa soon in SuperSixties Magazine 2024#1, on the website.

Enjoy our 2023 season review in the SuperSixties Magazine X-mas Special: https://www.supersixtiesracing.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/Super-Sixties-kerstspecial-V4.pdf. The latest 2023 SuperSixties action movie can be found on YouTube: https://youtu.be/ibKrichk0zY?si=OeUoOENFiyG_c6Cz. While you’re there, subscribe to our page: https://www.youtube.com/@Supersixties!

But more importantly, why not end the year with a bang by submitting your entry for SuperSixties 2024. All info is on this page: https://www.supersixtiesracing.com/nl/race-with-us/.

Happy holidays and see you in 2024!

Qualifying

Turn 7 was the deciding factor in the SuperSixties qualifying session at Spa-Francorchamps, with many track limit infringements and some more serious excursions that resulted in loads of gravel on the track. Through it all came the Peter Thompson/Charles Allison TVR Griffith to claim pole from Kennet Persson in the Ford GT40. Andy Newall qualified Rhea Sautter’s E-type in 3rd with Bob Stevens 4th in the first of the Lotus Elans. Next up were the three Shelby varieties, Armand Adriaans (Cobra), Roelant de Waard (Mustang GT350) and Oliver Douglas (Cobra Daytona). Michiel Campagne only managed a lowly 8th position in the Corvette Grand Sport, and could be expected to be nearer the front in the race. Then it was more Lotus Elans, mixed with the fastest of the touring cars: Luc de Cock (Elan), Carlo Hamilton (Ford Falcon), Jos Stevens (Elan), Bas Jansen (Ford Mustang), Niek van Gils (Elan) and Bijleveld/van der Ende (Ford Falcon). Eric Douart in his 2-litre BMW is not far behind the V8 Fords. The Mini’s were fast with Jop Rappange ahead of René de Vries, then Dieter-Karl Anton in his Lotus Cortina, fastest in CT08, Alexander Schlüchter (Mini) and the Van Leenen/Du Toy van Hees and Ralf Wagner Lotus Cortina’s. In GTS11 Erwin van Lieshout was fastest in his Porsche 911, ahead of the MGB’s led by Frank Veenstra.

Race 1 – mighty TVR

A safety car to remove the stranded Mini Marcos of Greg Carini caused chaos in the first SuperSixties race at the Spa Summer Classic. Many drivers decided to pit when the yellow flags came out, which was a good idea, but several did so before the pit window was actually open, which was of course penalised. They received a draconic 5-minute penalty. Kennet Persson had been leading in the Ford GT40, closely followed by the TVR Griffith of Peter Thompson and Michiel Campagne in the Corvette GS. The big Corvette lost its brakes while circulating slowly during the neutralisation and dropped to fourth. Armand Adriaans took the opportunity to take the final podium spot and first in GTS12 in the Shelby Cobra. After Bob Stevens was an early retirement, it was Luc de Cock who came 5th overall and first in class, followed by Niek van Gils, Philippe Vermast and Jos Stevens all in Lotus Elans. Rhea Sautter was classified 9th in the E-type because the other three cars on the lead lap were penalised. Carlo Hamilton won the touring car class in his Ford Falcon ahead of similarly mounted Jaap van der Ende and Bas Jansen in his Mustang. Jop Rappange was first on the road in the Mini class but collected a penalty which handed the win to René de Vries from Alexander Schlüchter, who had an entertaining ding-dong battle with Dennis Bron in his MGA twin cam. CT08, the Lotus Cortina class, had a trio of pit window offenders… as a result the win went to Van Leenen/Du Toy van Hees, from Dieter-Karl Anton, Magnus Lillerskog and Ralf Wagner. In GTS11 Erwin van Lieshout started from the pits in the Porsche 911 and overtook all the MGB’s to win the class from Frank Veenstra and Arnold Herreman. Finally, it is interesting to have a look at the smaller GTP cars. The Marcoses of Mark Dols and Greg Carini dropped out. Rob Rappange spun on the first lap, but still went on to finish in the Porsche 904. Frank Weidema followed him home in his little 1,3 litre Marcos, a great result in his debut race.

Race 2 – Persson is the person in charge

It took some 10 minutes for Sunday’s SuperSixties race to get properly underway. The delay was caused by several stranded cars on the grid and the formation lap, plus an unfortunate startline incident. When the field was finally released, Kennet Persson took the lead from the Thompson/Allison TVR, only relinquishing it for a short time when he pitted early, Michiel Campagne taking over in the Corvette GS. At the flag the Swede had a 20 second lead from the TVR, with Campagne another 20 seconds behind, closely followed by Adriaans in the Shelby Cobra. Roelant de Waard came 5th and 3rd in GTS12 in his Shelby Mustang. In GTS10 father and son Jos and Bob Stevens shared the orange Lotus Elan. Jos kept Luc de Cock’s yellow Elan in his sight, so that after the compulsory pitstop Bob could reel him in and pass him for the class win. SuperSixties debutant Felix Feltes came third in this well contested class, ahead of Marc Morawietz. In GTS11 it was no surprise that Erwin van Lieshout took the win in his Porsche 911. Tiziane and Fabienne Mutschler came second in the fastest of the MGB’s ahead of David Waterhouse. Greg Carini made up for his retirement in the first race by slicing through the field to 12th in his little Mini Marcos, winning the invitation class. The big V8 touring cars all had some sort of trouble. Martin Bijleveld came out on top in his Ford Falcon, Hemmo Vriend was second in another Falcon and Bas Jansen salvaged 3rd in his Mustang. The Mini Coopers made their own show, with René de Vries, Jop Rappange and Alexander Schlüchter trading places. Schlüchter spun and De Vries had to pit with a flat tire, so Jop looked to have it in the bag, but then the white Mini gave up the ghost with 2 laps to go, so Alexander took home the trophy. In CT08 it was the old fox from Austria, Dieter-Karl Anton, who was unbeatable, with Ralf Wagner, van Leenen/du Toy van Hees and Magnus Lillerskog chasing him, all in Lotus Cortina’s. Running like clockwork but unable to challenge the Cortina brigade were the two Alfa Giulias of Günter Zahnenbenz and François Leloutre.

Results: Results – Super Sixties Racing

SuperSixties Magazine Spa edition: NKHTGT Spa V2 high res

SuperSixties actie op YouTube: Supersixties – YouTube

Qualifying

SuperSixties was pleased to back at the Historic Zandvoort Trophy for the next instalment of our 2023 season. Sander van Gils was the fastest guy on track in qualifying, but he was too eager, going all out before the session had actually started. It would give him something to do in the afternoon, as he was docked 5 places on the grid as a result. We still had an all Lotus Elan front row, with Luc de Cock on pole and Jos Stevens second. Roelant de Waard claimed third on the grid in his Shelby Mustang with Peter Brouwer in yet another Elan alongside. Henk van Gammeren and Hemmo Vriend were first of the touring cars in their Ford Falcons, while Armand Adriaans (Shelby Cobra), Jaap Sinke (Big Healey) and Wilhelm-van Gelder (Jag E-type) completed the top-10. Quickest in GTS11 was the Van Gammeren Porsche 911, just ahead of more touring cars, Rob Rappange fastest in CT07 in his Mini ahead of the Van Leenen/Du Toy van Hees CT08 Lotus Cortina. Next up was the oldest car in the field, Dennis Bron in his FabFifties MGA twincam, followed by guest driver Onno Vlaanderen in a LateSixties Davrian Imp. With 29 cars on the grid we looked forward to an action packed pair of races.

Race 1: van Gils unbeatable

Sander van Gils dominated Saturday’s SuperSixties race at Zandvoort in his Lotus Elan. From sixth on the grid, he took the lead on the first ascent of the Hunserug. Luc de Cock held second for most of the race until his engine lost power towards the end and he slipped back. Jos Stevens had been shadowing him and duly took second in his Lotus Elan while Roelant de Waard came third in the Shelby Mustang. Peter Brouwer was fourth in his Lotus Elan with De Cock fifth. First of the touring cars was the Van Gammeren Falcon in sixth, ahead of Armand Adriaans (Shelby Cobra), Ed van Dijk (E-type), Hemmo Vriend (Ford Falcon) and Jaap Sinke (Austin-Healey 3000). There was plenty of Mini action with some great scraps, and it was Rob Rappange who came out on top, with Alexander Schlüchter in second while Jop Rappange misfired his way into third and Bert Mets dropped out after 16 laps. GTS11 was initially led by Niek van Gils in the MGB, but after the pitstops it was the Theo/Thijs van Gammeren Porsche 911 that took the class win, from Van Gils and Egbert Kolvoort in their MGB’s. The Team Korle Lotus Cortina turned into a starting money special (if only we had starting money…). It only just made it across the line before expiring, which was a shame as the team had spent a fortune on duct tape patching it up after a qualifying mishap. So the win in CT08 went to Van Leenen/Du Toy van Hees, although Magnus Lillerskog actually finished ahead of them. He was going so well that he did not want to spoil his fun by making a pitstop. He was penalized two laps, even though he proposed to compensate by making two pitstops in Sunday’s race…

Race 2: Jos Stevens against the odds

Jos Stevens overcame a couple of penalties to win the second SuperSixties race at Zandvoort in his Lotus Elan. He braked after moving before the lights changed, so gained nothing and it was in fact Roelant de Waard who took the lead. Stevens realized he was going to be penalized, so quickly passed the blue Shelby Mustang and started to build up a lead. Meanwhile De Waard was harried by Peter Brouwer and Luc de Cock. When he outbraked himself going into Tarzan the two nimble Lotus’ took their chance and passed him. Unfortunately they both dropped out with ignition trouble later in the race. Meanwhile Stevens had gained another time penalty for a pitstop infringement, but he kept his foot down and finished far enough ahead of De Waard to hang on to first place. Armand Adriaans drove a steady race and claimed the final podium spot in his Shelby Cobra. Fourth past the flag was Jaap Sinke in the Healey, just ahead of a storming Ed van Dijk in his Jaguar E-type. He was being cheered on by a crowd of Jaguar Club members to great effect! The Van Gammeren family again took the spoils in the touring car class in their big Ford Falcon Futura. Seventh fell to the French Jaguar team of Erwin van Gelder/Bernard Wilhelm who just managed to hold off Mats Ek in his Lotus Elan. There were some fierce midfield battles involving a lot of cars. Dennis Bron came through to finish 9th in his MGA. Rob Rappange, Alexander Schlüchter and Jasper Izaks were in the middle of the mayhem in their Mini’s. In the end Schlüchter was victorious while the other two dropped out. All the MGB’s also suffered various problems giving the Van Gammeren Porsche 911 an easy ride in GTS11. The Lotus Cortinas were in combat with Bert Mets in his Mini Cooper. Van Leenen-Du Toy van Hees again came out on top after Magnus Lillerskog suffered a broken halfshaft two laps from the flag. So ended another great weekend of action packed SuperSixties races. Everything went smoothly, thanks to a great bunch of well-behaved and friendly drivers! Yes there were loads of retirements due to mechanical problems, so there is plenty of wrenching to be done, but we expect everyone to be back for the Red Bull Ring on June 9-11. See you there!

Results: Results – Super Sixties Racing

Read all the paddock gossip in our online magazine: https://www.nkhtgt.nl/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/NKHTGT-Zandvoort-magazine-final-version-klein.pdf

Introducing SuperSixties by NKHTGT

For over 25 years NKHTGT has been offering top quality historic racing for pre-’66 Touring Cars, GT’s and GTP’s. Based in the Netherlands, we race internationally and welcome drivers from all over Europe and beyond. In 2023 we will be doing the same, but under a new name. A name that everyone can pronounce: SuperSixties. The organisation will remain in the trusted hands of the NKHTGT organizing committee.

In 2023 we offer an exciting calendar with over 12 hours of track time divided over 12 races at 6 events on 6 circuits in 5 different countries! That’s an unparalleled variety and a lot of track time. On top of that, our entry fees are very reasonable. How do we achieve that? The Vereniging NKHTGT is a not-for-profit organization: for racers by racers. Our 2023 package deal costs just € 4195!

NB: calendar subject to changes and to approval by KNAF/FIA.

SuperSixties 2023 is a series of single competitions in six events, without any form of championship or ranking. SuperSixties remains – just as it always was under the NKHTGT flag – the historic racing class for FIA appendix K touring cars and GTs built between 1947 and 1965.

Please bear with us in these transitional times. More info, including the 2023 entry form, can be found on the old website: www.nkhtgt.nl and shortly also on www.supersixtiesracing.com.

If you have questions, please mail us at race@nkhtgt.nl.