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The last two SuperSixties races took place at Magny-Cours, the former Grand Prix circuit in France. With seven contenders still in the running, the top three separated by just a few points, it was an exciting weekend.

Qualifying: Lotus Elans rule

Bob Stevens was the man to beat in SuperSixties qualifying at Magny-Cours. Jan van der Kooi was 0,6 seconds behind. He was unable to improve after an off-track excursion through the gravel. Luc de Cock and Damien Sionneau make it an all-Lotus Elan top-4. First of the big bangers was Christophe Germain in the TVR Griffith in fifth. Malivaï Castelli made it 5 Lotus Elans in the top-6. Carlo Hamilton was fastest of the touring cars in 7th, just ahead of Norbert Gross, Hemmo Vriend and Deenik/Sinke all in Ford Falcons, with Jos Stevens’ Lotus Elan as interloper in 7th. In GTS11, all MGB’s this weekend, Australian visitor Paul Cruse was a lot faster than the 4 regulars. In CT06, local drivers Charles-Edouard Rousseau and Romain Guerardelle showed the way to Smeer/Izaks and Bernd Horlacher, all on Mini Coopers of course. Finally, in CT08, the Lotus Cortina department, Marcel Wentzel put in a demon lap to give him and co-driver Hanna Grade the class pole from Julius Junck. With points leaders Jan van der Kooi, Luc de Cock and Norbert Gross all qualifying 2nd or 3rd in their class, the two races on the Sunday promised to be interesting.

Race 1: Time penalties galore

The first race at Magny-Cours, very early on Sunday morning, turned into a time penalty festival with generous amounts of seconds being awarded for track limits, pitstops that were too short or outside the pit window and especially speeding in the pitlane. On track, the action was frantic, with Jan van der Kooi taking an early lead in his Lotus Elan. Bob Stevens was never far behind and the blue Lotus passed the green one on lap 7. After 18 laps of racing, Bob was just 0,28 seconds ahead. Luc de Cock finished third on the road, but both Bob and Luc had spent too little time in the pits. This cost them dearly as every second gained is penalized with 5 seconds. This made Jan the winner, with Bob second and Roelant de Waard third on the podium. After a gearbox change his Shelby Mustang was finally up to speed and he successfully dealt with Claudio Missaglia (Shelby Mustang) and Christophe Germain (TVR Griffith) to win GTS12. Damien Sionneau was fifth and Jos Stevens seventh, which made it 6 Lotus Elans in the top-7. Carlo Hamilton was unbeatable in CT10, but went too fast in the pitlane. That meant Norbert Gross kept his title hopes alive by finishing first in class, with Deenik/Sinke second, all in Ford Falcons of course. Charles-Edouard Rousseau was the winner in CT06, with Bernd Horlacher second and Jacques Smeer third, adapting well to driving a Mini Cooper instead of a Shelby Mustang. Julius Junck took a dominant win in CT08 in his Lotus Cortina, with Gerrit Jan van Leenen inheriting second after Wentzel/Grade suffered gearchange problems. Michael and Paul Cruse won GTS11 in their MGB, from Egbert Kolvoort and Klaus-Peter Mutschler. Finally, we must mention the only GTP present this weekend, the Porsche 904 of Rob Rappange and Jasper Izaks, which of course won its class.

Race 2: Heartbreak for Van der Kooi

There was heartbreak for Jan van der Kooi as he retired from the lead when the clutch of his Lotus Elan failed. Bob Stevens was the race leader throughout, but made a strategic pitstop so as not to interfere with the regulars. As a result, he was classified only ninth. The surprise winner was Roelant de Waard in the Shelby GT350, with Luc de Cock and Jos Stevens second and third in their Lotus Elans. Carlo Hamilton did everything right this time and was rewarded with a class winning fourth in his Ford Falcon, while Jasper Izaks drove a strong race and brought the Porsche 904-6 home fifth. In sixth was Norbert Gross who did what he needed to do, second in CT10 netting him just enough points to beat his former Formula Vee rival Luc de Cock in the overall standings. Jaap van der Ende overtook the Deenik/Sinke Falcon for third in class and Hemmo Vriend was the 5th Falcon in the top-10. This was thanks to Christophe Germain, who had the misfortune to spin his TVR into the gravel trap on the penultimate lap. This gifted second in class to Claudio Missaglia in his awesome sounding Shelby Mustang GT350. He was on fire after needing a push start to get going from the grid. Pascal Metayer was the first Frenchman home in his Lotus Elan. Charles-Edouard Rousseau won CT06 again, but Romain Guerardelle was not far behind this time, with Bernd Horlacher third in the Mini class. CT08 was a repeat of the morning: Julius Junck was the runaway winner, while Gerrit Jan van Leenen was second after Hanna Grade’s Lotus Cortina suffered gearchange issues. In GTS11, the Cruse brothers were in charge again, with Egbert Kolvoort and Klaus-Peter Mutschler first of the pursuers, all in MGB’s.

Full results: https://www.its-live.net/live/hvm/2025/magnycours

Points after 12 of 12 races: https://www.supersixtiesracing.com/standings/

More news from Magny-Cours in SuperSixties Magazine 2025#6: https://www.supersixtiesracing.com/super-sixties-magazine-magny-cours-2025-edition/

Check out our YouTube channel for action clips: https://www.youtube.com/@Supersixties

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!

Results: https://raceresults.nu/Results/organisator/2025?evenement=TT-Circuit+Assen&race=ADAC+Hansa+Racing+Days

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/

Qualifying: drying but slippery Although the rain had stopped, the track was still very slippery when qualifying started. Two red flags did not help. They were not for anything serious, just cars with electrical issues. Jan van der Kooi and Philippe Vermast claimed the front row in their nimble but nervous Lotus Elans. Oliver Douglas […]

Qualifying: record numbers out on track!

With a record 53 cars on track, SuperSixties 2025 kicked off at a sunny Spa-Francorchamps. With GT40’s, Corvette Grand Sports and Cobra Daytonas leading the V8 brigade it was a surprise to see a little Lotus Elan topping the timesheets. We do not know whether it was Lando or Alexis Graf von Wedel, but the pale green Elan was fastest in an amazing 2:52. Laurent Jaspers was trying hard until the very last moment in his Cobra Daytona, but was 0,4 of a second behind. Andy Newall took third in Rhea Sautter’s E-type.

Compliments to all the drivers for staying out of trouble, although of course mechanical problems cannot be avoided in historic racing. Martin Bijleveld’s Falcon dropped out with a broken wheel, while Søren Christensen stopped in the Double Gauche with a cockpit full of steam. This brought out the red flags, which enabled everyone to regroup, change drivers and adjust tire pressures. GTP racers Kaj Dahlbacka in the Corvette GS and Kennet Persson in the GT40 could have gone faster but did not go out again and thus ended up 4th and 6th fastest, split by Oliver Douglas in the silver Cobra Daytona. Roelant de Waard in the Shelby Mustang, Adriaans father and son in the Cobra, Luc de Cock in the Lotus Elan and Meeuwissen father and son in the third of the Cobra Daytona’s rounded out the top-10. Antoine Benne was third fastest of no less than 11 Lotus Elans in GTS10. Erwin van Lieshout was fastest in GTS11 in his Porsche 911. Second fastest were Florian Lübbert and Philippe Vermast in the Triumph TR4. Egbert Kolvoort was third in GTS11 and fastest of the MGB’s. In the small GTP class it was Rob Rappange in the Porsche 904-6 with Frank Weidema in the Mini Marcos not far behind. Reinier van Abbe debuted his new Ford Mustang by beating all the Falcons, with Carlo Hamilton second fastest and returnee Norbert Gross in third. In CT08 it was one lone Alfa Romeo Sprint against 7 Lotus Cortina’s. Mark Dols and Adam Cunnington were very fast, Marcel Wentzel was quickest of the rest and the Colinet brothers a brave third in the Alfa. In CT07 Bernd Horlacher was going great in his yellow Mini Cooper, with Fernand Lelong a cautious second in his immaculate white example. Finally, Michiel Campagne was not yet in Spa, so he would start from the back of the grid in his Corvette GS for some added interest.

Race 1: all about the pitstop strategy

You do not need a GTP car to win in SuperSixties at Spa, a good pit stop strategy is much more important, so it turns out. Laurent Jaspers and Roelant de Waard, in a GTS12 Cobra Daytona and Shelby Mustang GT350 respectively, made good use of a Safety Car period. They planned their stops perfectly and secured the top podium spots. Kennet Persson (GT40) and Kaj Dahlbacka (Corvette GS) had been disputing the lead, but could not improve on 3rd and 4th. The fastest of the Lotus Elans was SuperSixties debutant Jan van der Kooi in his self-built example who drove faultlessly to finish 5th. Michiel Campagne started 51st and finished 6th in the blue Corvette GS, with a good chance to  be at the front in Race 2. Luc de Cock was 7th in the second of the Lotus Elans. The most entertaining scrap of the race was between Rhea Sautter (E-type), Oliver Douglas (Cobra Daytona) and Sam Adriaans (AC Cobra). Adriaans was the winner in the end as the other two collected 5 seconds for track limit infringements. Carlo Hamilton (Falcon) outfoxed Reinier van Abbe (Mustang) to win the Ford V8 touring car class by 9 seconds, with Norbert Gross (Falcon) in third. Adam Cunnington/Mark Dols were unbeatable in CT08, with Marcel Wentzel second and Magnus Lillerskog third, all in Lotus Cortinas. Fernand Lelong was another SuperSixties debutant who scored a class win in his Mini Cooper S. In GTS11, Erwin van Lieshout in his Porsche 911 was just 6 seconds ahead of the Lübbert/Vermast Triumph TR4 after 40 minutes of hard racing. Egbert Kolvoort was fastest of the MGB’s again. Finally, Rob Rappange won the small GTP class in the Porsche 904 from Frank Weidema in the Mini Marcos.

Race 2: the Swedes take no prisoners

There was drama even before the start of Sunday’s SuperSixties race. Michiel Campagne stopped on the warm-up lap with a broken back axle on the Corvette Grand Sport, Gerrit Jan van Leenen had to make a quick diversion to close his bonnet, Erwin van Lieshout came too late because he could not find one of his gloves and Roelant de Waard slowed just before the start when his engine died. The start was clean and the Swedes took no prisoners this time. Kennet Persson took the victory in his Ford GT40, with Kaj Dahlbacka second in the Corvette GS, 9 seconds behind. Laurent Jaspers tried hard to keep them in sight and was first GTS12 car home in the Cobra Daytona, with Oliver Douglas in a similar Cobra not far behind. Lando and Alexis Graf von Wedel came from afar to win GTS10 in their Lotus Elan. They were fifth overall, even including a time penalty for ignoring track limits. They were not alone in that, and there were even more time penalties for pitstops that were too short, too early or too late, 9 in total. After all the sums had been made, Adriaans/Adriaans were classified 6th and 3rd in GTS12 in their AC Cobra, ahead of the Sautter/Newall E-type. Jan van der Kooi was next, second Lotus Elan home, from fellow SuperSixties debutant Antoine Benne in 10th. They were split by Norbert Gross, surprise winner of the touring car division in his Ford Falcon. Early leader Carlo Hamilton dropped back due to a faulty fuse, while Reinier van Abbe was ahead on the road but received 15 bonus seconds. In CT08, the time penalty tombola came to a climax. Behind the winning Lotus Cortina of Cunnington/Dols, the Alfa of the Colinet brothers was awarded second and Magnus Lillerskog third while Vanspringel tumbled to fourth. Fernand Lelong made it two out of two in his CT07 Mini. In the small GTP class the order was Rappange- Weidema again, Porsche 904-6 ahead of Mini Marcos. Finally, in GTS11, Florian Lübbert in his Triumph and Egbert Kolvoort in the MGB were uncatchable for Erwin van Lieshout, but he managed to salvage third in class by passing all the other MGB’s and Steven Tonneman in his Triumph TR4A.

Thanks to all SuperSixties drivers and the Roadbook organization for making it a memorable weekend.

Read more in SuperSixties magazine/Spa edition: https://indd.adobe.com/view/898952b2-dba0-4145-832b-cacb9d77d07f

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

Points after 2 of 12 races: https://www.supersixtiesracing.com/standings/

NEXT RACE: Historic Zandvoort Trophy, May 31 / June 1

Enter online here – more info here.

Check out our YouTube channel for action clips: https://www.youtube.com/@Supersixties

 

Qualifying: hares and hounds

Frank Weidema opened proceedings with a gravel trap excursion. After a Manitou pulled him out and sent him on his way, qualifying proper could get underway. A couple of Sports 2000 hares kept the SuperSixties drivers eager. Kennet Persson was fastest in the Ford GT40 in 1:35.5 with Sautter/Newall in the E-type 0.6 of a second behind. Bob Stevens and Luc de Cock were next up, followed by the Rappange father and son team in the Porsche 904-6. Christophe Germain in the TVR, Adriaans/Adriaans in the Shelby Cobra, Jos Stevens in the Lotus Elan, Oliver Douglas/Simon Ham in the Cobra Daytona and Van Maarschalkerwaart/Izaks in the Shelby Mustang GT350 rounded out the top-10. In GTS11 it was Porsches before MG’s as usual, with the Van Gammerens ahead of Erwin van Lieshout, then series debutants O’Reilly and Young in the first of no less than 8 MGB’s. In touring cars it was close. Jaap and Jack van der Ende just pipped Bart-Jan Deenik/Jaap Sinke, both in Ford Falcons with the Colinet Alfa GTA only just behind. Then it was more Falcons with Henk van Gammeren and Hemmo Vriend. Smokin’ Jop Rappange’s Mini was faster than Bernd Horlacher in the other Cooper, but would not attempt the 300 km race. Magnus Lillerskog/Uno Johanssen were fastest of the Lotus Cortinas but with a lot of panel beating to be done it was questionable whether they would be able to race.

Race 1: poster boy does it again

Kennet Persson’s Ford GT40 once again featured on the event poster of the Dijon Motors Cup. So he did what was expected of him and won the race. At first it did not go well for him. After the start he dropped to 18th with gearshift problems. He found a way around them and started moving up the order. Meanwhile Andy Newall (E-type) and Bob Stevens (Elan) were contesting the lead. Jack van der Ende made a great start in the orange Falcon and led he touring cars from the Deenik/Sinke Falcon and the Colinet family’s Alfa GTA. In GTS11 there was heartbreak for the Van Gammerens as their Porsche 911 expired on the opening lap. Erwin van Lieshout duly took the lead from the O’Reilly/Young MGB with fast starting Brian Lambert quickly moving up to third in class, helped by the fact that Egbert Kolvoort and Holger Felske were in the pits with various issues. After the first series of pitstops Bob Stevens was in the lead, Persson second, the Douglas/Ham Cobra Daytona in third, then Luc de Cock in the Elan while Sautter/Newall had dropped to 5th. The Van der Ende Falcon gave up the ghost after 30 minutes, leaving Deenik/Sinke with a healthy lead from the Colinet GTA which was being harried by Hemmo Vriend and Henk van Gammeren in their Falcons. Dominique Raffin and Hanna Grade in the two remaining Lotus Cortinas were quite close until Hanna had to abandon ship after 22 laps. Bernd Horlacher was the only Mini driver to attempt the 300 km … he lasted only 3 laps. Frank Weidema’s Mini Marcos did much better and ticked off 59 laps – proving that it can be done with an A-series! There were various pitstop infringements and the most affected was Bob Stevens. He was just 0,2 of a second too fast on his third stop, but the 5 second stop-and-go dropped him to third behind Newall/Sautter. Oliver Douglas and Simon Ham were the last unlapped finishers in 4th. Next up were Luc de Cock and Armand and Sam Adriaans in the Cobra on 66 laps. Frans van Maarschalkerwaart/Jasper Izaks were first of the Shelby GT350’s, ahead of Jos Stevens (Lotus Elan) and Regis Devis (Shelby GT350). Erwin van Lieshout was never threatened in GTS11, with Darley/Gronfier second in the first of the MGB’s, then Brian and Barbara Lambert and Fabienne and Tiziane Mütschler. The small GTP class went to Mark Dols in the Marcos 1800 from the Rappange Porsche 904-6 and Nigel Winchester in the Ginetta G4R. Bart-Jan Deenik and Jaap Sinke were victorious in touring cars, with Hemmo Vriend in second, beating the Colinet Alfa GTA by just 6 seconds. The invitation class went to Rob Bergmans in his Iso Rivolta. With just one short safety car interlude to retrieve the Ek/Hillebrink Lotus Elan from the T9 gravel trap it was a clean race.

Race 2: the final episode

After two days of sunshine, Sunday started foggy. Naturally the sun came out for SuperSixties! Kennet Persson led away from the start in the GT40, followed by Simon Ham in the Cobra Daytona and Luc de Cock in the little Lotus Elan. Dijon is hard on Porsches; this time it was Erwin van Lieshout who retired his 911 on lap 1. That turned GTS11 into an MGB only battle, with the exception of Steven Tonneman ‘s Triumph TR4. Basile Gronfier led this train, from Didier Bourdot and Tiziane Mütschler. In touring cars Bart-Jan Deenik was in the lead but Thijs van Gammeren was closing in. The Colinet Alfa GTA was the first non-V8 in third, with Hemmo Vriend in hot pursuit in the third of the Ford Falcons.

With Persson and Ham secure at the front, Bob Stevens took over third in his Lotus Elan with fourth being contested by De Cock, Armand Adriaans in the Cobra and a certain TVR that failed the post-race weight check and therefore will not be mentioned. In GTS11, Gronfier was now being chased by Brian Lambert and Holger Felske. Meanwhile, Mark Dols exited the stage in a cloud of steam from his Volvo engine. The race was now in its final stages. Behind Persson, Ham, Stevens and De Cock it was Jop Rappange in the Porsche 904-6 who snatched 5th from Adriaans. Malivai Castelli took 7th in his Lotus Elan with Thijs van Gammeren 8th in the big Falcon. Jos Stevens (Lotus Elan) overtook Frans van Maarschalkerwaart (Shelby Mustang GT350) for 9th. A pit visit for Gronfier handed the GTS11 win to Brian Lambert, with Holger Felske in second and none other than Egbert Kolvoort in third. Behind Van Gammeren, Deenik was second touring car home, while Colinet reclaimed third when Hemmo Vriend retired to the pits 5 minutes before the end. Rob Rappange was next up in the first of the Mini’s, followed by Bernd Horlacher. The Lotus Cortinas were no match for the Colinet Alfa GTA in CT08. Dominique Raffin took second, Hanna Grade third. Finally, in the invitation class, Rob Bergmans was first in the 5.3 litre Chevy-powered Iso Rivolta and Frank Weidema second in the 1.3 litre Mini Marcos.

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

More news from Dijon in SuperSixties Magazine 2024#6: https://www.supersixtiesracing.com/supersixties-dijon-magazine-v2/

Points after 12 of 12 races: https://www.supersixtiesracing.com/standings/

Check out our YouTube channel for action clips: https://www.youtube.com/@Supersixties