Race report Pinksterraces Zandvoort

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A sunny Zandvoort welcomed the NKHTGT competitors for the traditional “Pinksterraces”. Kennet Persson posted a 2:01.5 lap in his Ford GT40 to take pole. Bob Stevens snatched second at the last moment in his Lotus Elan. Roelant de Waard qualified 3rd in his Shelby Mustang with Michiel Campagne 4th in his Corvette Grand Sport. The third row featured Jos Stevens (Lotus Elan) and Michiel van Duijvendijk (TVR Griffith). We were very happy to welcome yet more newcomers to the NKHTGT family: Ron Sanen with a Lotus Elan, Per Roxlin with an MG Midget, Robert Ingram with a Lotus Elite and a well known Ford Falcon piloted by Henk and Bjorn Hees.

 

Race 1: meatball and oil

The racing part was somewhat shorter than anticipated, but Saturday afternoon’s race was entertaining nevertheless. Persson took the lead from Michiel Campagne with Bob Stevens in third. Things were hotting up when Frank Veenstra’s MGB deposited its oil on the racing line. It took a long safety car period to powder the track. Meanwhile Campagne reported in the pits after he was shown the meatball for excessive noise. With 15 minutes to go racing resumed. Bob Stevens managed to take the lead with a demon outbraking move, but Persson used the GT40’s power to repass on the straight and take the win. Roelant de Waard came 3rd and 1st in GTS12 in his Shelby Mustang. Martin Bijleveld won the touring car class in his Ford Falcon from the similarly mounted Bart-Jan Deenik and Henk van Gammeren. Bert Mets was on fire and won CT07 in his Mini Cooper, while Frank Wagner continued his Hockenheim form and again came first in CT08 in the Lotus Cortina. Theo van Gammeren won GTS11 in his Porsche 911. The most fun was had by Lars Bondesson (Lotus Elan), Jeroen Hoep (Jaguar E-type), Robert Ingram (Lotus Elite), Henk Hees (Ford Falcon) and Magnus Lillerskog (Lotus Cortina) who had a very entertaining scrap for 21st.

Race 2: Persson’s double

Kennet Persson made it two out of two on Sunday. Bob Stevens kept him honest and even led the race for several laps after Kennet missed a gear when his arm restraint tangled with the gearstick. With normal service resumed the Lotus Elan could not match the sheer speed of the GT40. Jos Stevens (Lotus Elan) took the third podium spot after successfully dealing with Michiel van Duijvendijk (TVR Griffith) and Roelant de Waard, whose Shelby Mustang lost some speed due to a misfire. Martin Bijleveld led the touring cars throughout but threw away the win after an outbraking attempt that was too ambitious. CT10 honours thus went to Bart-Jan Deenik, from Henk van Gammeren both in Ford Falcons. Thijmen de Vries (Cooper S) was the third touring car home and first in CT07 after a storming race. René Wagner was king of CT08 once again in his Lotus Cortina. GTS11 spoils went to Thijs van Gammeren in the Porsche, ahead of MGB-mounted Brian Lambert and Niek van Gils.

After four races, Bob Stevens leads the championship by six points over Bart-Jan Deenik. Anything is still possible as there are still 8 races to go. The next race on the NKHTGT programme is our traditional visit to the Spa-Francorchamps circuit for the Spa Summer Classic. Spa is a long circuit, which means that we can accommodate no less than 65 cars. We expect a record turnout and will do our utmost to try and reach the magic number of 65! Which is why we invite everyone with an FIA app. K compliant pre-’66 TC, GT or GTS (with valid HTP) for a weekend full of fun on one of the world’s best race tracks. The entry fee is only € 845 and there are two races of 30 minutes each, so two drivers can share a car. After Spa we will continue with races in Assen (5-7 August), Anderstorp (26-28 August) and finally Dijon (7-9 October). At this moment there are still limited places available for all these races. Mail to Egbert at race@nkhtgt.nl if you want to join us, or call him at +316 262 16464.

Top 10 race 1:
1 Kennet Persson (Ford GT40) 15 laps
2 Bob Stevens (Lotus Elan) +0.6
3 Roelant de Waard (Shelby GT350) +17.5
4 Jos Stevens (Lotus Elan) +25.2
5 Michiel van Duijvendijk (TVR Griffith 200/400) +34.5
6 Michiel Campagne (Corvette Grand Sport) +39.4
7 Bengt-Åke Bengtsson (Lotus Elan) +44.2
8 Martin Bijleveld (Ford Falcon) +44.6
9 Frans van Maarschalkerwaart (Shelby GT350) +51.5
10 Bart-Jan Deenik (Ford Falcon) +52.6

Top 10 race 2:
1 Kennet Persson (Ford GT40) 20 laps
2 Bob Stevens (Lotus Elan) +0.7
4 Jos Stevens (Lotus Elan) +5.3
3 Roelant de Waard (Shelby GT350) +23.7
5 Michiel van Duijvendijk (TVR Griffith 200/400) +77.0
10 Bart-Jan Deenik (Ford Falcon) +120.4
7 Bengt-Åke Bengtsson (Lotus Elan) +130.2
8 Henk van Gammeren (Ford Falcon) 19 laps
9 Thijs van Gammeren (Porsche 911) 19 laps
10 Thijmen de Vries (Mini Cooper S) 19 laps

Full results are here: https://getraceresults.com/Results/organisator/2022?evenement=Circuit+Zandvoort&race=Pinksterrace+Zandvoort+2022

Championship standings: https://www.nkhtgt.nl/en/standings/

You can read all the paddock gossip in our online magazine: https://www.nkhtgt.nl/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/NKHTGT-magazine-Zandvoort-2022-edition.pdf

Championship standings

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For the first time in two years we are keeping track of the championship standings. They are of little importance,  apart from the fact that the winner receives a big trophy that he (or she) has to hand in after a year, but they are fun! After 2 races first place in the standings is shared by Alexander Schlüchter and Bob Stevens. Third place is again occupied by 2 men, Bart Deenik and Henk van Gammeren. The complete standings can be found HERE.

In a fortnight, the battle will continue at Zandvoort. The time schedule and entry list (as well as the time schedule for Spa) can be found on the drivers info page.

Hockenheim Race Report

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No less than 36 cars went out in qualifying on the brilliant Hockenheim track. We were extremely happy to welcome a large number of NKHTGT newcomers from all over Europe: Marc Morawietz and Ralf Wagner from Germany, Bengt-Åke Bengtsson from Sweden, Antoine Darley and Basile Gronfier from France, Christophe Germain from Switzerland and Steven Tonneman from the Netherlands.  Pole position on this power track went to Kennet Persson in the Ford GT40, with Rhea Sautter and Andy Newall just 0,3 seconds behind in the E-type. Michiel Campagne claimed third on the grid in the Corvette Grand Sport. Next up were the Cobras of Armand Adriaans and Oliver Douglas, while Norbert Gross was fastest of the touring cars in 6th. The first non V8 on the grid was Luc de Cock in 7th in his Lotus Elan, then Mark Dols in the Marcos 1800 and Alexander Schlüchter and Bob Stevens in more Lotus Elans. 

Race 1: Campagne macht richtig Dampf

As soon as the lights turned to green, Michiel Campagne took the lead of the race to hold onto it for the full 45 minutes. Polesitter Kennet Persson kept the Corvette Grand Sport in his sights, but had to retire his Ford GT40 at half distance. Cobra drivers Armand Adriaans and Oliver Douglas had a great scrap for second, Douglas eventually taking the place. Mark Dols took fourth in his GTP Marcos, although GTS10 winner Alexander Schlüchter came very close to passing him on the last lap in his Lotus Elan. Next up was a train of GTS12 cars, with Roelant de Waard in the Shelby Mustang finishing just ahead of Christoph Germain and Rhea Sautter in their E-types. More Lotus  Elans followed, Bob Stevens taking second in GTS10 from his Father Jos, while Mats Ek beat Bengt Åke Bengtsson to come home first of the Swedes. In GTS11 there was a lot going on. Runaway leader Niek van Gils retired with gearbox trouble, while Theo van Gammeren and Frank Veenstra had a pas de deux, which necessitated a pit visit. Thus Basile Gronfier and Barbara Lambert came through to take first and second in class in their MGB’s. The touring car class was won by Henk van Gammeren (Ford Falcon), 3 seconds ahead of Bart-Jan Deenik in another Falcon. Ralf Wagner was the third touring car home in his Lotus Cortina, with Bert Mets (Cooper s) and Magnus Lillerskog (Lotus Cortina) next.

Race 2: Newall der Regenmeister

Sunday dawned wet and miserable at Hockenheim. Things had not improved when the NKHTGT field lined up for the 10:20 start, so it was rear lights on and an extra formation lap. Andy Newall immediately took the initiative in the Jaguar E-type and used his exceptional car control to build up an enormous lead. Michiel Campagne did well to hang on to second in the big Corvette Grand Sport, until Roeland de Waard found a way past, displaying some very tidy driving in the GT350 Mustang. The battle for fourth was highly entertaining with Oliver Douglas (Cobra Daytona), Norbert Gross (Ford Falcon), Mark Dols (Marcos 1800) and the Lotus Elans of Bob Stevens and Alexander Schlüchter. The nimble cars had an advantage over the V8’s and it was Bob Stevens who took fourth at the flag, as Schlüchter and Dols lost time with a couple of off-track excursions. Thijs van Gammeren drove an impressive race from the last row to sixth overall and a win GTS11 in the Porsche 911. Brian Lambert and Frank Veenstra took second and third in class in their MGB’s. Bengt-Åke Bengtsson was best of the Swedes this time, beating Jos Stevens to take third in GTS10. Bart-Jan Deenik was the first touring car driver home in his Ford Falcon, from Henk van Gammeren, with Bert Mets in his Mini third overall and first in CT07. Ralf Wagner drove spectacularly in his Lotus Cortina and survived an off-track excursion to win CT08 from Magnus Lillerskog.

 

Full results are here: https://raceresults.at/Results/organisator/2022?evenement=Auto+Rennen&race=Preis+der+Stadt+Stuttgart++Hockenheimring

 

You can read all the paddock gossip in our online magazine: https://www.nkhtgt.nl/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/NKHTGT-Hockenheim-2022-editie.pdf

 

Next race: Zandvoort, June 4-5.

Four weeks to go….

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NKHTGT, the Dutch historic racing series for touring cars and GTs built between 1947 and 1965, will kick off in four weeks at Hockenheim.

Over 40 drivers have already registered for the 2022 season. Among them are more than 30 package deal drivers who will compete the full season. We are particularly pleased to welcome a good number of new participants. Among them are of course Dutchmen, but also racers from Sweden, Germany, Switzerland and Italy. It looks like we’re going to see a lot of competition in the GTS10 class this year, as a record number of Lotus Elans have been entered. On the touring car front, we are looking forward to the return of the Ford Anglia. Probably not a candidate for the podium, but it is driven by a former champion so never say never! On the sponsorship front, the news is mixed: we have secured four sponsorship deals, but the best place, prominently displayed on our windscreen streamer, is still vacant. A unique opportunity to advertise internationally.

The NKHTGT calendar for 2022 is as follows:

Month Day Format race Event
April 22-24 Qly 30 – 2×45 Preis der Stadt Stuttgart, Hockenheim
June 4-5 Qly 25 – 2×40 Zandvoort Whitsun races
June 24-26 Qly 30 – 1×61 Spa Summer Classic
Aug 5-7 Qly 30 – 2×30 Jack’s Racing Days Assen
Aug 26-28 Qly 2×15 – 2×30 Anderstorp, Sweden
Oct 7-9 Qly 45 – 1×120 + 1 x 30 Dijon Motors Cup

Want to join us? We welcome drivers with an FIA specification pre-’66 touring car, GT or GTS. Is your car’s HTP not quite finalized yet? No problem, we have an invitation class. Registration for the 2022 package deal has already closed, but there are still entries available for most races. The entry fee is a very reasonable € 845 per event. All information can be found on our website www.nkhtgt.nl. Do you have questions, do you want to participate, or become a (main) sponsor? Mail us: race@nkhtgt.nl.

Ready to go!

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The 2022 NKHTGT regulations have been approved by the Dutch motor sport authority KNAF. There are no surprises, they are very similar to those of previous years. But it can never hurt to read them of course! You can find them on the competitors information page.

Its oh so quiet at NKHTGT

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Its oh so quiet at NKHTGT. Or is it? On the contrary, we are very busy processing registrations for the 2022 season! Quite a few package deals have already been sold, as well as a large number of individual entries for various races. We are pleased about the many Swedish racers who have not only signed up for their home race at Anderstorp, but will also travel south to Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium for our races at Hockenheim, Zandvoort, Assen and Spa-Francorchamps. Some of them are as yet undecided about Dijon-Prenois in October, but we are sure they will come around once they have raced with us!

Thanks to the popularity of our NKHTGT corporate sponsorship deal, we’ve already collected a nice array of sponsor logos for 2022. However there is always room for more, we can still offer you the opportunity for your company to team up with NKHTGT as our title sponsor. With your advertising on our windscreen streamers as well as on our national and international media communications, you can be assured of exposure throughout Europe, from Sweden to France.

This is the NKHTGT calendar 2022:

22-24 April        Preis der Stadt Stuttgart, Hockenheim

4-5 June             Pinksterraces, Zandvoort

24-26 June        Spa Summer Classic, Spa-Francorchamps

5-7 August          Jack’s Racing Day, TT-Circuit Assen

26-28 August     Scandinavian Raceway, Anderstorp

7-9 October        Dijon Motors Cup, Dijon-Prenois

For more information and to register, click here: https://www.nkhtgt.nl/en/race-with-us/

NKHTGT announces 2022 calendar

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NKHTGT, the Dutch organized historic racing series for FIA touring cars and GT’s built between 1947 and 1965, has announced an exciting calendar for 2022. With a total of 11 races on 6 circuits in 5 different countries, it upholds its reputation for offering unrivalled variety and plenty of track time combined with very affordable entry fees. In 2022, NKHTGT will be an International Club Championship (subject to KNAF/FIA approval).

The programme kicks off in April with the “Preis der Stadt Stuttgart” at the Hockenheimring in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. Of course we race at the Zandvoort GP Circuit, this year we will be part of the Pentecost (“Pinksteren” in Dutch) Races. The we are off to that all-time favourite, Spa-Francorchamps for the Spa Summer Classic. In August, we are invited back to the Assen TT-circuit for the 2022 Jack’s Racing Days.

Every year we try to venture to an unknown track, and for 2022 we are excited to announce that for the first time in its 26-year history, NKHTGT will travel to Sweden. At the end of August we go to a completely new circuit for NKHTGT, which nobody knows yet except our Swedish drivers, the Scandinavian Raceway at Anderstorp! Anderstorp played host to the Swedish Formula 1 Grand prix from 1973 – 1978. This 4,03 km track with 8 corners  has not changed much since then.

We close the season at our much loved autumn destination, the Circuit Dijon-Prenois. This year we will participate in the 300 km race ( = 2 hours) on Saturday, with a season ending 30 minute sprint race on the Sunday.

The 2022 package deal for the entire NKHTGT season costs € 3,950 and single entries are € 845 per event. Please note: a maximum of 45 package deals will be sold. An international licence D1 or higher is required. For more information and/or to register, go to this page: Race with us.

NKHTGT was established in 1996 as the Dutch Championship for Historic Touring Cars and GT’s. Nowadays it has evolved into an international series of races, catering for touring cars and GT’s built between 1947 and 1965. All competing cars are prepared according to FIA Appendix K and run on Dunlop Racing tyres. This attracts large starting fields and makes for exciting races with historically correct cars.

NKHTGT magazine – the Dijon edition

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You can read the latest paddock gossip in NKHGTGT magazine – the Dijon edition. Download your copy here: NKHTGT magazine Prenois final version b

NKHTGT celebrates in Spain

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The NK HTGT powered by Nolte Küchen celebrates its 25th anniversary this year. For our loyal drivers there was a gift: a free race. There was a catch however: to receive it, they had to travel to the Circuito de Catalunya, the Formula 1 circuit near Barcelona in Spain. Many did so and it made for an unforgettable weekend.

While it had been sunny and warm all day, there was a rain shower during qualifying. After a few laps, the track became extremely slippery. Andy Newall was on the ball and took pole in the E-type which he shares with Rhea Sautter. Frans van Maarschalkerwaart took P2 thanks to a super fast time on the third lap, when it was still just about dry. Michiel Campagne (Corvette GS) and Mark Dols (Marcos 1800GT) qualified on row 2. The first touring car, the Ford Falcon of Bijleveld and Van der Ende, was on row 3. Norbert Gross (Ford Falcon) was second fastest in the touring cars, ahead of Mini Cooper crews Bert Mets/Christian Frankenhout and father and son De Vries.

At 8 pm on Friday, it was time for the evening race. Shortly after the start, Michiel Campagne took the lead, followed by Armand Adriaans in the “normal” Corvette. On lap 7, Adriaans came to a stop in a dangerous spot, whereupon the Safety Car was deployed. A number of drivers cleverly benefited from this, in combination with the Pit Window, which opened after 20 minutes. Michiel Campagne left his stop too late, allowing Andy Newall in the E-type Jaguar to take the lead, ahead of Norbert Gross (Ford Falcon) who had passed Martin Bijleveld in the pits, and Erwin van Lieshout who made a giant leap into third with his Porsche 911. Michiel Campagne managed to recover to second place, but could not catch Newall. As darkness fell, the German-British team came home with over a minute’s lead. Gross took the third podium spot and won the touring car class. Mark Dols made several spectacular excursions but still managed to steer his Marcos past Van Lieshout’s Porsche into fourth place. Sixth place fell to Martin Bijleveld in the Falcon. René and Thijmen de Vries finished seventh overall and won the small touring car class in their Cooper S. In the meantime, darkness had fallen and it was time fors ome beers in the paddock was. It was a to be a short night, because on Saturday it was racetime again at 9:45.

Exactly on time the lights went green and race 2 was underway. Shortly after the start, Hemmo Vriend’s Ford Falcon broke down, whereupon race control immediately deployed the safety car. This caught most drivers by surprise and caused chaos. When the dust clouds had settled, Michiel Campagne was in the lead. Behind was Jaap van der Ende ahead of Norbert Gross in their Ford Falcons and next up a group with Frans van Maarschalkerwaart (Shelby Mustang), Thijs van Gammeren (Falcon), Rhea Sautter (Jaguar E-type) and Mark Dols (Marcos 1800GT). Van der Ende was safe in second place when Gross had to pit to remove a flapping Falcon wing. Sautter fought her way past the competition to take the third podium spot. Frans van Maarschalkerwaart, Thijs van Gammeren and Jac Meeuwissen completed the top 6. Shadowing the Big Healey was Thijmen de Vries who drove a mighty race in the little Cooper S. In GTS11 we witnessed a race of attrition. Dennis Bron (MGA) ran out of fuel and both Porsches disappeared from the scene as well. And thus the honours fel lto Frank Veenstra and Egbert Kolvoort in their MGBs.

Results: Q R1 R2

Full results:  https://raceresults.nu/Results/organisator/2021?evenement=24H+Series&race=22nd+Hankook+24H+BARCELONA+2021