A European Sojourn - The Zandvoort 500 and Valencia 3 Hours Calum Lockie

Zandvoort 500 - 29/30 October 1999

Cor Euser suggested a little post British GT season excursion. As often happens everything came together at the last moment (Tuesday 26th) and once a suitable deal had been struck Melindi and I set off for Holland on Thursday morning. We had hatched a plan to combine our holiday with the two races and so were going to drive over to Zandvoort and then tour down to Valencia over the following week.

We arrived around 8.00 p.m. at the Golden Tulip hotel which we were assured was ok and so it turned out. Directly opposite the circuit entrance it could not have been more convenient.

Next morning the first test session was at 9.00 a.m. and we arrived to discover that I was to drive the Evo with Herman Buurman and Wout van Reenen while Cor would be in the 1998 car with two other drivers. It became clear that there would be a battle royal between the two cars, not to mention anything else.

I went out first on the new extended track, which I believe is something close to the original Grand Prix track of old. Wow! This is a fantastic circuit with tight hairpins to fast down hill sweeps and flat out sections over the tops of the sand dunes. My third flying lap was a 1min 46.62sec lap on old tyres but Cor told me that his best was a high 42. Hmmm - over 3.6 secs to find. I was hoping new tyres would make a considerable difference, but 3.6 seconds?

Herman went out and over a few laps recorded a 1min 47.98sec lap. Next up was Wout who drove for the rest of the session. It was his first time in the car although he knows the circuit well having won the Dutch Mantis Challenge the year before.

The next session was at 2.30 p.m. I went out first again but with the tyres now suffering I went no quicker and concentrated on trying a few things. Herman then went out but again we left the majority of the session for Wout to get comfortable. Unfortunately this ended in a gravelly moment which ended our running for the day but with no damage to the car. Unfortunately the sister car had suffered a problem so I had no indication of our relative performance.

Next day we were on for qualifying but due to the size of the field, over 55 cars, odd and even numbered cars would qualify separately. With odds first it gave me a chance to see what Cor was going to turn up. On his first flying lap duly put in a 1min 44.15sec lap to take pole. Food for thought and as our session approached Herman prepared for his attempt. With a little traffic Herman posted a 1min 45.87sec lap and we were in second spot! I was next up and with new Dunlops drove out onto the circuit hoping I would get a reasonably clear run. Going onto my first flying lap I had a good gap ahead and went for it. The extra grip was obvious although the tyres were not up to temperature I discovered later. A good lap it was with only one small hold up and as I flashed past the pits I looked at the circuits lap time display and there it was! 1min 42.10 secs and pole!

Being on something of a high the time to the race start went by quickly. At 12.45 p.m. Herman pulled out of the pits to form up on the grid for the start ceremony. This was all quite exciting with TV covering a grid which stretched the whole length of the pit straight. Curiously the organisers decided on a standing start but nevertheless Herman made an excellent start and shot off into the lead. The sister car made a poor start ending up in 14th spot so it looked quite good for us.

The 500 km race was due to take about 3 hours and 50 minutes with me taking over from Herman, Wout from me and Herman finishing off with whatever was left over. Herman's stint went very well although the sister car pulled him in slowly until its engine expired after 30 odd minutes. This left us with a handy lead, enough to keep me in front after our first pit stop. With Herman's hour old tyres I drove my socks off while keeping a good eye on the instruments. Just as well as half way into my stint the dash readings were anomalous and despite backing off remained so. In the end I went into the pits for an unscheduled stop. Checking with the engineer and Cor all was OK and with a tankful of fuel and the same tyres I went out and got back into the groove. Traffic made things pretty interesting at times with some high closing speeds but most drivers were very polite and I only had one or two close moments! Nearly an hour later I was called back into the pits for the next fuel stop. Expecting to jump out I was surprised when Cor told me to stay in for the next stint as well. Not wishing to cause any problems I closed the door, put it in gear and set off for another stint! Excellent! By the end of that session I had spent 1 hour 40 minutes behind the wheel and we were 3 laps ahead. Wout then finished the race maintaining the gap to seal the win.

Next was the podium ceremony followed by an excellent party in a marquee behind the pit garages. Beer flowed, the music was loud and the company good. Thanks to Harry.

Valencia 500/3Hours - 5/6 November 1999

Melindi and I set off next morning, feeling slightly second hand, for our tour through Germany, Switzerland and France before venturing into Spain and heading for Valencia and the circuit.

Having booked in to our hotel we drove out to the circuit, a brand new facility more orientated to motorcycles, we were told. On first sight it certainly looked a bit tight for GT cars but it looked interesting with lovely banked corners and some challenging looking sections.

Next day we all reconvened early for the first test session at 9.00 a.m. This time the driving team were Cor, Herman and me, and we were up against a host of fast GT2 Porsches and a couple of Belmondo Vipers from the FIA Championship. We would use old Dunlop tyres until we had learned the circuit. But for the race we were obliged to use Pirelli rubber with which none of us had any experience.

Herman went out first and, despite being a self-confessed slow circuit learner, was into the swing of things quickly. Heavy traffic was to be a feature of the weekend and Herman suffered badly with a 1min 46sec lap. Next up I had more luck and learning the circuit quickly posted a 1min 42.102sec lap within 5 laps. This was a long way off our competitors who were in the 37s but they were on new Pirellis so we were not unduly concerned.

In the afternoon session we bolted on some new Pirelli rubber and Herman went out first again. The difference was immediately apparent with Herman posting a 1min 43.240sec lap. Next up I went for it but with traffic still playing a major roll did not manage a clear lap but still posted a 1min 38.357 lap on used tyres to be much nearer to the opposition. Cor then went out on the same tyres and was the first of us into the 37s with an excellent 1min 37.597sec lap. We were getting the feel for the circuit and with a few adjustments to camber and ride height due to the Pirelli tyres Cor felt that pole would be on the following day, despite the Clerico Viper being nearly 1.5 seconds quicker.

Next day we were due a 1 hour qualifying session at 11.00 a.m. to get all three drivers through. Herman went first with new rubber and after scrubbing them in went faster again to set a 1min 41.980sec lap over 10 odd laps. I then went out on Herman's old tyres and took three tenths off Cor's fastest time of the day before to set a 1min 37.231sec lap despite traffic to put us second on the grid. With new rubber I was sure there was a fair bit to go as one of the Vipers later posted a 1min 36.067sec lap. Cor was next up and duly proved the point with a blistering lap of 1min 35.728sec to put us on pole!

The race was due to start at 3.30 p.m. and finally got underway at 3.45 p.m. This meant that the last hour or so would be in the dark but with Cor doing the final stint I would not get a chance to experience night-time racing.

Herman made an excellent start but then the Viper jumped him into the first corner and the first three laps saw him slip back to 6th as he had elected to start on new tyres which took some time to come in. After that he reeled off the laps maintaining position until 30 minutes into the race. Next lap round we saw a puff of smoke and then a bit more. My heart sank as it looked just the same as at Silverstone. Finally Herman came in and the car was inspected. Lots of oil was coming out and after replenishment it was sent on its way. Unfortunately a few laps later he was back into the pits this time with a mechanical problem which felt like a broken wishbone. Cor told me to jump in and try it out but even on leaving the pits I could confirm Herman's suspicions and later a broken drive shaft joint was discovered.

So that was it, we were out of the race. It was a great shame as I was really looking forward to challenging the Vipers and Porsches.

That evening there was another paddock party and thoughts turned to The Rolex 24 at Daytona. Cor is very keen to have me on the team. Melindi and I had put in a sponsorship proposal before we left England and I was hoping for good news.

Next morning we went on our way aiming to be in Biarritz that night and La Rochelle the night after. This was when I got the phone call - Daytona, here we come!

Next stop is testing on January 5-8th with the race nearly a month later on the weekend of February 3-6th 2000. I can't wait!

Many thanks for this report to Melindi and Calum

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