The 37th edition of the 24 Hours of Zolder turned into a sporting and extra sporting success. No less than 25,000 spectators watched how the battle between the open Prototypes and the GT cars finally went to the advantage of the latter category. Marc Goossens, Dylan Derdaele, the Dutchman Peter Hoevenaers and the German Kenneth Heyer in a Porsche 991 Cup gave the Limburg based Belgium Racing team their third consecutive victory; for Marc Goossens his fifth win in this Zolder race. The Geel based driver is now one victory away from the record held by Anthony Kumpen, who dropped out of the race early on. Second place went to the favourites in the Wolf GB08 and Belgium Racing rounded off their success on home ground with a third place going to the team’s second Porsche 911.
LE CASTELLET (12 July, 2015) –The #30 Mercedes SLS AMG GT3 of Ram Racing won the Hankook 24H PAUL RICARD after a battle with the #7 Porsche 997 GT3 R HB Racing Team Herberth. Germany’s Thomas Jäger along with English drivers Tom Onslow-Cole, Adam Christodoulou, and Paul White completed 586 laps of the 5.842 kilometer circuit located above the French Riviera. The second place Porsche was driven by Nicolas Armindo, Daniel Allemann, Herbert Handlos, Lukas Schreier and Alfred Renauer.
The leaders had a close battle during the night, swapping the top spot during pit stop exchanges. The Mercedes pulled away thanks in part to better tyre management. The race was decided with 90 minutes remaining when the Porsche briefly stopped on track with electrical problems. It was the first win for Ram Racing after having come close at previous races. Third place was taken by the #2 HP Racing Mercedes (Bleekemolen / Kofler / Tilke / Renger / Proczyk) and fourth by the #4 Scuderia Praha Ferrari. It was a good comeback for both as they collided on the first lap of the race, requiring repairs.
The #10 Mercedes SLS AMG of Hofor-Racing won the Hankook 12H ZANDVOORT after a taut battle with the similar car of #30 Ram Racing. Dutch driver Christiaan Frankenhout, Roland Eggimann and Michael Kroll of Switzerland and Kenneth Heyer of Germany completed 351 laps of the 4.3 kilometer circuit located among the dunes on the North Sea coast of the Netherlands. Thomas Jäger of Germany and Tom Onslow-Cole and Paul White of England were the drivers of the second place car.
Three different Mercedes took turns in the lead of the nine-hour Saturday segment. Tom Coronel was the first in front with the #67 GDL Racing entry. He was later caught by Frankenhout. The GDL team then lost time with a loose door. Great stints and pit work by the Ram Racing team kept them on the lead lap throughout and they were able to take the top spot when Hofor Racing made an extra stop. The dénouement occurred during a late race neutralisation when the Hofor Racing team waited until the fuel depot queue was cleared while the Ram Racing Mercedes was trapped waiting in line. Mercedes filled the top four spots with the #2 HP Racing entry third and the GDL team recovering to fourth. The top car representing other brands was the fifth place Ferrari of Scuderia Praha.
