Photo: Jacques Letihon Photographe

Vanbellingen closes team, switches to T3 class

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Following fellow Belgian Koen Wauters move from the Belgian Touring Car Series’ silhouette class, Steve Vanbellingen has closed down his KS Motorsport team and will also race in T3 for the 2011 season.

Vanbelligen won two races in last year’s championship at Dijon-Prenois and at the 12 Hours of Spa with his KS Motorsport BMW M3 in the series front-running Silhouette 1 class.

“I am not taking this decision lightly,” said Vanbellingen.

“I am pleased to first be true to BMW. One of my partners is a BMW dealership, and this aspect is important to me. Instead of the Silhouette S1, I opted for a genuine touring car, specifically a T3.”

Vanbellingen will now pair up with Eric Qvick at Qvick’s team in a ex-World Touring Car Championship BMW 320si fitted with the engine from an M3. The team will also compete in the non-championship 24 Hours of Zolder endurance event.

The car will compete in T3, which is the top tier for standard touring car models in the Belgian Touring Car Series. DB Motorsport was the top finishing T3 car last season, finishing seventh overall in the championship.

The KS Motorsport BMW M3 Silhouette 1 car was put up for sale over the winter, and it is not yet known if it will return this season, which starts on 8th-10th April at Zolder.