Photo: BTCS Media, Jacques Letihon Ph

Another win for Steveny & De Radigues at Zolder

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The Kia Pro_Cee’d of Phillippe Steveny and Didier De Radigues claimed its second win in two races, with last year’s champion Bouvy close behind in second.

Vincent Radermecker shot into the lead from second on the grid with the Volvo S60, with Christian Kelders dropping down to fifth in the pole-sitting Renault of Delahaye Racing. This meant yesterday’s race winner Didier De Radigues was now in second right behind the Volvo.

The car making the most progress in the early stages was the Touring 3 (T3) class Mazda3 of Werner Van Herck, who lost ground at the start from his third row grid position, but drove up to second in class and fourth overall before the Mazda dropped out of the race on lap 25.

De Radigues closed down on Radermecker’s Volvo and took the lead into the first corner on lap 14, but slipped back on the same lap down to fifth, and set on a recovery drive. It had one car less to pass in short order, as the Volvo pulled out of the race from the lead just one lap later.

De Radigues re-passed the two Delehaye Renaults of Kelders & Stéphane Lemeret, and then dispatched race leader Steve Vanbellingen in the T3 class BMW 320si on lap 22, before the Kia made its mandatory pit-stop.

Kelders lost the No.1 Megane time going off circuit, and after the pit-stop which put reigning champion Frédéric Bouvy back on board, the car was a lap down.

After the pit sequence was completed, and with a Lemeret going off circuit losing time in the No.2 Renault Megane, Steveny lead from Erick Qvick’s BMW, now in the hands of Steve Vanbellingen. The W Racing Team VW Scirocco of Koen Wauters and Ronnie Latinne was now in third.

Bouvy was now on a mission, and quickly passed Latinne for third and closed down on the race leading pair. Steveny maintained a 5 second gap back to Eric Qvick, but the Renault was too fast, passing the BMW with less than 5 minutes to go in the 1hr30 race.

There wasn’t enough time left for the Renault to catch the Kia though, and Phillipe Steveny and Didier De Radigues claimed their second win in two races.

The next round of the championship is in three weeks time at Dijon-Prenois, with the Kia of Steveny and De Radigues going there leading the championship by 6 points from Bouvy and Kelders.