South African Gavin Cronje and Belgian co-driver Nico Verdonck continued on their winning way in the Formula Le Mans Series at the Nurburgring in Germany on Saturday, winning both races for prototype sports cars.
It was their fifth win in six races and extended their lead in the championship.
Starting from second position in race one, Verdonck led at the driver change and Cronje then proceeded to make mincemeat of the opposition and rompted to a convincing 8,45 sec win over the Hope Pole Vision Racing entry of Valle Makela and Mathias Beche at the end of the 31-lap race around the 5,14-km Nurburgring grand prix circuit.
Cronje started race two from third on the grid and the SA/Belgian combination produced another convincing performance to make it two out of two for the day.
“We had a good weekend. Not a perfect one as we didn’t score points for pole position in qualifying, but two wins was great for our championship hopes. It was a good team effort,” said Cronje.
The new monotype (one make) formula, which is aimed at drivers and teams wanting to get started in prototype sports car racing before graduating to the longer endurance races, features a carbon fibre monocoque sports car penned by ORECA and powered by a 6,2-litre V8 engine from General Motors that delivers 430 bhp and 630 Nm of torque.
Thirty-year-old Cronje, Rotax Max world karting champion in 2001 and a former rookie driver in South Africa’s entry in the A1GP World Cup of Motorsport, is the reigning domestic Formula Volkswagen champion.
The next round of the Formula Le Mans Cup series is at Silverstone in England on September 11 to 13.
COURTESY OF: Peter Burroughes Communications
