September 07, 2012
Published on tags: Superleague
Dave Carr-Smith took home his second race win of the season for himself and Green Stripes Racing in Zandvoort, ahead of Jamez Shepherd in second place for Hawkeye Racing, and Lukas Euler in third place for Midnight Motorsport.
Round 13 would take place at the surprisingly popular Zandvoort circuit, a track loved by many of the drivers, and a track which has produced some good racing in the past for both GPVWC Superleague and Supercup races. In team and driver news, there were a few changes on the grid, the most notable being the appearance of Supercup championship contender and Midnight Motorsport reserve driver Alex Cooper on the grid for the first time in Superleague, in place of regular driver Nick Rowland. With talk of Cooper possibly moving to Superleague full-time for the 2013 season, this move only heightened the speculation around the paddock. There was quite a surprising signing in the form of Latvian Supercup driver Andrejs Pestovs, who would be appearing for Nordsjoen Racing, alongside regular driver Pavel Loknovski. Whether this is just a one-off appearance for Pestovs or not remains to be seen, but the move appeared to surprise a few people in the GPVWC, who had expected Bart De Vos to finish out the season. Zandvoort also saw the return to the cockpit for Keith Storrie at Draig Racing. Now no longer partnered by Lee Morris, Storrie and Kenney Lybeer would hope to change the fortunes of the lately struggling Draig outfit. Chris Williamson took to the track for his Nijo Racing team, in place of Ben Warren, who will return to the Superleague for the next race. Finally, Vinodh Moodley returned for Hawkeye Racing, replacing Lewis Redshaw.

Qualifying has been the championship leader Lukas Euler's domain this season, with a perfect run of pole positions. The young German once again didn't disappointing, taking his tally to an unbelievable thirteen out of thirteen pole positions. He was pushed extremely hard all the way though by Red Archer driver Ojay Clark, who finished just 0.047 seconds behind Euler. Alex Cooper proved he had the speed on low fuel, qualifying an impressive third place on his debut, ahead of Dave Carr-Smith in fourth, and Jamez Shepherd in fifth. Heesterbeek, Cattell, Parker, Loknovski and Storrie rounded out the top ten. Andrejs Pestovs qualified twenty-first on his Superleague debut for Nordsjoen Racing.

Before the race, tyre wear was pinpointed by many of the drivers as a key factor in the outcome of the Dutch Grand Prix, and it was Dave Carr-Smith for Green Stripes Racing who trumped everyone, and pulled off a three stop strategy to great effect, taking his second win of the season. Jamez Shepherd also ran a three stop strategy, and took home an impressive second place, fifteen seconds back from Carr-Smith. Lukas Euler admitted he just didn't quite have the pace to mix it with Carr-Smith, and although slightly disappointed with third place, he was still happy to add more championship points to his tally, and move ever closer to winning the driver's championship. Ojay Clark ran close with Euler, but wasn't able to beat him, and is still looking for his first podium of the season for himself and Red Archer.

Ruud Heesterbeek took home more valuable points for Nijo Racing in fifth place, while debutant Alex Cooper had to settle for sixth place after a slightly troubled race. Nevertheless, a sixth place finish is still an impressive start for the Englishman. Pavel Loknovski took a solid seventh place for Nordsjoen Racing, his first points finish since Turkey. David Jundt finished in eighth for Red Archer, Tom Parker took home more points for Woods Racing in ninth, and a delighted Mark Wicks took home the final point in tenth for himself and his Kernow Sport team. Everyone in the paddock was delighted for Mark, who has had a tough season, and a point is a great reward for the hard working team boss.

With Rowland not racing, Lukas Euler's podium finish has seen him extend his lead to a massive thirty-three points over his teammate, and surely only something disastrous can prevent the German from claiming his first GPVWC Superleague championship. Rowland may have to start looking over his shoulder for his second place thanks to the charging Dave Carr-Smith, now twenty-five points behind his former Midnight Motorsport teammate. The now retired Lee Morris remains in fourth place, with Jamez Shepherd in fifth place, and fully expecting to pass Morris in the coming few races.

Heesterbeek's consistent points finishes sees him remain in sixth place, sixteen points ahead of Ojay Clark and Simon Cattell who share seventh. The retired Consiglio and Tanskanen are ninth and tenth respectively, but are being closed down all the time by the likes of Loknovski, Jundt and Parker. Another double points finish for the Constructors champions Midnight Motorsport sees their points tally just ten points shy of the three-hundred mark, while Carr-Smith's win moves Green Stripes Racing into second place, ahead of the now struggling Draig Racing who slip to third. Draig are likely to come under serious pressure from Red Archer and Nordsjoen, who now lie five and twelve points respectively behind the Welsh outfit. Nijo and Hawkeye share the spoils in sixth place, while Kernow Sport remain in eighth place. Woods Racing stay ninth, and the defunct Red 5 Racing round out the top 10.