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Spa 24H: Marc VDS race report

MARC VAN DER STRATEN: A REWARDING RESULT FOR THE WHOLE TEAM Maxime Martin, Bas Leinders and Marc Duez brought home the Marc VDS Racing Team's Ford GT ...

Published: Aug 2, 2010, 5:10 AM

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MARC VAN DER STRATEN: A REWARDING RESULT FOR THE WHOLE TEAM

Maxime Martin, Bas Leinders and Marc Duez brought home the Marc VDS Racing Team's Ford GT #99 in 8th place overall in the Total 24 Hours of Spa 2010, and in the process claimed 2nd place in the GT3 category.

There were emotional scenes in the Marc VDS Racing Team garage this Sunday afternoon just after 16h00 when the Ford GT crossed the finishing line of the Total 24 Hours of Spa in 8th place.

"Our team achieved a very fine result," claimed the President of the eponymous team with tears in his eyes. "Last year, we were not rewarded for our efforts. This year, the team took delivery of the cars just three weeks before the 24 Hours. Our technicians have been working fourteen-hour days, seven days a week to adapt the Fords to the demands of a twice-round-the-clock event. I would like to thank each and every member of the VDS " family" for their extraordinary enthusiasm which enabled us to achieve this glorious result."

"If someone had said to us before the race that we would finish in second place in GT3, we would have more than settled for that," explained Jean-Michel Delporte, the Belgian team's manager. "This result belongs to the whole team. Well done to them all. But I am just a tiny bit disappointed. With five hours to go we were in 5th place overall and 1st in GT3. Unfortunately we had to replace the starter, which took about 20 minutes."

What they said:

Ford GT#99 (8th overall, 2nd in GT3)

Maxime Martin: "I'm very happy with the result. You must remember that the decision to enter this car in the 24 Hours was taken just three weeks ago. The team has done an excellent job and the car had no problems apart from a troublesome starter."

Bas Leinders: "It's true that we had briefly the perspective of winning the GT3 category with 5th place overall. But the disappointment will be short-lived. Our objective was to finish in the top ten and we are 8th. Well done to Maxime for the night stints on slicks in the rain."

Marc Duez: "A big thank you to Marc van der Straten for inviting me to join the team for this event. It was an enormous challenge. I haven't raced at such a high level for a long time, my teammates are very talented and I'm no spring chicken. But I think I did my job. I'm delighted with the final result."

Ford GT #98 (retired on the 249th lap)

Eric de Doncker: "It was a problem with the alternator which stopped our car at the exit to Blanchimont around four in the morning. At that time, Renaud (Kuppens) was at the wheel and we were in 13th place overall. Renaud tried jolting the alternator and the engine started again for a fraction of a second but then stopped for good. The stewards wanted to remove the car from this dangerous area, which is logical. But it's a shame because we weren't that far from the pit lane where our mechanics could have replaced the faulty part."

-source: marc vds

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