Bernard Delhez, Dominik Kraihamer and Nicolas De Crem will try to do as good as at Spa for the 1000 kms, where they finished at the second position.

Here, in Algarve, we now have 35 degrees, the track is very very hot.

Yesterday, the free practices,

today, the qualifying session and the 6 hours race. 

4 cars to start the race, 3 cars to finish the race, 1 car had gearbox problem.

25 hours of happyness  !

A wonderful car, a top decoration, a warm welcome, a realy professionnal team.

We directly felt at home

And such a wonderful job : no time to rest, the team was always listening to our requests. It was wonderful !

A "hot" race, in all terms, on the track, and in the stand, thanks for the nice showers we had in the paddock !

We would like to book for next year !

Thanks to everybody !!!

Gilles Bindels, the Fun Cup driver of the "Pain Quotidien" car.

Let's go for the longest race of the world ..

First qualifying session :

Qualif 1

We are now at mid-season, after Spa, Brno, Magny-Cours and Budapest :

The "Megane Team 2010",

From left to right  : Vito Rodrigues, Fabien Thuner, Georges Kaczka, Caroline Grifnée, Olivier Lainé, David Dermont and Dimitri Enjalbert.

Drivers ranking

5. Dimitri Enjalbert

8. Fabien Thuner

11. David Dermont

Team ranking  : 3rd  position

Collective test on Friday, at Budapest :

2 weeks ago, at MagnyCours, we were freezing, here, it so warm.. 35 degrees and no fresh air ..

Collective tests 1 :

8. David Dermont

9. Dimitri Enjalbert

16. Fabien Thuner, (problems on his car)

20. Caroline Grifnée and Vito Rodrigues

Collective tests 2 :

7. Dimitri Enjalbert

9. Fabien Thuner

10. David Dermont

19. Caroline Grifnée and Vito Rodrigues

Pit-stop and refueling exercices yesterday evening ..

Let's go to the circuit of Hungaroring .. in Hungary. 

The news follow ..

Saturday 26 of June  :

Johan-Boris Scheier has realised the 5th best time to start the Sprint Race. He will finish at the 4th position. The podium was not far..

Sunday 27 of June  :

Endurance race : Jobo takes the 4th place .. but keeps the leading of the championship !!!

First free practices today, Johan-Boris Scheier has been touched by another driver during the session,... he well succeeds to realize the 3rd best time !

Qualifying session and Sprint race, are on the agenda of  tomorrow, Saturday.

Endurance race is planned for Sunday.

see you tomorrow,

Wonderful 4th position for Fabien Thuner !!

Another emotion day  !!!

Qualif 1 :

Qualifying session stopped by a red flag. after 2 laps, because of the crash from another team. ..

After 10 minutes, the qualifying session restart. But there is now an heavy rain. Nobody can be quicker ..

Dimitri had realised the 2nd time, Fabien is 6th, David, is 10th and Vito start from the 19th position.

Race 1 :

It is no more raining  but the track is still very wet. 

Slick or rain tires ? it is very difficult to make the choice. 

The 6 first drivers, (Dimitri and Fabien) are in slick tires, but David and Vito have the wet tires.

Unfortunately, .. Dimitri goes out in the first lap, he is in the gravelbed.

He will start at the latest position. But a few laps later, he receives the black flag. He couldn't start the race after being helped ..

The race continues for the other drivers :

Fabien Thuner realizes a wonderful race, as after his first points at Brno, he will finish at the 4th position.  3rd best lap time in race !

Wonderful 4th position for Fabien Thuner

David, has been pushed in the first lap,  he lost a lot of time and will finish in 9th position, and gets 2 points !

Vito, continues to learn the Megane, he is 13th. 

Well... there is another qualifying session and the Race 2 tomorrow..

Congratulations Jobo and Georges !

Our 3 Formula Le Mans drivers,
from left to right
Dominik Kraihamer, Bernard Delhez and Nicolas De Crem

Megane - Spa

First race stopped and cancelled !


The first Eurocup Megane Trophy race has been stopped due to a red flag. As a result of a technical problem during the start procedure, the Race Directors have decided to stop and cancel the first Eurocup Megane Trophy race of the season.

Red lights and then yellow lights. No green lights for the start of the race.

The poleman missed the start and finds himself at the 12^th position, Dimitri Enjalbert , thinking of a "false" start, is fifth at the first  corner. He began his ascent. He is in third position when he is back in the pits  for his mandatory pitstop.  David Dermont is 9th, Caroline Grifnée hits Fabien Thuner when passing him at the source corner They are 10 and 11^th position.

The podium was not more far for Dimitri.

Suddenly, the race has been  stopped with red flag. Following the complaint of some teams about the starting procedure, and following the decision of the race directors, the race has been canceled.

 Tomorrow morning new qualifying session and race in the afternoon.

World Series by Renault - Eurocup Megane Trophy


Let's meet at Spa for the first round of the season, on 1st and 2nd May.

The collective test sessions are planned on Friday morning and afternoon.
Qualifying sessions and races, on Saturday and Sunday.



4 Cars for our team

Number 4 :   David Dermont
Number 5 :   Caroline Grifnee & Vito Rodrigues
Number 6 :   Fabien Thuner
Number 70 : Dimitri Enjalbert


We are now loading the cars and material...

Cars ready ....!
	David Dermont, visiting the workshop, before the collective tests of Friday
.

Let's meet them at Spa, during the World Series by Renault,
  on 1st and 2nd of May, 2010.

Nicolas De Crem, our new Formula Le Mans driver

The Formula Le Mans Championship will be integrated to the ELMS Championship for 2010, 5 races meetings :

- The 8 Hours race  at Le Castellet
- 1000 Kms at Spa-Francorchamps,
   please keep the dates in your agenda : 8 - 9  May 2010
- 1000 kms at Portimao - Portugal - evening race
- 1000 kms at Budapest - Hungary - evening race
- 1000 kms at Silverstone

  We will keep you informed, of course..

Nicolas De Crem will discover Portimao, during next summer.

“Pantiatici’s starting tactics did not allow me to overtake him on the first corner, which was perhaps the only chance I had to be able to control the race. In any case, it would have been difficult to hold the advantage with the set-up I had later in the wet conditions. I must be quite content with my first podium in the first season racing this engine class and thank the Boutsen Energy team and our new Austrian co-operation partner PHI Premium Oil for giving me the enormous support I have.”

“Unfortunately, the damage to the car from Norbert’s crash was not able to be repaired in such a short time so therefore we could not participate in the following one-hour endurance race as planned together. With his limited experience in this kind of car, Norbert was already on the way to being very fast and we would have had a genuine chance for victory.”

Pay attention to the "pivot" time,..1.34 for the practices but 1.35 in the race.
l

Dimitri Enjalbert: “It’s a long track. It took me some time to get things sorted, but at the end of the day we’re in pretty good shape. In my opinion the title is still to go for. You never know what can happen in a final when the stakes are high. It’s up to me to seize any opportunity I may get. In any event, I’ve got to go for the win and nothing less.” 

10 x 2 free tickets to win  !!!

This means 20 chances to take part at the big final of the BTCS and GT Championships at Zolder, Saturday 24 and Sunday 25 of October ! 

The first 10 persons sending a mail to :

contact@boutsenenergy.com

with subject "The big final at Zolder"
will receive the 2 free tickets.

Good luck !!!

At the same moment, the Mazda will take part to the last 2 races of the BTCS championship at the circuit of Zolder. 



Let's cross the fingers ..
Our drivers will be Joakim Lambotte and Stéphane Lemeret.
  .
 

Joakim : "This week-end has been very difficult due to the wheather conditions. After 2 very good starts, (I was in 3rd and 4th position), i have penalised by 2 drive trough.

No chance for a podium, no second place for the general classification.

During this season, I have had very nice but also very difficult moments. However, even if the final classification is not as good as i was hoping, I would like to thank the team members for their fanstastic job.

Strongly next season !".

A lot of people this week-end at Nurburgring for the Clio Cup, as the German and Italian Clio drivers were participating to our Championship. 
A first busy race with a lot of crashes, and runaways and twice the safety car during the race.
Joakim finished twice at the second position.
Nicolas Metairie was the first Junior for the second race.

Joakim : "It was very important for me to get better results after my difficult week-end at Zolder last week. I am happy with my 2 podiums but I really wanted to win to thank my mechanics for their fantastic job. I will do all what I can during next races to become Vice-Champion."


Nicolas : "It was a difficult week-end as i didn't know the track. I had some engine problem during the firt race. I am impatient to go back to Spa for the last meeting of the season"

General classification, Joakim is now 3rd and Nicolas 5th. 
Junior classification : Nicolas is second.
Last Clio races, within 2 weeks at Spa.

Enjalbert, this is our man this season,
the Boutsen-Energy-Racing, the recordteam of the pitstops  ...
David Dermont, was very quick during the practices and qualifying sessions but had to abandon during the races, Margot and Marlene are 14th and 17th.

Race 1 :

Dimitri Enjalbert :"It's a circuit i'm very happy on, so i'm delighted with this win. I got off to a good start which allowed me to get past Verschuur. I pushed hard at the start of the race to put some space between us. I had to be extra careful towards the end of the race as there was a lot of gravel on the track. It's my sixth win, we'll see what happens tomorrow, but i have even higher hopes for the championship now."

Race 2 :

Dimitri Enjalbert : «It has been a perfect weekend.! With seven wins, we set a new record in Eurocup Megane Trophy. And the season isn't over yet ! I didn't get a great start but we made up for that during the pit-stop. At the end of the race, i just held on. We've had a great car during all week-end. »

Race 1 : 1. Nicolas Metairie ab : Joakim Lambotte
	Race 2 : 5. Nicolas Metairie 10. Joakim Lambotte

 Nicolas : "It was a very good week-end with a super Victory for Race 1. I am very happy because we have worked a lot. And I would like to thank the team. Race 2 was more difficult as I missed my start. But I finish at the 5th position, which remains correct. I am impatient to race at Nurburgring, I like this kind of circuit. I hope I can win again."

Joakim Lambotte : « For me, this week-end has been very frustrating, as we were good in terms of performance.  My abandon in the second race costs me a lot, for the championship.  But, as it is not yet finished, and as I still do have chances for the championship, I will do my best to win during next meeting.

Nicolas Metairie : "I am happy after this week-end, even if  I didn't win the race. The work of the team and engineers, and the advises of experimented drivers (as Dimitri Enjalbert) help me a lot. I would like to thank them, and I also would like to thank the mechanics for their job. I am impatient to drive again."
Formula Le Mans - Nurburgring - 23/08/09

Dimitri Enjalbert: “My tyres were still cold when I arrived in the first corner as we had only one formation lap. In addition, we‘ve had brake problems since the start of the weekend as the pedal’s soft. These two factors caused me to go straight on at the start. Once I got to grips with the brake pedal I was able to fight back. I passed Mathieu and then caught Nico. I was in the lead when I handed over to Gary. He quickly understood how the brake pedal worked and it wasn’t too big a problem for him. We finished third, which isn’t too bad. I hope we’ll be as satisfied this afternoon, but it’ll be difficult!”

Gary Chalandon: “I went out just in front of Gavin. I was told that the brakes were a bit tricky. I was very cautious as I didn’t want to visit the scenery despite a couple of nasty moments. I tried to hang on to third place to score a big haul of points, and the first rule in that case is to finish the race. Without our niggling problems we could have done better, but it’s pretty good overall. We’ll try and do as well this afternoon.”

Qualif 1 :
4th : Joakim Lambotte
12:  Nicolas Metairie

Qualif 2 :
8th: Joakim Lambotte
12:  Nicolas Metairie

Formula Le Mans - Nurburgring - 21/08/09
The POLE for Dimitri Enjalbert !!!

Qualif 1 :
1st : Dimitri Enjalbert
7th : Mathieu Cheruy

Qualif 2 :
6ème
6th: Dominik Kraihamer
9th : Gary Chalandon

Dimitri Enjalbert: “I just love this circuit. It’s the event I was really looking forward to, and I love driving this car. I was on the pace very quickly today, which wasn’t difficult as the car was very good. I think we’ll be on the podium in the first race tomorrow if I make a good start and open up a gap during my stint, and hand over to Gary with a good lead. We’ve been on the podium this year on several occasions, but we haven’t won yet: I hope we’ll do it tomorrow. And I think we can. I also hope that the weather will be fine especially as I didn’t run in the wet this morning in free practice.”

Dimitri Enjalbert: “We started further back today. Gary maybe took a little longer to get into the rhythm. After that he drove a superb race without the slightest mistake. When I got in I managed to carve my way up through the field fairly easily and scored the point for the fastest lap (officially the fastest lap was set by d’Ambrosio, but he was not allowed to score the point), and then I found myself behind Toulemonde. We had a great scrap and it was fun racing against him. I’d have liked to have won the battle but it wasn’t possible. Too bad! I can’t wait to be at the Nürburgring as it’s the circuit I like the most. It should be a good weekend for me!”

Dimitri Enjalbert: “Qualifying didn’t go off very well for us. Since then we’ve improved the

car’s handling, and that enabled me to fight my way up through the field in the opening

stages. After I handed over to Gary we were given a drive –through penalty ‐ it’s a pity! Too

bad for us! Gary is making more and more progress and that’s making things all the more

interesting. I hope we’ll be fighting for the podium again tomorrow.”

Gary Chalandon: “The track was getting hotter and hotter towards the end and the car

oversteered a lot. It wasn’t easy to keep Gavin behind me till the finish, but I managed.

Without the drive through, I think we could have had an even better result. I’m feeling

more and more at home in the car. Dimitri did a superb stint in the race, and we know what

we are capable of. I hope that we’ll be able to fight for podium finishes on a more regular

basis from now on.”

Dominik Kraihamer: “It’s my first time here and it’s a pretty amazing circuit. There are many corners without much visibility and in the race I think that’ll be a bit dangerous if there’s an accident. Everybody will have to be very careful. It’s all still very new for me as I drove the car for the first time at Le Mans and I’m slowly finding my feet. I haven’t yet worked out the right setup for the car, but we’re making progress with each lap. Tomorrow, the aim will be to finish on the rostrum. I’m still learning and all these efforts are good for my experience as my main aim is to prepare for the 2010 season.”

Johan-Boris Scheier: “It’s a real discovery! It’s not easy to find your marks as there are a lot of blind corners. Practice went off well even if we weren’t able to do a lot of setup work. But at Le Castellet, we did a lot of preparation for this event and we haven’t had any unpleasant surprises. Tomorrow, our aim will be a place on the front row.”

• Gary Chalandon will team up with Dimitri Enjalbert, (we still remember their podium at Spa for the first race...)
• Johan-Boris Scheier will be associated with the young Austrian driver  Dominik Kraihamer
• Thomas Duchêne will share the 3rd car with Damien Chanard

and our best wishes
  for your wedding !!!!

 

Dimitri Enjalbert: “I was very frustrated at having to retire before the start yesterday. Today, everything worked fine. The hardest moment of the race was the start. It’s always an incredible feeling to win in front of my family and friends. This will be a great memory for me.”

 

Dimitri Enjalbert : « Jonathan Hirschi était très rapide depuis ce matin. Ce n’était pas possible de faire un bon chrono sans chausser des gommes neuves, nous avons donc monté un train en fin de séance. La voiture est efficace, j’aime ce circuit où j’ai gagné l’année dernière. Cinq victoires consécutives ça me tente bien, je suis plus motivé que jamais. »

Sunday  : Race 2  4th VICTOIRY for  Dimitri !

Dimitri Enjalbert: “It’s been another perfect weekend! Giorgio Pantano was quicker than me at the start of the race, but we did a perfect pitstop and that gave me the win. Now I can head for Le Mans with bags of confidence, to try to do just as well there.”

Dimitri Enjalbert: “That’s done me a lot of good… I scored plenty of points for the championship, after a bad start in Barcelona. Then I was absent from Spa. So it will be really hard for me to go for the title, but I can hope and give it my best.“

Qualif 1	Qualif 2
3.   Dimitri Enjalbert 8.   David Dermont 16. Margot Laffite	2.  Dimitri Enjalbert 6.  David Dermont 16. Margot Laffite

1 race today, 1 race tomorrow.


Formula Le Mans - Le Mans - 13/06/09

The program for today : Collective Tests. Coll tests 1 : 5. Dimitri Enjalbert (juste after Pantano, GP2 Champion) 10. David Dermont 19. Margot Laffite Coll tests 2 : 3. Dimitri Enjalbert (behind Pantano..) 6. David Dermont 19. Marlene Broggi

Formula Le Mans - Le Mans  - 10-13/06/09

Qualif : 5. Chalandon - Kraihamer 6. Beltoise - Abergel 8. Ballay - Scheier

Johan Boris Scheier : « It is a extra ordinary track ... I am very happy to share the car with Pascal Ballay. It is a wonderful experience.. if we want to participate to the 24 Hours of Le Mans...one day.  Tomorrow, Pascal Ballay will start the race. This will allow him to be with the other drivers and to be in the good rythm."»

Gary Chalandon : « It is really not easy here. We don't have a lot of laps to learn..It is difficult to learn such a long track. ! The technical part of the track - the Porsche corners - need to be learned lap by lap. Yesterday, the wheather conditions were bad.. but today i have made a good qualifying session. »

BTCS - 12 H Spa - 4-5-6 June
Free practice
Mazda : 2nd position!!!

 David Dermont, Stéphane Lemeret and Joakim Lambotte will be our drivers for this long race.

Free practice : our Mazda is second after the Kia, and before the Renault Megane.
See you tomorrow ...

MAZDA RX 8 : DOUBLE VICTORY at Zolder for David Dermont and Ludovic Sougnez !!!!

Pole Position for the Qualif 1 … 2 Victories, on wet track for Race 1 on dry track for  Race 2, and best lap  !!!
	Olivier Lainé, David Dermont, Ludovic Sougniez

Finally, the Mazda RX 8 has won a race in the Belgian Touring Series Championship ..
  

Race 1 : pole position, Ludovic Sougnez is second after one lap, but takes the lead after a few minutes. It is raining. David Dermont will keep the gap when finishing the race in first position.... A lot of emotion for the team members and the drivers...

Race 2 : David, qualified 7th, has already some problem with the engine..He is 12th after one lap.. He will then drive like crazy and when Ludovic Sougnez takes the car, he is 4th position. Everybody is looking at the timing board.

Ludovic Sougnez becomes 3rd, and then second, and finish the race is FIRST position with a gap of 9 seconds. And the best lap...!!!!

Congratulations to the team members and drivers for their wonderful job  !!!

2 Clio for the Clio Cup Belgium (drivers : Joakim  Lambotte and Nicolas Metairie),
3 Megane for Eurocup Megane Trophy (drivers : David Dermont, Mickaël Rossi, Margot Laffite and Marlene Broggi)

Qualifying session has been stopped because of the rain; Mickael Rossi, who is replacing Dimitri Enjalbert, is 3rd and 2nd but got a penality. He will start from the rear of the grid for the 2 races !

Race 1 : abandon for Mickael Rossi, David Dermont finish 10, Marlene Broggi has been pushed in the last lap...
Race 2 : Rossi has to start from the rear of the grid, but is already 6th after 1 lap...After a few laps, he is just after the leader of the race; unfortunately, he spon.. and finish 3rd. David Dermont will be 6th after a very good race. Margot Laffite, will finish 12.
Next meeting in Hungary,Budapest, 13 and 14 of June

Nice start for our 2 Clio Cup Belgium drivers, Joakim Lambotte and Nicolas Metairie. Joakim will be leading the Race 1 for a few laps.. (and finish 4). Nicolas Metairie will have the second best lap in race.... for his first Clio race.
Next meeting : Spa, 5 and 6 June, together with the BTCS.

First podium of the year !!!

5th for the Qualifying session, the Mazda seems to be reliable. 
Race 1 : First podium for the team, as Renaud Derlot and Tony Samon, finish in the 3rd position !!!
Race 2 : Accident in the second race, a few minutes before the end of the race; ... The Mazda was then in second position....
Next BTCS meeting : 5 and 6 June for the 12 Hours in Spa...

Very good qualifying sessions for Dimitri Enjalbert, (second time and pole position), David is 9th and Margot is 19th.

Race 1 : It is raining on the starting grid !!.. It is necessary to put the wet tires .. Dimitri is leading the race for a few laps, .. but loose control of his car.. The race is over for him. A few laps later, it is the abandonment for David, his windshield is completely misted, he does'nt see anything anymore.