DUTCH SUPERCAR CHALLENGE: Nurburgring April 21-22nd 2007

Whilst I was at Donington with my Dad, just about to be mesmerised by Moslers, a pair of them were competing in the first race of the Dutch Supercar Challenge at the Nurburgring.

Two full-time teams drive Moslers in the GT division of this championship. The Woodcock team of brothers Gary and Michael run a MT900R (chassis no.2, previously owned by Perspective Racing). They're an British team which isn't unusual for DSC - over twenty of them compete either full or part time in the 2007 championship. Here's their Mosler, numbered 114.


Harry Mecke is the other full-time Mosler competitor in this championship. He runs car no. 151.



Appearing later in the year for some races will be the Rollcentre pairing of Ian Flux and Kevin Riley, who also compete in the British GT.

Race One:

An all Mosler sixth row as the Woodcocks qualified 11th and Harry Mecke 12th. The Woodcocks worked their way up to a seventh place finish but Harry Mecke didn't appear to have started the race (from what I can work out from the DSC results pages)

Race Two:

Now then, my Dutch isn't good enough to understand how DSC qualifying for the second race works. Anyone who can help, please comment on the story to let me know :-)

What I do know is that Harry Mecke finished 24th and the Woodcocks went out on lap ten :-(

One thing to add - the Dutch Supercar Challenge website is probably the best GT racing site I've seen, very comprehensive albeit in Dutch only. Excellent videos as well, downloads of 20-30 minute review programmes and it's all FREE! Take a look at http://www.supercarchallenge.nl/

Photos are (c) Roel Loewers (Woodcocks) and Martijn Feller (Mecke); plenty more excellent photos of theirs can be seen at the DSC website mentioned above.

BELCAR: Donington Park, 21st - 22nd April 2007

My first taste of Mosler action - actually, the first time I saw them they weren't even moving. It was the chance to get up close and personal to the cars that made me really appreciate them.

After testing at Rockingham, Gravity were hoping for much better things - and that's what they got. Their Moslers bagged the front row, with Radermecker and Lambert taking pole in 1:08.994


Radermecker led from pole in the 104 lap race in the DHL Mosler, followed by Anthony Kumpen in the PK Corvette Z06. It was all change after the pitstop, though; a refuelling problem slowed up the Mosler changeover and Bert Longin took the Corvette out of the pits first and into a thirty-second lead.

Despite close racing, it looked as if Stephane Lemeret was going to have to settle for second. Then, on the penultimate lap, `Longin began to slow down with engine problems. Lemeret seized his chance and overtook the Corvette to take Gravity Mosler's first Belcar win. Longin hung on for second place against the rapidly-advancing Aston of Ron Marchal.

As well as the win, the DHL Mosler clocked the fastest race lap of 1:09.500 during Radermecker's stint.

A maiden Mosler win was tempered by ill-fortune for the other runners. The other Gravity Mosler slipped from second to sixth before Christian Kelders span out on the gravel on lap 86. The G&A car dropped out after a crash on lap 70.

Hopefully this will be the first of many Belcar Mosler victories.

Photos (c) the-paddock.net

INTERNATIONAL GT: Vallelunga Aprl 21st-22nd 2007

The opening weekend of the International GT saw one Mosler in action; Jose Aicart and Lucas Guerrero ( last year's runners up) driving for GTA.


For race one (Pro Am) the Mosler qualified in 7th and retired on lap 10 with damage to rear of the car after contact.

Race two (GT Open) saw plenty of excitement; having qualified in sixth, Guerrero fought through the field to take the lead.


He held on until the penultimate lap when, braking hard into a corner, he ran the Mosler wide and onto the grass. Montermini, in a Playteam Ferrari 430, dived inside to take the lead and the chequered flag, leaving Guerrero to rejoin and finish in fourth, behind Max Busnelli (Playteam Ferrari) and Joel Camathias (Autorlando Porsche 997).

But more drama was to unfold; both Montermini and Camathias were given a 25-second time penalty for lapping previously under the yellow flag. which promoted the Mosler up into second and Max Busnelli's Ferrari as race winners.

Photos (c) gtamotor.com

BRITISH GT: Donington Park, April 21st - 22nd 2007

My first trip to a GT race and what an introduction!

With Belcar visiting Donington this weekend as well, there were five Moslers to be seen muscling around the National circuit.

The British GT saw the return of the Rollcentre Mosler, driven by Kevin Riley and Ian Flux. They seemed eager to impress; Eclipse looked ready to improve on Oulton.

Race One:

A qualifying session full of thrills & spills saw Craig Cole take third fastest in the Eclipse Mosler with Rollcentre having to settle for 12th. But it was all change in the race; Eclipse held third until lap ten before having to pit with a failed wheel inner. That cost them dearly, eventually finishing 16th and two laps down. Meanwhile, Ian Flux was flying through the field. He set the fastest race lap of 1:10.708 and brought Rollcentre home in fourth, having held third for a time earlier on.



Race Two:

Clearly fancying their chances after just missing a race one podium, Rollcentre carried on where they left off and claimed third on the grid. In a reversal of fortune, Eclipse managed only 13th place - the two teams almost the mirror image of Saturday's qualifying.

Flux was taken by Bentwood's Aston on the first lap and then traded fourth with a Trackspeed Porsche. Riley took over and brought Rollcentre home in 8th place, thirty seconds behind the winning Barwell Aston.

But it was more disappointment for Eclipse. A slipped alternator belt led to a cooked engine as the water pump failed and, just like their second Oulton outing, had to retire on lap 13.


Photos (c) dailysportscar.com

BRITISH GT: Oulton Park, 7th - 9th April 2007

The British season was already underway by the time I became interested in GT but I was able to track down reports from the internet and watch race highlights on Channel 4.

The opening rounds of the 2007 championship saw just one Mosler in action, run by the Eclipse team from Nottinghamshire.

Race One:

Brothers Eliot and Craig Cole qualified 7th fastest in a time of 1:45.331, two and a half seconds behind the Barwell Aston of Drayson & Cocker. The Mosler took 11th place in 1:02:11.208, thirty-nine seconds behind the winning Ferrari 430 of Christians In Motorsport.

Race Two:

Problems in qualifying saw the Eclipse team start from the back of the grid. Things soon got better, with Craig Cole moved up from 23rd to 8th. But, with the drizzly weather causing problems for a number of drivers, the good run didn't last. Unlucky for Craig, he span out on lap 13 and damaged the rear. After pitting and swapping drivers, the Mosler was retired on lap 17.

Here's hoping for better luck at Donington!

Photos (c) Peter May and dailysportscar.com

BELCAR: Zolder, 2nd April 2007

As with the British GT, there had already been a Belcar race before I got to know about the championship, but there's plenty of press reports and Pitstop.TV for catching up on what I've missed.

Two Mosler MT900R GT3's run in Division 1 for new team Gravity International Racing. Last year's MT900R (second in its class in 2006) runs in Divison 3 Belcar Specials for G&A.

The 'DHL' liveried Mosler of Vincent Radermecker and Stephane Lemeret qualified second on the grid.


Also starting for Gravity was the 'Gordons' sponsored car of Christian Kelders and Yves Lambert. The G&A car was driven by Guino Kenis and Michael de Keersmaecker.


Sadly, it was a short-lived race for the Moslers.

Four laps in, the DHL Mosler began to leak fluid and retired. The Gordons car lasted until lap 8 before retiring with the same problem. G&A also retired, completing seven laps.

Photos (c) the-paddock.net

SPANISH GT: Jarama 31st March - 1st April 2007

The Spanish GT season kicked off in Jarama at the end of March; I've been able to club together this summary from info at the Spanish GT website.

Four Moslers are in action this season. One of the favourites for the championship has to be Motor Competicion, running car number 7 driven by International GT competitors Luis Villalba and Franscesc Gutierrez.


They were the most successful of the Moslers, gaining the marques' only podium place in race 2:

Race 1, qualified 5th, finished 10th.
Race 2, qualified 15th, finshed 3rd.

More often seen competing in British GT but occasionally racing on the continent is car 17, the Rollcentre Mosler of Kevin Riley and Ian Flux.


They struggled to find form through the weekend:

Race 1, qualified 10th, finished 29th
Race 2, qualified 35th, finished 32nd

Santiago Garcia steps up to GTA class this year in car 22 with co-driver Sergio Hernandes von Rekwos.


They also had an indifferent weekend;

Race 1, qualified 13th, out of the race on lap 20
Race 2, qualified 35th, finished 30th

The last Mosler on the grid this weekend was car 19, of Manuel and Pedro Mello Breyner.


After a poor first race, they claimed the second highest finish for a Mosler that weekend;

Race 1, qualified 41st, finished 23rd
Race 2, finished 10th

I've certainly got high hopes for Motor Competicion to do well in both Spanish and International GT; Santiago Garcia could also be surprising in his debut GTA season.

Mosler Lover

Saturday 21st April 2007, mid-morning. Outside the Avon Tyres hospitality tent. There they were; twins, but easy to tell apart. One with straw blonde streaks, one with flame red.

All sleek curves and hard bodies, inviting middle-aged men across to take photos. Having just seem them perform so well together, you wanted to get closer, feel the heat rising from their bodies. And that heady scent of.... hot engine oil, burnt tyres and fried onions from the burger stall.

Moslers. It was love at first sight :-)

My first day at a motorsport event; British GT and Belcar at Donington Park. Everything was impressive, even for a non-driver like me. My Dad was smitten. Heritage cars, Formula 3... but it was the GT's that really got you going; Ferrari, Porsche, Aston... but my Dad and I were hooked on the Mosler. Never seen a car like that before.

So, we followed the Mosler's progress in both championships avidly - even the bio-fuel Barwell and silver 007 Astons didn't get me nearly as excited as the muscular Mosler.

And so, Mosler Lover was born, to keep tabs on this supercar's progress through the 2007 European GT racing calendar.

Enjoy!