DSC / Mosler Challenge Nurburgring 19-20th April 2008

In a busy weekend for European GT racing, this was perhaps the premier event. The Nurburging played host to the first round of the Dutch Supercar Challenge, which this season incorporates the Mosler Challenge.

With too few entrants to justify a grid of their own just yet, the Moslers raced with the rest of the GT pack to win points towards their own Challenge championship as well as the DSC overall titles.



Free practice on the Friday saw three of the four fastest GT entries from the Mosler marque. Martin Short, owner of Rollcentre Racing and the man behind the production of the GT3 car, set the fastest Mosler lap time. Less than half a second seperated Short from two other Moslers, with Kevin Riley & Ian Flux just edging out the Eigner pairing of Harry Mecke & Roland Rehfeld. The two other Challenge entrants finished a little further down the page, debut driver Berry van Elk looking promising and the brothers Woodcock bringing up the rear.


Saturday qualifying saw thick fog greet the gathered guests, including the man behind the marque, Warren Mosler. Roland Rehfeld used his knoweldge of the 'Ring to his advantage and slotted the Eigner car into the top spot. KRM sat at Rehfeld's right hand, with Short and the Woodcocks futher back. And way, way back was Berry van Elk, courtesy of his left front wheel going for a runabout by itself. If only he has the chance to take the matter up with whoever builds these things....


For the first race, the fog was still sticking to the circuit as the safety car took the pack around, hoping the weather would lift and let the racing get underway. Sadly, it was not to be - three laps around and the race was cancelled, the fog deemed too hazardous for racing in. Disappointment all round, then, for whay was shaping up to be a barnstorming opener to the Challenge.


Sunday saw early fog blazed away by sunnier weather, so the Challenge was back on! Moslers were spread right across the grid, Harry Mecke up in second, the KRM car in the top ten and the others strung out through the field, Berry van Elk starting from the back after his wheel-nut-wrenching escapades the day before.



Mecke got the drop on the pole Porsche as the lights went green but his lightning start was tempered by the need for thunderous braking, several places then being lost as the pack ripped around.


A superb drive by Cor Euser saw the Marcos LM600 take the chequered flag less than a second in front of the Audi DTM of Ardi van der Hoek and Arjan van der Zwaan. And, third overall and winner of the first Mosler Challange, were.... Kevin Riley and Ian Flux!
Second place in the challenge and fifth overall were the Eigner pairing of Mecke and Rehfeld, with the last Mosler Challenge podium place taken by a certain M.Short....


Berry van Elk rounded out his adventurous debut with a 19th place finish. The Woodcocks managed an unlucky thirteen laps before having to retire.

So, five Moslers eventually got the Challenge underway. Joining them for the next round will be Go-To-One Racing (who were over in England winning the G2 class at the FIA GT in Silverstone). And with seven Moslers under construction at Rollcentre, we could be looking forward to ten cars on the grid towards the back end of the season.

Next stop, Spa: I'll be doing whatever I can to get over there for what is shaping up to be a great, great race.

Thanks to Jeroen van Wissen for all the photos (except the podium shot, thanks to Robert Maas)