DUTCH SUPERCAR / MOSLER CHALLENGE Assen Final 26.10.08

The last weekend of the Dutch Supercar Challenge sees the field in Assen for the two final races. Martin Short had the chance to take the overall championship as well as the inaugural Mosler Challenge title.


Slotted behind the championship rival's Viper on the grid, Short to his Mosler from fourth to second at the start as the Viper jostled with the pole placed Arjan van der Zwann. With Cor Euser taking the lead, Short knew he'd have to push hard to make the most of the early part of the race, as penalty seconds at the pitstop would diminish any time cushion he could build up.


An accident on the pit straight saw the safety car deployed and the field having to drive to pitlane as a diversion. Four laps of this saw Short's time advantage eroded. When the lights went green again, Short knew he'd have to push Euser hard and eventually took the Marcos on lap 8. With just three clear laps before the mandatory pitstop, Short planted pedal to metal in an attempt to mitigate the ensuing time penalties.


After the stops, Martin Short was down in tenth place; Berry van Elk had clawed his way from the back of the grid to sixth and the KRM car was looking masterful as Ian Flux took the wheel in third. There in fourth was the ETEC Viper, Short knowing that he needed to close the gap to have a chance to taking the title today. Pushing hard often comes at a price, though, and the factory Mosler span out on the fastest corner of the track. Short kept the Mosler out of the wall and back into the race, but now had even more catch-up work to do amongst the backmarkers.


The Moslers continued their steady ascent. Ian Flux took second place from Cor Euser and Berry van Elk fought his way up to fifth. Short was taking things steady when the day took an incredible turn; the ETEC Viper suffered a blown engine and was out of the race. As he passed his stricken rival, Short knew that eighth place or better would give him enough points to take the championship.


He began carving back upfield and reached seventh by the last lap. Up front, Ian Flux in second pushed the leading DTM Audi TTR hard, the latter spinning in the Strubben hairpin allowing KRM to take the race win. Berry van Elk also pulled out an overtake to claim fourth spot. Martin Short dropped a place in a nervous finish but eighth was enough to take the 2008 Dutch Supercar Challenge title.

Race two may have seemed anti-climatic with the title now decided. Instead, heavy rain livened up the last Assen race.

Berry van Elk suffered clutch problems again before the start, though thankfully they were fixed to allow him a start from the second row. With KRM on pole in and Martin Short looking to put in a champion's finish to the season, the scene was set for a classic Mosler tussle up front.


By turn one, Short was already up to fourth and had the lead the end of the first lap. Cor Euser harried him for eight laps, the Marcos eventually gaining the upper hand.


The other Moslers were having a mixed race - Berry van Elk running wide and beaching, then Ian Flux doing likewise. But Harry Mecke kept up a great wet pace and finished fifth overall.


Short was happy to let the ETEC Viper past as he brought the factory car home in third place, another race podium and another Mosler Challenge win for the Dutch GT champion.

Photos (c) Marc de Waart and Robbert Maas, www.supercarchallenge.nl