(25-26 MAY 2024)
Image: Porsche 944 S2 (Arnold and Christian Noret/Jacques Colibet). (c) Tchaul photographies and V de V Sports
Next weekend, the new Endurance VHC season prepared by V de V Sports will kick off in Spain on the Navarra circuit. Around 20 crews are expected to race in the first of the three meetings including the 2 Tours de Horloge at the beginning of November, the high point of the year
Located less than an hour's drive from Pamplona, capital of the Navarra region, an autonomous community in northern Spain, the eponymous circuit is considered one of the best on the Iberian Peninsula with a 4-kilometre long track homologated FIA Grade 1 and Grade 2 allowing it to host Formula 1 tests. Opened in 2010, it has superb infrastructures including 32 first-class garages, 17 hospitality suites and 27,500 m² of asphalt paddock space. After being taken over by the MotorSport Vision group owned by former British Formula 1 driver Jonathan Palmer, the layout has continued to evolve with the recent resurfacing of the track and the modification of Turn 6 aimed at making it faster.
The programme for the first edition of the 6 Hours of Navarra reserved for Historic Competition Cars includes a 2-hours free practice session on Saturday morning, a 1-hour qualifying session on Saturday afternoon followed by the race on Sunday from 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.
Around twenty crews are expected on the starting grid at the wheel of Touring and GT cars and Sport-Prototypes, which marked the glory days of Endurance. Among them, the winning duo of the 2023 VHC Endurance Challenge, Paul and Matthieu Chateaux, who will be back to defend their title. The former at the wheel of the family BMW 635 CSI that he will share with Axel de Ferran. The latter in a Chevron B16 in which he had his first outing last year at the end of the season in the 2 Tours d'Horloge, which will also be driven by Pascal Gerbout.
The Wassermann Racing team that finished second in the 2023 VHC Endurance Challenge with Thierry Mathez, is also on the entry list with a BMW 323i entrusted to Eric Wassermann/Olivier Huez and a BMW M3 E30 for Guy Burnichon/Romain Rocher. Third in the 2023 VHC Endurance Challenge, there is no way Eric Van de Vyver (creator/organiser of the 2 Tours d’Horloge and the concept of Endurance races reserved for Historic Competition Cars) could miss the first meeting of the season. He will team up with Patrick Brossard at the wheel of the Team V de V TVR Griffith 200.
A FULL GRID
The Atlantic Racing team will turn up with two cars: a BMW 635 Super Production for Jean-Marie Belletest/Pierre Aviron-Violet/José Oliveira and a twin-rotor Chevron B16 for Romain Belleteste/Christophe Gadais. The Belgian HYRACING team of Brice Pineau and Olivier Muytjens has also entered two cars: a Shelby Cobra Daytona for Olivier Muytjens/Brice Pineau and a Porsche 911 3.0 RS for Jean-Paul Petit/Jacques Roucolle /Brice Pineau. An Elva MK8 driven by Marc Alloend - Bessand /Yann Le Calvez and a Ford Mustang crewed by Stéphane and Baptiste Guyot-Sionnest/Kilian Noël will defend the colors of Team WKMR. Likewise, the CAS Racing outfit has entered two cars: a Porsche 944 Turbo for Benjamin and Maeva Moussion as well as a 944 Turbo Cup for Dimitri and Boris Bouic.
The team managed by Alain Cudini, former French Touring Car champion with thirteen participations in the 24 Hours of Le Mans, has entered a Porsche 944 S2 for Arnold and Christian Noret/Jacques Colibet.
Among other Porsches on the entry list is the 930 3.0 SC from GT Classic entrusted to Philippe Baert/Stéphane Moreau, Team BERSI’s 930 3.0 RS for Damien Kohler/José Da Rocha, the Le Duigou Racing 964 Cup for Philippe Burel/Victor Fernandes/Rudy Burot, the CSP Le Mans 964 for Pierre Le Flem/Bruno Vieren/mArc Chatellier as well as the 964 run by Vintage Motorsport for Mickaël Desmaele/Grégory Lecaude/Ulric Amado.
And last but not least the TVR Tuscan Challenge that clinched pole position and third place in the race in Barcelona last year entrusted to Christophe Laberty/Sébastien Mathieu.
All in all, a full grid for the first round of the season
The competition will be open to cars from the following groups
GT Group:
Periods E, F (1947-1965)
Periods G1, G2, H1, H2, I, J1 and J2 (1966-1990)
- Group 3: Series Production GTs
- Group 4: Competition GTs
- Group 5: Groups 1-4 Special Production Cars
- Saloon Cars
- Group B competition GTs
Touring group:
Periods E, F (1947-1965)
Periods G1, G2, H1, H2, I, J1 and J2 (1966-1990)
- Group 1: Series Production Touring Cars
- Group 2: Competition Touring Cars
- Group 5: Groups 1-4 Special Production Touring Cars
- Saloon Cars
- Group N: Series Production Touring Cars
- Group A: Competition Touring Cars
Sports Prototypes Group:
Periods E, F (1947-1965)
Period GR (de 1966-1971)
- SP 1: -2L Sports Prototypes
- SP 2: +2L Sports Prototypes
Period HR (1972-1976)
- SP 3: 2L Sports Prototypes
- SP 4: +2L Sports Prototypes
Sports 2000 until 1986 admission on application, without aerodynamic appendices, complying with SRCC Sports 2000 Historic, SRCC Sports Pinto regulations and appendix 3 of these regulations “Technical criteria Sport 2000.”
