The Corvette DKRs sign the double

Under the Burgundian sun, the two Corvettes from Team DKR won the day. While Eric Debard and Kurt Mollekens took pole position in this first race, it was their teammates Jean-Claude Police and Laurent Cazenave who took the victory. The Saleen of Patrick Bornhauser and Laurent Groppi completes the podium.

Published on 10/05/2009 à 12:12

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This first race of the Dijon meeting highlighted the domination of Team DKR. While Olivier Panis was absent due to 1000 km of Spa, it was Kurt Mollekens who played the replacement alongside Eric Debard: “When I received a phone call on Tuesday to ask me to replace Olivier Panis, it was a great honor... I met my teammate yesterday and we got along well. »

As soon as the lights turn green, the fratricidal duel begins between Eric Debard and Jean-Claude Police. At the end of the straight, the clash turned to the advantage of Police, who widened the gap until the refueling point.

Stops for driver changes will then restore order to the hierarchy. After taking over from Wilfried Mérafina, Jean-Philippe Dayraut (Corvette SRT) finds himself in the bumper of Laurent Cazenave. The explanation is strong and the Toulouse man manages to get through. This duel will continue for a while. On the 34th lap, in the S de la Sablière, contact between the two C6.Rs is inevitable. The body of the leading Corvette does not emerge unscathed from this “approach” and rubs on the tire. Fearing a breakdown before passing the checkered flag, Jean-Philippe Dayraut preferred to reduce the pace and let go to finish the race in 6th position.

Kurt Mollekens took second place and the two Corvette DKRs won the double ahead of the Saleen of Bornhauser/Groppi, the Corvette of Hernandez/Ayari and the Saleen of Cormereche/Porta.

“DKR did a great job allowing a double. I lost a lot of time with latecomers then Jean-Philippe Dayraut came back very strong,” explains Cazenave. “As he overtook me on the climb, he lost a little traction, and we brushed against each other. I remained patient for a moment then I attacked and passed. The overtaking was manly but correct. Then, I was able to escape to victory. »

On the GT3 side, the Lamborghinis signed the double, with the first victory of the Peyroles / Thévenin duo ahead of the Tardif / Briché pair. The third step of the podium is occupied by the Audi R8 LMS shared by Yvan Lebon and Frank Biela. The five-time winner of 24 Hours of Le Mans let the experience speak for itself: “It?s a very good surprise to be there! The GT3s are very interesting and this circuit is fantastic. I knew him from Supertourisme in 1993? Oreca did a good job. We have a good car, but we still have to work. »