Inspired by the success of last year's International FIA GT3 Championship and based on the same balance of performance concept,  SRO's latest sports car series, the FIA GT4 European Cup, sees a diverse bunch of second-tier GT cars battling it out over five race weekends this year. After an inaugural double-header at Silverstone in May followed by another pair of races at Oschersleben earlier this month the FIA GT4 European Cup arrived in Spa this week for rounds five and six to support the 24 Hours of Spa. Two Maserati GranSport Trofeo racers from Team Giudici faced an array of sports cars including the Mustang FR500C, BMW Z4, Aston Martin N24, Lotus Exige and Porsche Cayman. Perennial veteran Italian racer Gianni Giudici has been edging the GranSport Trofeo closer to the front running pace all season and Spa saw the two Italian machines on the entry moving up the leaderboard even further.

In the fifth round of the FIA GT4 European Cup on Friday Maxime Soulet took a lights to flag victory in the nr 20 Porsche Cayman – but it was far from easy. Racing on the classic Spa-Francorchamps circuit, Soulet was under continual pressure from Alex Buncombe, who made a storming start from fifth to be second by the end of the opening lap. Buncombe, in the nr 14 Nissan 350Z, quickly got the gap down to under a second, setting fastest lap on the way, but could get no closer, being just 0.6s back when the chequered flag was shown after twelve laps.

Third went to points leader Eric de Doncker in the nr 98 Ford Mustang FR500C. After finding a way past the nr 3 Maserati Trofeo of Gianni Giudici, he had a lonely race on his way to the podium – a minor gearbox problem prevented him from matching the pace of the two cars ahead of him. With Giudici following de Doncker home, that meant the top four places were filled with four different makes of car. After the race, all three drivers on the podium were pleased with the result. “The race went well - the whole team worked very hard for this, so I’m very glad that we could achieve such a good result,” said Soulet. “I only had some small problems – mainly because my tyres went off towards the end. I had to work very hard to keep Buncombe behind me.”

Buncombe was even more enthusiastic. “That was awesome! I got a great start and passed a few into the second corner, I got past the third car down the inside into Pouhon, and set my sights on Maxime. I tried to catch him, and closed up – I think his tyres went off a bit earlier than mine. I also had one or two minor gearbox problems, so the gap opened up again. This is my first time here for about four or five years, so I’m pretty happy with second.”

“I made a good start, but I had some trouble with Gianni Giudici on the first lap,” explained de Doncker. “I managed to keep third, and then got clear. I’m disappointed, actually – I had a problem with the gearbox, changing between second and third – and those are the two gears I use the most! So I couldn’t catch the cars in front of me. Still, I’m pleased because I’ve maintained my lead in the championship because Gomez retired. It was a lonely race, which makes a change – at Silverstone and Oschersleben I was fighting all the way. I’m hoping to get a better result in the second race, we’ll change the gearbox to sort that problem out.” With Guidici finishing fourth, this made for four different makes in the top four – another excellent result in the GT4 European Cup.

After the first race was held in dry conditions, the second race, which took place yesterday morning, was the exact opposite as rain swept over the Spa-Francorchamps circuit.
 

The track was wet throughout the 30-minute race, with intermittent rain making each lap an adventure into the unknown for the drivers. Eric De Doncker had the advantage of leading the entire race, giving him a clear screen – at least, that was the theory. The team had changed the clutch and gearbox of the nr 98 Ford Mustang FR500C, so he had no mechanical problems; instead, the windscreen of the car was misting over, which meant that he could never relax, as the resulting mistakes allowed his pursuers to stay in touch. He did just enough to stay out in front and took the chequered flag 3.173s clear.

Alex Buncombe took second place in both race in the nr 14 Nissan 350Z, although he had a close call on lap 5. “I was following Maxime Soulet, and he broke down on the run up to Les Combes,” Buncombe explained. “Because of the spray I didn’t see that he was slowing, and I almost hit him!” With Soulet out of the race Buncombe did his best, but could never quite close the gap to De Doncker.

Gianni Giudici, in the nr 3 Maserati Trofeo, was fifth in the opening laps but found a way past the nr 15 Nissan 350Z of Olivier Gomez on the fourth lap, and was promoted to third a lap later with the demise of Soulet. From there he had an untroubled race to the finish to claim the first podium for Maserati in the series. With André Grammatico bringing the nr 18 BMW Z4 home in fourth, closely followed by Jean-Paul Herreman in the nr 10 Aston Martin N24, five different makes of car filled the top five places. Eric De Doncker was predictably pleased with the result. “It was a fantastic race – I’m really happy. The team did a really good job fixing the car after yesterday’s race. The only problem I had was my windscreen fogging up – the first lap was okay, but then it was a big problem. Once it stopped raining it was okay, and I pulled out a good gap to Buncombe. But then it started raining again; for the last three laps I couldn’t see anything - I missed two or three apexes, and I didn’t even see the chequered flag! My team had to tell me on the radio the race was over.”

“When I got up this morning, drew back the curtains and saw the rain, I knew it was going to be a difficult race,” said Alex Buncombe. “That’s the wettest race I’ve had to do – It’s a shame it wasn’t dry, I would have liked to have had a good battle with Maxime Soulet. But I’m pleased to come second.”

“I’m delighted with this result – Spa-Francorchamps is the best circuit in the world, for me,” enthused Gianni Giudici. “Here, you need a lot of commitment and nerve to be able to drive and control the car. Blanchimont and Eau Rouge are the two finest corners in the entire championship.”

After the weekend’s two races De Doncker has 40 points, giving him a commanding 21-point lead ahead of Guino Kenis, who did not race at Spa. Soulet’s win in the first race puts him on 18 points, tied for third with Olivier Gomez; Buncombe’s two second places leaves him fifth, level with Jacob Nellerman. The FIA GT4 European Cup takes a break during August; the next races will be at the Adria circuit, in Italy, on the weekend of 8/9 September.