Following a promising showing last time out at the 2.5 Hours of Zolder the Giallo Corse Alfa 156 2.5 V6 will be back in action this weekend as the Dunlop Sportmaxx Endurance Cup returns to the famous Belgian race track.

Following a promising showing last time out at the 2.5 Hours of Zolder, the Giallo Corse Alfa 156 2.5 V6 will be back in action this weekend as the Dunlop Sportmaxx Endurance Cup returns to the famous Belgian race track for the fifth round of the series, the 2 Hour 'sprint' which supports the popular Truck Grand Prix.

After suffering problems with the series' Dunlop control tyres in recent rounds, Giallo Corse arrived at Zolder at the end of August for the four round, a two-and-a-half hour duration race which supported the Zolder 24 Hours, using the optional higher shoulder Dunlop tyres that lasted the distance but according to Peter Bens, "made the car very unpleasant to drive, bouncing through the curves and lacking grip which made it impossible to reach the apex. On the Wednesday evening we had a free practice in which we were allowed to use old non-Dunlop stock. On Pirelli's we made 1'56 laps, Yokohama's 1'57, Dunlop low shoulder 1'58 and on the Dunlop high shoulder 2'00 laps."

"On Thursday in qualifying we posted 14th out of 21 in the class in a 1'58 lap on low shoulder Dunlops," says Peter. "On Saturday in the race both Franky [Boulat] and I showed some good driving despite the terrible behaviour on the high shoulder Dunlops. Pushing all the time to the limit we made up to a best of 1.58.433 on my last lap before handing over to Franky, and I handed the car over in 9th in class. During my stint the fuel pumps had suffered from the bouncing tyres so I had to use the backup one all the time to prevent the car from running dry."

Franky went off and came in for refuelling but only 44 litres could be added although we started the 2h30 race with only 80 litres in the 100 litre tank. Three laps later the car came to a halt after the fuel pressure had left off; however 8 minutes later Franky managed to revive one fuel pump and regained the track. We were able to finish the race in 12th spot only; but without the unnecessary fuel stop and the lost time the top 5 would have been within reach so we're satisfied with the progress made."

This weekend the team will be back in action as Franky Boulat will be nominated to drive the 2 hour race at Zolder on his own. For this shortest round on the series, the Truck Grand Prix, only one pitstop is obligatory and no driver change imposed. "As our Alfa 156 is not a sprinter our chances are at their lowest at this round as most competitors need not refuel what they usually need for longer races, and with fuel pumps operating well we can last 3h30, making our economy on of our strongest points."

Following this weekend's encounter, two rounds of the Dunlop Sportmaxx Endurance Cup will remain to be contested. The first, at the Oschersleben circuit in Germany (11/12 October), will see Jef Verhulst joining Franky in the cockpit on a track that should perfectly suit Giallo Corse's Alfa 156 due to its many flowing corners and short straight, especially in a 3 hour race where fuel economy will be a strength for the team. With just two drivers at Oschersleben this will give Franky and Jef more track time at a circuit which will be new to most of the competitors. The final race will be the prestigious Zolder 10 Hours (8 November) where Peter will return to strengthen the driver line-up.