The last round of the Belgium Nationals was held on October 17/18 at the Courcelles track near Charleroi. The end of the year was getting close and only 40 drivers attended the race.
A few other French drivers came too, including Sebastien Wartelle (Mugen) and also the winner of the last race of the French National B, Bon Maxence. Top Belgium driver Robert Raphael wasnâ™t there, maybe he was already on holiday...
The qualification round went well for me as I took the TQ in every round, running faster and faster each time and getting an 8 lap result in each round. Bon and Wartelle managed to get 8 lappers too in the last round. Set-up was very important because of the bumpy track and I had to work a lot on the shock absorbers, using the 1.5 piston in order to be fast on the entire fast curve.
During the 30min semi, everything worked well for me. I took immediately the lead, running a few laps with Wartelle until his first mistake. At the end of the race, an engine flameout caused me to lose the gap I had built up but I still managed to keep in 1st place.
In the second semi, 2nd-place driver Sylvain Jacquemain (XRAY) took the second qualifying place of the semi after a long battle with his friend âśMikovic.âť It was a really good result for his return to racing after a long 10-year break!
For my main, I started on pole but Wartelle and Bon immediately took the lead after a really good start. I finally manage to retake the lead after a few laps and kept it until the end. Wartelle finished in 2nd place.
Final race results:
1. Jerome Sartel XRAY XB808
2. Sebastien Wartelle
3. Nicolas Decamp
4. Guy De Weerd 5. Sylvain Jacquemin XRAY XB808
The race closed the 2009 nationals in Belgium and saw a French guy winning the title. Belgium racer Decamp got 2nd place overall.
(click to enlarge)
Final results:
1. Jerome Sartel XRAY XB808
2. Nicolas Decamp
3. Kim Verheyden
Will we return for the next championship? Stay tuned for the answer next year.
