The V de V Sports season gets underway this weekend with the 1,000 km of Navarra, one of the very few European endurance races reserved for historic cars. While qualifying remains anecdotal in an eight-hour race, it is nonetheless crucial for fine-tuning the cars… even if weather conditions could reshuffle the deck tomorrow.
For an organiser, kicking off the season in spring in southern Europe offers the best chance of enjoying summer-like weather. That was indeed the case today for the free practice and qualifying sessions of the 1,000 km of Navarra in Spain. It was still 25 degrees in the air this evening at 7 p.m. when the green light came on at the end of the pit straight, releasing the competitors for the 60-minute qualifying session.
Some regular V de V Sports competitors had already raced here in 2024, but that did not necessarily give them a decisive advantage, as the circuit has evolved significantly since then. Fully resurfaced, the track has been extended by 650 meters and now features a faster sequence than before. “Those who, like us, have a good engine but poor brakes will appreciate the changes,” summed up Patrick Brossard yesterday, driver of the TVR Griffith 200 n°11.
At the start of the session, it looked like an easy pole position for Romain Belleteste and Daniel Roustan. The two drivers took turns at the wheel of the 1970 Chevron B16 (n°48), setting very consistent lap times, with a best lap of 2:00.550. The competition then seemed far behind.
But after 25 minutes of running, Marc de Siebenthal set a 2:00.069 lap in the surprising 1973 KMW (n°61), powered by a 3‑liter Porsche engine. No one would do better. Tomorrow, the Swiss driver will share the cockpit of the barchetta with his compatriot Jean‑André Collard, as well as with the car’s owner, fellow Swiss Serge Libens.
Winner here in 2024, Romain Belleteste therefore has to settle for second place. “I’m a bit frustrated not to have had time to go back out for one last attempt on new tires,” said the Atlantic Racing driver. “But the circuit is really great, with flow and elevation changes, without being overwhelming. It’s not a physically demanding track, but it is technical.”
Éric Wassermann and Charles Veillard will share the wheel of the BMW 323i n°35 tomorrow, which will start from the front of the grid in the Saloon Car category. Philippe Baert, Stéphane Moreau and Sébastien Morales posted the best performance in Grand Touring with the Porsche 911 3.0 SC n°9. In Touring, Vincent Truffaz and Carlos Tavares set the fastest time in the BMW 635 CSi n°183.
Marc de Siebenthal, pole-sitter in the KMW Porsche n°61: “Pole position is one thing, but the important thing is the race. We have good setups that suit all three of us. The car is well balanced. Tomorrow, we’ll adjust our race strategy depending on the weather. And we’re almost hoping for rain, because those are conditions that suit the car even better. But we’re also confident if conditions remain like today, as our Porsche engine is generally strong when track conditions put heavy demands on the mechanicals. If all the bolts are properly tightened, it should make it to the finish!”
The 1,000 km of Navarra will start tomorrow at 12:30 p.m. and finish eight hours later, at 8:30 p.m., at sunset… a sun that may well be absent, as regular showers are forecast throughout the afternoon…
ASAVE ’65
Patrick Chalendard, in the Lotus Elan n°26, took the win after a hard-fought race, having been put under pressure right up to the pit-stop sequence. A stop from which the Lotus Elan n°16 of Damien Kohler, then fighting for victory, never recovered. The podium was completed by Marc Carlin / Éric Lebreton in the Ford GT40 n°73 and Serge Libens / Jean‑André Collard in the Austin Healey n°161. In the Touring class, Dominique Jouvin imposed his Mini n°111 at the end of a fine battle with Laurent Paulus in the Ford Mustang n°69. Finally, on its first race appearance, the Lotus 23B n°146 of Régis Prévost, Xavier Rascagnères and Didier Mantz took victory in the prototype category.
ASAVE ’76
Before the start, Joël Laplacette spoke of a possible duel between the Ford GT40 n°16 of Damien Kohler and the Ford Escort n°24 of Florian Vattin. The event’s announcer based this on the twisty nature of the circuit, theoretically favoring the agility of the touring car. But that was not to be. In perfect harmony with his machine, Damien Kohler ultimately took victory with more than a one‑minute advantage at the end of the 45‑minute race. Also worth noting are the 3rd place of Johan and Jean‑Jacques Renaut in their Porsche 3.0 RS, and the strong performance of Jean‑Marc Schneider, who secured a solid 5th place at the wheel of his Datsun 240 Z.
Trophée Lotus
Same drivers, same result! Regulars on the podium, Florent Cazalot (n°11), Nicolas Beloou (n°12) and Dominique Vulliez (n°36) crossed the finish line in that order. Running nose‑to‑tail throughout the race, the three drivers seemed to be waiting for “money time” to make their move… in vain, as the intervention of the safety car after Laurent Bouchetal’s off‑track excursion (n°2) definitively froze the positions.