Magny Cours, 14 October 2007:
The new GT4 European Cup came to the end of its first season this weekend during an FFSA meeting held at Magny-Cours. The meeting kicked off on Thursday with the initial free practice sessions, when the Ford Mustang FR500C was able to show off its competitiveness on a track also frequented by the F1. The competitiveness was confirmed late on Saturday afternoon when the GT4 competitors were released…with the super powerful GTs of the ‘90s!
Undaunted by the McLarens, Stealths and Chryslers, De Doncker brought his Mustang up into the top of the pack, building up a 3 to 4 seconds lead over his nearest rivals in the GT4 European competition. "I built up a gap, which didn’t stop Maxime Soulet and the Porsche Cayman from coming right back up behind me ", Eric explained. “But my absolute will to become champion was stronger than anything else, and seeing that the team had prepared the car splendidly, I held out, took a deep breath….and I won!" Laureate in GT4 and 3rd place overall in the race, De Doncker could already taste the sweet flavour of this title … "Another win clinched with panache, just the way I like it. It was pretty hot going with Soulet, but always very correct. I knew that I would have the last say in this battle! So it’s in a pretty relieved state of mind that we can go out to tackle the last race on Sunday …"
And on Sunday morning a highly motivated Eric De Doncker was out on the grid … "It was pretty cool, and I made sure that my tyres were up to temperature during the warm up lap ", the Thermosulit driver commented. "I had a good start, I took the Viper and Stealth on the outside at the Estoril bend and I finished the first lap….in the lead, ahead of the heavy GTs of the ‘90s! My team, watching from the pitlane, couldn’t believe their eyes, but inwardly I knew that I could perform some great things today …"
Battling up against the power of these muscle beasts from a category which has nothing to do with the GT4, Eric De Doncker found himself back in his 3rd place by lap 3. But more importantly was the gap that had once again been created ahead of the main rivals … "This time around no one was able to come back at me! The car was absolutely perfect, efficiency to the nth degree. And the set-up we had devised was obviously the right one. What a race! And what a great new victory! Over the season we took 10 starts, won 4 races, finished 8 times up on the podium and crossed the finish line no less than 10 times! Who can do better than that? I would like to dedicate this title to my team, and more particularly my tuner Robert Daivier. My thanks also to Thermosulit and Insulco, faithful sponsors, not forgetting Ford Racing and the Multimatic team, who developed a car that brought about full approval all round. It gave me the opportunity to enjoy an exceptional season, rounded off with an international title. As for the Mustang’s popular success wherever we went with the GT4, it was just pure genius …"
