French Endurance VHC Championship and the Challenge Endurance VHC
The French Championship will reveal its 2008 champions who are all new contenders as the three teams which have any chance of winning have never won. The confrontation between the Challenge GTs and Protos will be hosting more recent cars, and the arrival of the new competitors should be giving the podium regulars a bit of grief and somewhat upset the end of season outcome.
Although the team in the 2-litre Porsche 911, n°16, composed of Kohler and Depagneux seems to have a good lead for the French Champion title before this last event, the three hours of racing are by no means a walk in the park, and the slightest slip could push them right out of it.
For their chasers, Burel and Brossard, in the same car running as n°6, tactics are out of the question, they just need quite «simply» to win the race in the hope that n°16 does not finish, but also need to watch for the possible return of third-placed Kriknoff who, teamed with Giauque in n°19, can mathematically deprive them of second place should they not finish. The race between these teams will certainly be troubled by the winners in Germany, Belooussoff, Rueda and Lusseaud in n°33 or even the still very fast n°69 of Kunert, teamed up with Bachelier while Morales father and son, running with Cohen in n°88 or the ladies, Moreau-Langin and Quiniou n°24, should prove their regularity in the top end of the classifications. Finally, Italians Damiani and Nervi will be taking part in their second race of the season in n°73.
In the Challenge, the teams present at the German event have made great inroads on provisional classification. This event in the Gard should bolster the positions before the final confrontation at the « Estoril 6-Hours » with the title being fought for between the Porsche 911 3.0 RSR n°17 of Swiss drivers Biehler and De Siebenthal, the n°77 Chevron B16 of Brits McConville and Catherwood and the n°38 Elva MK8 of Le Calvez and Guanzini who could spring a few surprises thanks to its agility on this track and improve its provisional third place. Bozetti, coming back up with the leaders thanks to his scratch win in Germany with Havette and Fabre, will be for this event teamed up with Ortion in the n°14 Porsche 911 3.0 litres attempting to make the Top 3.
Certain to be a trouble-makers for the leaders in the Challenge, the Alpine A210, n°58 of Stepak, back in the Challenge with Paoli, but also the n°35 Chevron B26 of Luco, Ancelet, the n°43 Chevron B16 of Gutzwiller, De Sadeleer, Fillon or even Perrier's new car, the superb n°28 Osella PA 4 which he is sharing with Bouvet, should be fighting out for the scratch win. Ferrer and Mahé, winners at the opening event, will be back with their superb and very thirsty Lola T70 Spider carrying n°15.
In the Porsches, Moreau and Langin will be trying to forget their disappointing start of season in the n°50 Porsche 3.0-litre. Rivet-Fusil will be up against them in the n°10 3.0-litre while the Cachalot family will be in the placings in the n°37 2.7-litre. The n°78 Datsun 240 Z #78 of British driver Nock and French driver Motion will be rivalling the Porsches.
And finally, Belgian Laurent Bayers, alongside Fruleux and Martin, will be lining up with his new car, a vary rare Hema, with a Porsche 2-litre engine. Only one or two of this closed prototype have been built.