PK Carsport faces with Kumpen and Longin a very busy season

Monday night the official kick-off of the PK Carsport season was given in discotheque Versuz in Hasselt with the pilots Anthony Kumpen and Bert Longin. In Belgium Longin and Kumpen will drive the Corvette Z06. The Corvette C5-R will be used for the FIA GT championship.

This year the FIA GT championship is differently dealt with. The races have been reduced from three to two hours. So this becomes a real sprint race and no longer three but only two pilots. "Due to the change of the regulations we had no choice and we had to go from three to two pilots" says Anthony Kumpen. “Initially we had the intention to use two cars. One for Bert and myself and another car for Mike Hezemans and a second pilot. During his search for that second pilot Hezemans met Deletraz. The Swiss pilot had already signed a contract with Phoenix and Mike Hezemans could do the same. It is a pity because the past 7 years I drove with Mike. This is in fact a case of force majeure, since we couldn’t find a competitive second pilot as a result of what we have now become in fact competitors. But the bond with Hezemans remains, which is also obvious in the name PK Carsport.”

The past two seasons the team from Limburg missed each time its start. This year Kumpen and Longin want to be ready as from the first race. "Two years ago it took a while before we got used to the Corvette C5-R and last year we experienced the same with the C6-R" says Bert Longin. “Before we really knew the car some races had already been raced. This year we participate at the championship with the C5-R, a car that no longer has secrets for us, the team or the engineers. This is a big advantage. And we do not worry about the competitiveness. We will be ready in China next week.”

On Tuesday, one day after the presentation, the C5-R was tested on the Nürburgring in Germany. "It was a very positive test" says Anthony Kumpen. We have been testing during the whole afternoon and we are particularly satisfied. The advantage compared to previous year is that two pilots can drive more than if you are with three pilots. The communication with the engineer went more easily. The test of this afternoon was one of most constructive of the past years.”

Bert Longin fully agrees with his team mate. “We can start the new season with a good feeling. The car was driving perfectly. The team has done a great job and it clicks well with each other. That is extremely important and an essential trump card. Today Phoenix racing also has been testing and both cars are very close to each other. Next weekend we will know more, the first race will then be raced in China. Tuesday we get on the plane.”