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| Founded | 2004 (as PK Carsport) |
|---|---|
| Founder(s) | Paul Kumpen |
| Base | Hasselt,Limburg |
| Current series | NASCAR Euro Series Belcar Trophy |
| Former series | FIA GT Championship |
| Current drivers | NASCAR Euro Series – PRO: 13.Thomas Krasonis 24.Vittorio Ghirelli NASCAR Euro Series – OPEN: 13.Thomas Krasonis 24. Thomas Dombrowski Belcar Trophy: 1. Frank Thiers, Hans Thiers,Jeffrey van Hooydonk, Gilles Magnus |
| Drivers' Championships | NASCAR Euro Series – Elite 1 / PRO (2014, 2016, 2020, 2022, 2024, 2025) NASCAR Euro Series – Elite 2 / OPEN (2014, 2016, 2025) 24 Hours of Zolder (1994-1996, 2000, 2002-2004, 2021, 2022) Belcar (1999, 2002, 2003, 2006, 2021) Belgian Racing Car Championship (2013) |
| Website | http://www.pk-carsport.com/ |
| Company type | NV |
|---|---|
| Industry | Automotive industry |
| Founded | September 1, 1995; 30 years ago (1995-09-01) inHasselt,Limburg,Belgium |
| Headquarters | Bedrijfsstraat 17,, |
 € -158.384[1] (2015) | |
| € -259.782 (2015) | |
| Total assets | € 152.739 (2015) |
| Total equity |  € 1.480.710 (2015) |
| Owner | Paul Kumpen Andrea Baer Anthony Kumpen |
Number of employees | 3 (2015) |
Pekaracing NV, competing asPK Carsport, is a racing team that currently competes in theNASCAR Euro Series as well as theBelcar Trophy in conjunction with Russell Racing. The team has previously competed in other series such as theFIA GT Championship.
PK Carsport has a long history in Belgian autosport. In 1968 PEKA Racing was founded by racing driverPaul Kumpen.[2] Besides racing Kumpen was an entrepreneur and partial owner ofRidley Bikes. The team initially started in rallycross. In 1989, 1990 and 1991 Kumpen participated in the Dutch and Belgian rounds of theFIA European Rallycross Championship. Racing at theDuivelsbergcircuit,[3]Glossocircuit[4] andMandescircuit[5] and the DutchEurocircuit. He scored his best result in 1990 at the Eurocircuit, finishing in ninth place in Division 2.
After rallycross, the team entered theFormula Opel Euroseries withJean-François Hemroulle andOscar Middeldorp in 1992.[6] In 1994 and 1995, the team with Middeldorp switched to theFormula Renault runningAlpa chassis. Middeldorp ended up eighth in the final standings in 1994 in the Eurocup.[7]David Saelens joined the team in 1995.[8] In 1995, Paul Kumpen,Albert Vanierschot andGeorges Cremer won the24 Hours of Zolder in aPorsche 993.[9]
In 1997 PEKA Racing merged with GL Racing, a racing team formed in 1992 by Ghislain Lenaers, to form GLPK Racing. In 1998 it entered the short-livedGTR Euroseries, winning the Misano Gold Cup. Kumpen shared thePorsche 911 GT2 withStéphane Cohen andCharles Margueron. The team scored another podium finish at theNürburgring.[10]
In 1998Kurt Thiers andVincent Vosse competed in the BelgianBelcar championship. The duo scored three podium finished and secured the third place in the championship standings in theirPorsche 911.[11] The following year, the team entered aPorsche 993 Turbo forAnthony Kumpen andStephane Cohen. The team dominated, winning three times atZolder and once atSpa.[12] The team secured the championship 120 points clear of the number two,Cor Euser andHerman Buurman.[13] For 2000, the team combined their FIA GT and Belcar championships using theChrysler Viper GTS-R in both series. Despite winning six out of eight races, including the24 Hours of Zolder, the championship was decided in the last round at Zolder in October.[14] Kumpen and Cohen retired early in the race and asAlbert Vanierschot andBert Longin won the race and the championship over GLPK Racing.[15] The 2001 Bert Longin and former motocross racerEric Geboers won two races in the Belcar championship. Longin was the best placed GLPK Racing driver in twelfth place in the championship.[16] The following season PK Carsport dominated Belgium's premier racing series. Four PK Carsport drivers placed in the top four of the championship.Bert Longin scored most points, followed byDavid Hart,Anthony Kumpen andVincent Dupont.[17] All races were won by one or the other GLPK Chrysler Vipers.[18] In 2003, all but one races were won by GLPK Racing, one race was won byPaul Belmondo Racing.[19] Of the GLPK Racing drivers, Anthony Kumpen was declared series champion.[20] After a partial season in 2005, GLPK Racing won the championship again in 2006. Kumpen and Longin won five races and finished third in the 24 Hours of Zolder. Therefore, the team, now racing a Corvette, won the championship.[21] For 2007 the Belcar championship was reorganized andSRO Belgium took over.[22] Kumpen scored two wins and again clinched the championship. As the original Belcar championship ceased to exist, PK Carsport backed out of the championship.
In 2004 GLPK Racing joined forces withCarsport Holland, the team run by Mike Hezemans, changing its name to PK Carsport. The team entered the prestigiousFIA GT Championship in2005.Bert Longin,Anthony Kumpen, Mike Hezemans won two races, the2005 FIA GT Zhuhai Supercar 500 and2005 FIA GT Imola Supercar 500. TheChevrolet Corvette C5-R team ended up fourth in the season standings. The following year the same drivers finished fifth in the season standings winning at the2006 FIA GT Paul Ricard 500km. In 2007, Ghislain Lenaers resigned from GLPK Racing, leaving the team PK Racing, later renamed to PK Carsport.[23] In 2007, the union between Carsport Holland and PK Carsport ended. PK Carsport continued in the FIA GT Championship. At the2007 Spa 24 Hours, the team signedKurt Mollekens andFrédéric Bouvy besides their regular drivers Kumpen and Longin. The team failed to win a race in the whole season, finishing fifth in the standings, behind Carsport Holland. For 2008, PK Carsport switched cars. The team attracted theSaleen S7-R to race. The team's performance was variable. The team initially struggled to score points but won the season finale at thePotrero de los Funes Circuit. Hezemans returned in 2009 to race in the final 'old' style FIA GT championship. The team also returned to the Chevrolet Corvette, upgrading to theC6.R type. The team won the races atOschersleben and the24 Hours of Spa. However, the season came to a dramatic end atZolder (the team's home track). Battling for the championship theVitaphone Racing team won the race at Zolder. However, PK Carsport filed an appeal as they claimed the Vitaphone team breached the pitstop regulations. However, after an investigation, the PK Carsport team was disqualified for a technical infringement.[24] Both Vitaphone Racing and PK Carsport were invited to enter the2010 24 Hours of Le Mans. PK Carsport was on the initial entry list but later withdrew.[25]
Paul Kumpen, along withTom Weickardt, owner of American Viperacing andToine Hezemans, owner ofCarsport Holland, was requested byPagani to develop a racing version ofPagani Zonda C12. S. Kumpen, Weickardt and Hezemans founded a new company, Carsport Zonda, to develop the new car. One Pagani Zonda GR was completed a few months after development started at theModena headquarters of Carsport Zonda. While the car used the originalcarbon fiber chassis, front and rear diffusers were added to the bodywork. The engine was also updated leading to better performance.[26]
Under the Carsport America entry, the car was entered in the2003 24 Hours of Le Mans. Mike Hezemans,Anthony Kumpen andDavid Hart were selected as its drivers. During the initial tests, the car placed the 36th time, eleventh in the GTS class. The Pagani qualified 32nd, ninth in class. However, the race for the car was only ten laps long. After ten laps theXtrac gearbox failed after which the car retired.[27]
After Le Mans, the car was intended to enter the final round of theBelcar championship by GLPK Racing.[28] Due to a missing vital component to the engine, the car never raced in the championship.[29] The car was sold to Czech gentleman racerAntonin Herbeck. In 2012 the car suffered a vicious crash atAutodrom Most.Jan Vonka, in anAudi A4 DTM, attempted a pass for the lead in the race on Herbeck. The two cars touched and the Zonda GR hit a concrete wall and was nearly destroyed in the crash.[30] The car was later repaired and raced again in theDMV Gran Turismo Touring Car Cup among other series.[31]
One year after the Pagani Zonda GR disappointment, the PK Carsport team returned to Le Mans in2004.[32] The Belgian team ran theRacing for HollandDome S101.Tom Coronel,Justin Wilson andRalph Firman were the drivers for theLMP1 entry. The car qualified tenth for the most famous 24 hour race.[33] The team had to retire with an ignition problem to theirJudd GV4 4.0LV10 engine.[34]
Belgian football club,R.S.C. Anderlecht, was active in theSuperleague Formula between 2008 and 2010. During the three seasons, the team was run subsequently byTeam Astromega in 2008,Zakspeed in 2009, andAzerti Motorsport in 2010. Azerti Motorsport, led byWim Coekelbergs, was supported by PK Carsport entering thePanoz DP09 for racing driverDavide Rigon. PK Carsport provided Azerti Motorsport with car maintenance and technical support. Management and engineering are in the hands of Azerti Motorsport.[35] The cooperation proved very successful. Rigon won races atAssen,Zolder andAdria. Rigon won his second Superleague Formula championship in2010. After a troubled2011 season, in which only two rounds were run, the Superleague Formula folded.
After theBelgian GT Championship folded, the series was revamped as theBelgian Racing Car Championship. In the endurance championship, PK Carsport entered anAudi R8 LMS for Anthony Kumpen, Bert Longin andMaarten Makelberge. The team won the first round atZolder and in total scored podium finishes in five out of six races. The team won the championship in 2013.[36]
In early 2014 PK Carsport announced it would enter theNASCAR Whelen Euro Series.[37] Bert Longin and Anthony Kumpen entered the Elite 1 division.Maxime Dumarey raced the Elite 2 division full-time while the other car featured various drivers. At the first race in Valencia, Longin scored the pole position. Longin and Kumpen finished second and third in the race whileYann Zimmer won.[38] Kumpen was a constant top ten finisher. He eventually won one race, at theLe Mans Bugatti Circuit.[39] Kumpen won the championship by one point at the final round over multiple series championAnder Vilariño. In the Elite 2 division, Dumarey was very successful. Despite winning only one race, he won the championship. The team struggled the following season. Kumpen crashed twice, atRaceway Venray (first race) andTours Speedway. The Belgian driver also won the second race at Raceway Venray. Kumpen placed fourth in the series championship. In Elite 2Stienes Longin, son of Elite 1 driver Bert, had a strong debut season. Longin was a regular top-five finisher and also a winner at Tours. He placed fourth in the season standings.
(key) (Races inbold indicate pole position) (Races initalics indicate fastest lap)
(key) (Bold – Pole position awarded by qualifying time.Italics – Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led.)
| NASCAR Whelen Euro Series - Elite 1 | |||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Car | No. | Drivers | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | Pos. | Pts |
| 2014 | Chevrolet SS | 24 |  Anthony Kumpen |  VAL 3 | VAL 4 |  BRH 4 | BRH 2 |  TOU 7 | TOU 8 |  NUR 5 | NUR 2 |  UMB 2 | UMB 5 | LEM 1 | LEM 2 | 1st | 656 |
| 11 | Bert Longin | VAL 2 | VAL 3 | BRH 18 | BRH 21 | TOU 6 | TOU 9 | NUR 12 | NUR 8 | UMB 8 | UMB 7 | LEM 5 | LEM 7 | 6th | 573 | ||
| 2015 | Chevrolet SS | 24 | Anthony Kumpen | VAL 5 | VAL 3 |  VEN 16 | VEN 1 | BRH 5 | BRH 5 | TOU 18 | TOU 9 | UMB 4 | UMB 10 | ZOL 3 | ZOL 3 | 4th | 610 |
| 11 | Bert Longin | VAL 17 | VAL 22 | VEN 5 | VEN 15 | BRH 8 | BRH 6 | TOU 12 | TOU 12 | UMB 15 | UMB 4 | ZOL 15 | ZOL 17 | 12th | 509 | ||
| 2016 | Chevrolet SS | 24 | Anthony Kumpen | VAL 1 | VAL 4 | VEN 2 | VEN 1 | BRH 1 | BRH 10 | TOU 4 | TOU 5 | ADR 1 | ADR 2 | ZOL 1 | ZOL 7 | 1st | 657 |
| 11 | Bert Longin | VAL 7 | VAL 9 | VEN DNS | VEN 11 | BRH 10 | BRH 11 | TOU 10 | TOU 7 | ADR 3 | ADR 4 | ZOL 19 | ZOL 8 | 5th | 535 | ||
| 46 |  Brandon Gdovic | VAL 20 | VAL 25 | VEN | VEN | BRH | BRH | TOU | TOU | ADR | ADR | ZOL | ZOL | 36th | 43 | ||
(key) (Bold – Pole position awarded by qualifying time.Italics – Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led.)
| NASCAR Whelen Euro Series - Elite 2 | |||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Car | No. | Drivers | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | Pos. | Pts |
| 2014 | Chevrolet SS | 24 | Maxime Dumarey | VAL 6 | VAL 4 | BRH 5 | BRH 3 | TOU 3 | TOU 6 | NUR 3 | NUR 3 | UMB 1 | UMB 14 | LEM 3 | LEM 5 | 1st | 654 |
| 11 | Neal van Vaerenbergh | VAL 1 | VAL 1 | 37th | 96 | ||||||||||||
| Jerry de Weerdt | BRH 10 | BRH DNQ | 24th | 166 | |||||||||||||
| Stienes Longin | TOU 4 | TOU 2 | NUR 9 | NUR 5 | UMB | UMB | 27th | 156 | |||||||||
 Gabriele Gardel | LEM 4 | LEM 1 | 22nd | 172 | |||||||||||||
| 2015 | Chevrolet SS | 24 | Martin van Hove | VAL 16 | VAL 6 | 25th | 144 | ||||||||||
| Maxime Dumarey | VEN 9 | VEN 8 | BRH 11 | BRH 6 | TOU DNS | TOU DNS | ZOL 5 | ZOL 19 | 20th | 241 | |||||||
| Bart van Haeren | UMB 5 | UMB 13 | 26th | 140 | |||||||||||||
| 11 | Stienes Longin | VAL 2 | VAL 8 | VEN 6 | VEN 4 | BRH 20 | BRH 3 | TOU 1 | TOU 19 | UMB 2 | UMB 3 | ZOL 7 | ZOL 2 | 4th | 621 | ||
| 2016 | Chevrolet SS | 24 | Gabriele Gardel | VAL 4 | VAL 23 | VEN 11 | VEN 4 | BRH 23 | BRH 6 | TOU 5 | TOU 5 | ADR 1 | ADR 2 | ZOL 1 | ZOL 5 | 2nd | 604 |
| 11 | Stienes Longin | VAL 1 | VAL 1 | VEN 1 | VEN 1 | BRH 1 | BRH 2 | TOU 3 | TOU 1 | ADR 2 | ADR 1 | ZOL 24 | ZOL 1 | 1st | 650 | ||
| 46 |  Christian Malchárek | VAL 21 | VAL 11 | VEN | VEN | BRH | BRH | TOU | TOU | ADR | ADR | ZOL | ZOL | 27th | 129 | ||
