Dan de Zille's double duty at Spa-Francorchamps yielded a double win the Aston Martin GT4 Challenge, though his weekend in the Formula Ford was hampered by accident damage.
De Zille now leads the Aston Martin GT4 Challenge with his co-driver Karsten Le Blanc after the fifth round of the championship.
At the start of both races the pair dropped back after contact in the packed field – the Aston Martin GT4 field sharing the Spa track with several other series. De Zille, starting the first race, survived the busy first laps relatievely unscathed, and took the lead before being forced to give back the position after stewards deemed his gained the place by running of the track.
However, he retook the lead – legally this time – shortly before a safety car period around the race's half way point. The Nicolas Mee Racing team opted to make the driver change under the yellow flag, Le Blanc returning to the lead, eventually taking the checkered flag with a three second advantage.
Le Blanc was less fortunate in the opening laps of the second race, clashing with rival Jethro Bovington at the Bus Stop and falling from second – the position the NMR squad started both races – to third. De Zille took the car over in second place, but nearly a minute in arrears to the Stratton Motor Co. entry in the lead. De Zille's pace was searing, reeling in the leader at eight seconds a lap to take the lead.
The only challenge in the final laps came from John Gaw in the Aston Martin Racing entered car, who briefly threatened to steal the lead while de Zille battled through traffic.
“Dan did a fantastic job this weekend,” said Le Blanc, “driving a very mature race, the car was good and ran very reliably and I am pleased to say we are now leading the Championship!”
