Belgium Racing Team heads into the most important round of the season as championship leader, with ART Racing as its main challenger
Zonhoven, 24 August 2026. The 48th edition of the Belisol 24 Hours of Zolder is also the most important round of the Porsche Endurance Trophy Benelux. The Limburg classic attracts a full grid every year and enjoys plenty of public attention, while the press also extensively covers a race that first took place in 1977. Meanwhile, 47 editions are now in the history books, with Porsche already claiming 21 victories. On 29 and 30 August, the battle continues, and Porsche will undoubtedly once again play a leading role!
The 48th edition of the Belisol 24 Hours of Zolder is not only a classic in its own right, but also the most important race of the Porsche Endurance Trophy Benelux and, of course, the Belcar Endurance Championship. It is also the penultimate round of the season, meaning the championship battle will play an important role.
Belgium Racing Team versus ART Racing
In that title fight, Belgium Racing Team has secured the championship lead with the #99 Porsche 911 GT3 Cup – Type 992 – following three consecutive victories. The team from Northern Limburg therefore heads to Circuit Zolder with a clear ambition: to win and potentially already secure the title on Sunday evening, 30 August.
Belgium Racing Team won the Limburg classic with Porsche four times in a row from 2013 to 2016, an absolute record, but since then the team from Lommel has been unable to claim another victory. If the Derdaele family outfit has its way, that will certainly change in 2026.
In the #99, which has already taken three victories this season, at Circuit Zolder, Assen and Spa-Francorchamps, Dylan Derdaele, Nicolas Saelens and Paul Meijer will be joined by two former winners: Xavier Maassen and Niels Lagrange. Together, the five drivers have already claimed eight victories in the Belisol 24 Hours of Zolder, six of them with Porsche. Naturally, they will be hoping for another triumph, which could also bring the Porsche Endurance Trophy Benelux title within touching distance.
In second place in the standings is the #98 from the same team, and the Porsche 911 GT3 Cup – Type 992 – will also have to be taken into account in Zolder. Regulars Michael Cool and Brent Verheyen will be joined by two other team talents, Sita Vanmeert and Olivier Bertels. The quartet will receive support from the foreign driver with the most victories in the 24 Hours of Zolder: Kenneth Heyer. The German, son of former F1 driver Hans Heyer, has no fewer than five victories on Limburg soil.
The team's biggest challenger in the battle for the Porsche Endurance Trophy Benelux title is undoubtedly ART Racing, which is putting its faith firmly in youth, with an almost entirely Belgian line-up. Experienced driver and two-time winner Christoff Corten will share the ART Racing Porsche with four young talents. This season, the team has finished second in two of the three races.
Benjamin Paque hardly needs an introduction. The young Porsche 911 specialist also raced for ART Racing in the Porsche last season during the 24 Hours of Zolder. Kaï Rillaerts and Lorenzo Donniacuo are also part of the line-up, while Frenchman Enzo Joulié completes the five-man crew. It is clear that ART Racing will make its young challenger exceptionally difficult to beat.
Another regular in the Porsche Endurance Trophy Benelux is MM Racing, where the line-up is very much a family affair: brothers Mick, Steve and Tom Meurrens compete together and continue to make progress with every race. Last season, the MM Racing Porsche 911 GT3 Cup – Type 992 – was already fighting at the front for much of the race. Who knows what the 2026 edition will bring?
More about the competition facing these Porsche Endurance Trophy Benelux teams will follow in a second press release!
Four days dedicated to the Belisol 24 Hours of Zolder
Race week kicks off on Wednesday afternoon with the traditional parade from the circuit to the Heldenplein in Heusden (15:30), followed on Thursday by the practice sessions, with the battle for pole position (19:15) and night testing (21:40–23:40) as the highlights. Admission to the circuit is free on Thursday!
On Saturday, 29 August at 16:00, the lights will go green for the race, with the chequered flag falling 24 hours later, on Sunday, 30 August at 16:00.
