• Team RaceArt prepares for return to Carrera Cup Benelux
• New liveries for Sam Jongejan and Jules Grouwels unveiled
• Jongejan drives for RaceArt for the first time

Maastricht, 4 April 2024 - Team RaceArt started preparations for its return to the Porsche Carrera Cup Benelux well by completing the official test day at Circuit Zandvoort. Drivers Sam Jongejan and Jules Grouwels collectively covered more than five hundred kilometers behind the wheel of their Porsche 992 GT3 Cups, both decked out in their brand new liveries for the coming year.

Rain was the word of the day at Zandvoort, with wet conditions effectively dominating on-track running throughout. That meant that both drivers encountered a damp circuit when they first ventured out on Wednesday morning. This was a venture into the unknown for Grouwels in particular, as he had so far only driven the Porsche in dry conditions. However, the rain caused little issues and the two drivers were able to complete more than 30 laps in the first three hours of running, after which it was time for the lunch break and the official photoshoots.

This gave photographers a chance to capture the two Porsches and their new liveries in all their glory. The designs, created by Swedish designer RBDK Liveries, saw Grouwels’ car fitted with a bright orange livery, while Jongejan's car stood out with an eye-catching green colour.

For Jongejan, it was a memorable day.. During the Porsche Sprint Challenge Southern Europe, the teenager already extensively watched behind the scenes with the Maastricht-based squad, but the test day finally presented him with the opportunity to join the team in a driving capacity. For him, the day was therefore logically all about learning and gaining experience before the season kicks off properly in May.

Although the team initially hoped that the weather would improve for the afternoon session, that turned out to not be the case. Rain continued to fall, rendering any plans for dry running null and void. Nevertheless, both drivers still covered plenty of kilometers, jointly completing 131 laps across the entire day.

Team RaceArt now turns its focus to the season opener, held on 9-11 May at the Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps in Belgium. There, the Carrera Cup Benelux forms part of the support package of the prestigious FIA World Endurance Championship.

Drivers' comments:

Sam Jongejan: “Today was a bit of a strange day as the weather changed quite often. The morning started with wet running, which went quite well pretty much from the start. After that, the rain turned into more of a drizzle. We tried some running on slicks, but because it was still a little bit wet it was difficult to find the grip on track. Running in the rain felt familiar, but when it gets dry Zandvoort changes quite a lot, so when it dried up it felt a bit like I was back to zero. However, it was still a good good. I was able to build good confidence with the car and it appears like the pace is there, we just need to be able to deliver on that now. But I’m happy. Things feel good. “

Jules Grouwels: “This was the first time I got to drive the car in wet conditions, which immediately felt comfortable. I was able to carry over the experience gained during the Southern Europe Sprint Challenge, which was helpful to further build confidence in the car. Now the important thing is to further build on that. The weather made things tricky today. It wasn’t extremely wet, but it also never really dried up properly, which meant we perhaps weren’t able to learn as much as we wanted.”