• Team RaceArt extends lead in all three Porsche Carrera Cup Benelux standings at Assen
• Jaap van Lagen battles his way to double podium finish
• Jules Grouwels builds on Pro-Am championship lead with fifth class win of season

Maastricht, 11 August 2025 - Team RaceArt maintained and extended its lead in all three championship standings in the Porsche Carrera Cup Benelux after a hard-fought weekend at TT Circuit Assen. In front of packed grandstands at Jack’s Casino Racing Day, Jaap van Lagen scored a double podium while Jules Grouwels picked up his fifth Pro-Am class victory of the season.

The annual Racing Day at the high-speed Assen circuit is a highlight on the Dutch motorsport calendar each year, bringing together a diverse program of various motorsport disciplines to attract a traditionally high number of fans to the ‘Cathedral of Speed.’ This year was no different, with both Carrera Cup Benelux races taking place in front of packed grandstands.

RaceArt arrived in Assen off the back of a successful weekend at the Hungaroring, where it completed a clean sweep of overall victories. As a result, the team held the points lead in the drivers’, Pro-Am and teams’ standings and was keen to maintain its strong position into the second half of the championship.

Since the Assen circuit was traditionally designed for motorbike racing, its fast and flowing nature would make overtaking difficult. Therefore, a strong position in qualifying would be of great importance for the remainder of the weekend. Somewhat hampered by track limits infringements, Sam Jongejan and Jaap van Lagen qualified fourth and sixth overall for Race 1 and sixth and fifth, respectively, for Race 2. Grouwels, meanwhile, captured second in Pro-Am for both races.

Thanks to grid penalties elsewhere, Van Lagen and Jongejan started Race 1 on Saturday afternoon third and fifth, respectively. After a solid start, Van Lagen settled into third and then moved into a race-long battle with Nick Ho for second position. With six minutes remaining, Van Lagen pulled off a well-executed dummy manoeuvre, which forced his rival into a mistake at Turn 1. Van Lagen took over second place and maintained it to the end of the race, finishing just over five seconds off the lead. Jongejan, having lost some ground early on, came home in sixth.

In the Pro-Am ranks, Grouwels charged to a fifth Pro-Am victory of the season in the orange-liveried No. 77 Porsche. The highlight of his race came in the form of a double overtake with 13 minutes to go. After he already secured the Pro-Am lead by passing class rival Henri Tuomaala, some heads-up driving allowed Grouwels to pull off a double overtake on both Max Schlichenmeier and Nikola Miljkovic at Turn 13. Although Schlichenmeier eventually found his way back through, that was of no consequence to the outcome in Pro-Am.

When Race 2 got underway on Sunday afternoon, an incident-packed opening lap saw Van Lagen and Jongejan occupy fourth and fifth while a lightning start had seen Grouwels charge up to seventh overall. Unfortunately, an incident involving two other cars at the high-speed Turn 17 resulted in barrier damage, triggering a red flag. Race control subsequently decided that the race was to be restarted with the original grid positions. While Van Lagen and Jongejan effectively retained their positions as two competitors ahead of them had been eliminated, the same could not be said for Grouwels.

Once the race resumed, a strong start for Van Lagen meant he immediately jumped up to third position. This is where he would remain for much of the remainder of the race, except for a three-car battle on the final lap of the race. With victory suddenly a possibility due to a five-second track limit penalty for race leader Nick Ho, Van Lagen went on the attack and briefly managed to squeeze ahead of Frank Porte Ruiz, only for both the Andorran and Robin Knutsson to pull ahead. Van Lagen got back into third by passing Knutsson into the Turn 8-9 chicane, going on to secure a second podium of the weekend. Jongejan came across the line not far behind, battling to fifth place.

In Pro-Am, Grouwels appeared to be on track for a clean sweep of class victories, finishing first in class. However, he received a 30-second post-race penalty for contact with another car, dropping him to second.

Strong results across the board meant that Team RaceArt not only retained, but extended its lead in all three points standings in Carrera Cup Benelux. Thanks to his double podium, Van Lagen’s points tally in the drivers’ championship grew to 138, giving him an 11-point lead over the nearest challenger. Grouwels nearly doubled his lead in Pro-Am and is nine points clear. In the battle for the teams’ championship, RaceArt has collected 251 points, sitting 71 points ahead of second place.

The Carrera Cup Benelux season continues with the penultimate round at Circuit Zolder, where the series will form part of the support bill for the Belgian Truck Grand Prix on September 13-14.

Driver comments:

Sam Jongejan

“A decent weekend in which we managed to keep the car in one piece after a difficult qualifying, which is key at Assen. We tried a lot, but unfortunately didn’t get the results. I’m extremely proud of the progress we made together with the team and the speed we showed.”

Jaap van Lagen
“All in all, it was a good weekend. We managed to extend our lead in the championship, which is huge.  The car performed well this weekend. The team did a great job. We demonstrated this in the first free practice session. Naturally, we were not quite as competitive as others on good tires when we were on old tires. In the second free practice session, I set the fastest time with everyone on new tires, so we could see where we stood in the pecking order. In qualifying, I set the best lap ever with a Porsche on this circuit, but unfortunately it was taken away because of track limits. I've seen the footage and I don't see them, but it's on the edge. The track officials said it was track limits, so we have to accept that. It's a shame, because otherwise we would have been in pole position and second place and I could have fought for the win. Fortunately, we still managed a nice second and third place in the races. In the first race, Knutsson gained a little ground on me in the standings, but in the second race he finished behind me, so I was able to pull away again. I've pulled clear of the other competitors a bit, but it's still incredibly close. I think it's mainly between Knutsson and me. The team did a great job. The car was great. We had the speed, and we need to take that with us to Zolder and Zandvoort. I think it's going to be a very exciting end to the season. I'm positive about it and I want to thank everyone for the whole weekend."

Jules Grouwels

“That was another weekend full of excitement at the always busy Assen circuit. Now it’s time to shift our full focus to Zolder, which is our home race!”