September 26, 2008. Almost three years after the Dutch promoter’s first official endurance event at the Dubai Autodrome, an emboldened CREVENTIC is at the Hungaroring for, simultaneously, its very first 12-hour race and its first official endurance event in Europe. It went pretty well too. 

Germany’s Schubert Motorsport, who would go on to win at both Dubai and Barcelona in 2011 to complete the 24H SERIES ‘trifecta’, eventually came out on-top after a near-race-long scrap with Jetalliance Racing. The latter stumbled with a broken driveshaft and damaged brakes, but nevertheless managed to retain its place on the overall podium behind Sweden’s Levin Motorsport. Further back, Schubert’s celebrations continued in the diesel-powered ‘D1’ class, while hometown team Bovi Motorsport, despite a litany of gearbox issues, collected the SP2-class win with its bespoke, Porsche-engined Brokernet Silver Sting. Add in another home win for Endurance Club Hungary in A2, and CREVENTIC’s inaugural run in Europe had proven a hit with not just its competitors but the Hungarian crowd as well. A second event in 2009 was confirmed that same weekend.

The following September, Schubert once again took the honours ahead of SP2-winner Bovi Motorsport – on top form at its home event for the second year in a row – and A6 victor Hubert Bergh Motorsport. Granted, a peerless run by Schubert, one that Blancpain Racing would replicate in devastating fashion in 2013, meant the fight for race victory lacked the heated intensity of one year prior. But even so, a dramatic late-race rainstorm, a remarkably small attrition rate (just four cars failed to make the finish) and another satisfied field of entrants put another tick in the box for the still young CREVENTIC. That the 2010 edition, eventually won by Lechner Racing with its brand-new Audi R8 LMS, boasted teams representing more than a dozen different nations proved yet further that the fledgling 24H SERIES had struck a nerve with endurance racers internationally.

How fitting then that the most recent edition of the Hankook 12H HUNGARY to-date, in 2014, would prove to be among the event’s most significant. Admittedly just one race in Budapest’s surprisingly colourful motorsport history, the 2014 season was nevertheless, as we discuss with CREVENTIC’s Gerrie Willems, a turning point for the 24H SERIES. One, from which, the Dutch promotion has continued to grow in the seven years since its last official visit to Hungary. Expect a lot of nostalgia this weekend. 

Alongside that, fans both locally and watching via live stream have an increasingly tight championship fight to look forward to this weekend. With three of the top five title contenders securing class wins last time out in Barcelona, an event that also saw the maiden 24H SERIES outing of MotoGP race winner Miguel Oliveira, things couldn’t be much closer at the top of the Overall GT Teams’ standings. At the penultimate round of the 2021 24H SERIES powered by Hankook, it could be make or break for teams this weekend. Something we’ve got quite accustomed to at the Hungaroring down the years.