The Porsche Carrera Cup Deutschland season could not have started any better for Frenchman Kévin Estre (Attempto Racing): The 24-year-old clinched pole position two times and won twice at the first race weekend in Hockenheim. “I found the second race much more difficult than the first, because today my rivals put a lot more pressure on me,” said Estre. On both Saturday and Sunday he relegated Sean Edwards (Team Deutsche Post by Project 1) from Great Britain and Germany’s Christian Engelhart (Konrad Motorsport) to positions two and three respectively.
In the second race on Sunday, Estre managed a clear lights-to-flag victory with his Porsche 911 GT3 Cup. After a collision in the first lap, the vehicles of Sascha Halek (Team ZaWotec Racing) and Hoevert Vos (Land-Motorsport) had to be recovered. The safety car was deployed and the race was green-flagged again after the fifth lap. Estre used his lead position and attempted to shake off his pursuers with a catapult restart, but Edwards and Engelhart managed to close the gap again.
The front-runners profited from tough but fair fights for positions amongst the chasing pack. Taking up the race from the fourth grid spot, the 23-year-old Austrian Philipp Eng (MRS GT-Racing) gradually fell back down the field to ultimately see the flag in ninth. Denmark’s Nicki Thiim (Attempto Racing), however, put in a spirited drive from seventh at the start to finish fourth in the points.
The two new Porsche Juniors gave an impressive performance in the 35-strong field. Nineteen-year-old Alex Riberas (Attempto Racing powered by Motorvision) from Spain concluded only his second race in the Porsche Carrera Cup Deutschland in position ten. “My start didn’t go so well, but after the safety car phase I was right up there,” said Riberas. The 20-year-old American Connor de Phillippi (Förch Racing by Lukas Motorsport) crossed the finish line in eleventh directly behind his Junior colleague. “I learned a great deal. I can be happy with eleventh place for a start,” de Phillippi summed up his experiences.
Race three of the Porsche Carrera Cup Deutschland is held from 17 to 19 May as support to the 24 hour race on the Nürburgring-Nordschleife.
Result Race 2:
1. Kévin Estre (F/Attempto Racing)
2. Sean Edwards (GB/Team Deutsche Post by Project 1)
3. Christian Engelhart (D/Konrad Motorsport)
4. Nicki Thiim (DK/Attempto Racing)
5. Norbert Siedler (A/Aust Motorsport)
6. Jaap van Lagen (NL/FE Racing by Land – Motorsport).
7. Robert Lukas (P/Förch Racing by Lukas Motorsport)
8. Felipe Fernández Laser (D/Konrad Motorsport)
9. Philipp Eng (A/Logiplus MRS GT-Racing)
10. Alex Riberas (E/Attempto Racing powered by Motorvision)
Points standings after 2 of 17 races:
Driver classification1. Estre, 40 points
2. Edwards, 36
3. Engelhart, 32
4. van Lagen, 26
5. Thiim, 24
Amateur classification
1. Rolf Ineichen, 36 points
2. Daniel Allemann, 32
3. Dominic Jöst, 27
Rookie classification
1. Connor de Phillippi, 11 points
2. Alex Riberas, 10
3. Jeffrey Schmidt, 9
