Porsche Carrera Cup Deutschland, race 4, Lausitzring
Christian Engelhart (BLACK FALCON) celebrates his first win of the season in the Porsche Carrera Cup Deutschland. The German crossed the finish line first in his 485 hp Porsche 911 GT3 Cup at round four of the one-make race series as part of the Motorsport Festival on the Lausitzring ahead of Christopher Zöchling (MRS GT-Racing) from Austria and Porsche Junior Dennis Olsen (N/Konrad Motorsport). “My team gave me a car with the best setup and driving it gave me a great feeling. At times, Christopher Zöchling put me under a lot of pressure but I managed to ward him off. I’m thrilled with my victory and I’m particularly pleased for my team, Black Falcon,” said Engelhart.
Taking up the race from pole position, Engelhart got a clean start to retain his lead. But from the very beginning, Zöchling put pressure on the seasoned Porsche specialist. At times, only several tenths of a second separated the pair, but over the course of the race Engelhart managed to increase the gap by putting in several fastest race laps. This marks the first race win for the Bavarian’s Black Falcon squad after only just joining the Porsche Carrera Cup Deutschland this season. MRS pilot Zöchling ultimately finished on second: “I was really fast in the early phase and I was determined to get past Christian Engelhart. In the final laps, however, I wasn’t able to match his pace.”
Behind the duo, Michael Ammermüller (D/raceunion Huber Racing) maintained third place for quite some time. Although Olsen managed to overtake him in the sprint to the first corner, the 31-year-old immediately countered in the same lap. But the youngster stayed glued to his bumper. In the penultimate lap, Olsen saw his chance and swept past, with the 21-year-old bringing home third place ahead of Ammermüller on the 3.478-kilometre racetrack. “I got away well off the line and I waited patiently for my chance to overtake Michael Ammermüller. I’m thrilled to have earned some all-important points,” said Olsen. Fifth place went to Nick Yelloly (GB/Team Deutsche Post by Project 1).
Porsche-Junior Thomas Preining (A/Konrad Motorsport) took the flag in sixth. “Unfortunately I lost a place to Nick Yelloly, but I was able to pick up my pace and drive well again. This makes me feel positive for the next races,” said the young racing driver from Linz. Preining has built his lead in the rookie classification to 91 points. The best amateur driver was Carlos Rivas (BLACK FALCON) from Luxembourg. Wolfgang Triller (D/Huber Racing by TriSpa) remains at the head of the amateur category with 42 points.
In the overall classification, three wins puts Dennis Olsen in the lead with 91 points. Behind him on second is Ammermüller with 69 points. Zöchling ranks third after four rounds of the championship with 65 points. Konrad Motorsport leads the team classification with 122 points. Next up on the Porsche Carrera Cup Deutschland calendar is the double-header on the Red Bull Ring in Spielberg, Austria, from 9-11 June.
