The champion of the 2007 Porsche Carrera Cup Deutschland is Uwe Alzen from Germany. After claiming second place at the final on the Hockenheimring, the 40-year-old professional racer secured the title with a three-point advantage over Richard Westbrook from Britain. Uwe Alzen won the 2007 championship predominantly through his consistence. The German took home points from every race and climbed the podium five times. On the Norisring he crossed the finish line first but lost his position due to a time penalty.
Over the course of his career Alzen achieved many successes with Porsche race cars, with his most recent in 2006 when he secured vice-championship honours in both the Carrera Cup Deutschland and in the Porsche Mobil1 Supercup. In 1991 Alzen won the VLN Long Distance Championship at the wheel of a Porsche. The following year he won the Carrera Cup title. In 1994 he was crowned champion of the Porsche Supercup. In 1995 Alzen took overall victory in the ADAC GT Cup – also in a Porsche 911. The professional racer from the German town of Betzdorf was a member of the winning team at the 1999 Le Mans 24 hour race to claim class victory in the new 911 GT3 R. Between 1993 and 2002 Uwe Alzen contested a total of seven race seasons in the DTM and ITC where he was named the best semi-works driver three times and became vice-champion in 2001.
Richard Westbrook had travelled to the final round leading the series with a one-point advantage over Alzen. After five victories this season and his second championship title in the Porsche Mobil1 Supercup, the Briton was regarded as the favourite to win the 2007 Carrera Cup title. However, the preliminary decision came yesterday during qualifying: Alzen secured second on the grid, whilst Westbrook failed to get a clear lap and had to start from seventh. During the race as well Westbrook could not shake off his streak of bad luck: After overtaking two competitors in the first lap, his charge through the field was hampered by a safety car phase until the seventh lap. Westbrook saw the chequered flag in fourth. This year Westbrook won the international Porsche Mobil1 Supercup championship for the second time in a row.
Putting in a confident drive, Chris Mamerow from Germany won the final round of the season. Taking up the 18-lap race from pole position, Mamerow won the sprint to the first corner against Alzen and promptly pulled away from the rest of the field. After the restart, the 22-year-old kept his cool and maintained his lead position to cross the finish line 4.1 seconds ahead of Uwe Alzen.
The Eurospeedway winner, Nicolas Armindo (France), achieved third position – his fourth podium result of the year – and ranks third overall in the series ahead of Mamerow.
Uwe Alzen (Champion): “Last year vice-champion, this year champion – that’s not too shabby! I would really have preferred to beat Richard in a regular race without a safety car phase. It’s a great achievement to win such a fiercely-contested championship – especially 15 years after winning the Carrera Cup the first time.”
Richard Westbrook (vice-champion): “We won five times this year, so we can hold our heads up high. Luck was not on my side this weekend and during the race my car wasn’t up to beating Uwe, particularly here on the Hockenheimring. Aside from that it’s no disgrace to be vice-champion behind Uwe – he is a very deserving champion.”
Chris Mamerow (race winner): “The weekend couldn’t have gone better. The only critical moment was the restart after the safety car phase. We take the first corner at full throttle in fifth gear and exactly at that point there were some damp spots, so I chose a somewhat unconventional line. I’m really happy for Uwe, and I’m very much looking forward to 2008.”