Porsche Carrera Cup Deutschland, Race 7, Lausitzring
Porsche Junior Sven Müller celebrated his fifth win of the Porsche Carrera Cup season on Saturday. At the seventh of 16 races, Müller (D/Konrad Motorsport) crossed the finish line first ahead of Dennis Olsen (N/Team Lechner Huber Racing) and Nick Foster (AUS/KÜS Team75 Bernhard). In the final phase of the race, the 24-year-old from the German town of Bingen managed to pull clear of the rest of the field in his mint-green 460 hp Porsche 911 GT3 Cup. “Even though I started from pole position this wasn’t an easy race. My start wasn’t perfect, but at least I was able to stay in front of Engelhart. Ultimately it was a lights-to-flag victory with a five-second advantage. That, of course, was great fun,” said Müller.
Sharing the first grid row with Müller, Christian Engelhart (D/MRS GT-Racing) made a cracking start off the line to pull alongside Müller, and for a moment it looked as if he would move into the lead. But in the duel with Müller, Engelhart encountered a slippery patch on the track and lost ground, which gave the pole-sitter the chance to edge ahead. In the second lap, Engelhart had to let Foster past. Running in positions three and four, the Australian and the German delivered a fierce duel, with Engelhart finally having to concede to the champion of the Porsche Carrera Cup Australia. “That was a fantastic race for me. Christian was strong and put me under incredible pressure. But I stayed calm and I’m really happy with third place,” said a satisfied Foster, who had started from fifth on the grid.
Unimpressed by the turmoil was Porsche Junior Olsen. The 20-year-old Norwegian took off into the race from the third grid spot. Olsen benefited from Engelhart’s setback in the first lap and settled in behind Müller in second. “While I was running second in the first lap I tried to stick with Sven, but I had to consider my tyres. Later in the race they began to deteriorate and the gap between us grew. I’m starting from fifth for the next race. From that position Nick achieved a place on the podium,” explained Olsen with a mischievous grin. The 21-year-old Austrian Luca Rettenbacher (Konrad Motorsport) was able to work his way through the field from tenth to sixth place. Carrera Cup newcomer Daniel Keilwitz (D/Team Wiesmann-Motorsport) finished on seventh, with rookie David Kolkmann (D/Rookie Team Deutsche Post by Project 1) scoring crucial points for eighth place.
In the overall classification, Müller holds the lead after seven of 16 races with 121 points ahead of Engelhart with 115 points. Third place is occupied by Olsen (104 points), making him the best rookie in the field. Winner of the special category for B pilots was Peruvian Ricardo Flores Ramirez (PE/MRS GT-Racing), which now puts him on second place in the amateur classification. Still leading that category is Wolfgang Triller (D/Team Huber Lechner Racing). In the team classification, Konrad Motorsport has extended its lead slightly to 198 points over Lechner Huber Racing (183 points).
The next race is contested on Sunday at 9.55 hrs on the Lausitzring.
Result race 7:
1. Sven Müller (D/Konrad Motorsport)
2. Dennis Olsen (N/Team Lechner Huber Racing)
3. Nick Foster (AUS/KÜS Team75 Bernhard)
4. Christian Engelhart (D/MRS GT-Racing)
5. Jeffrey Schmidt (CH/Team Lechner Huber Racing)
6. Luca Rettenbacher (A/Konrad Motorsport)
7. Daniel Keilwitz (D/Team Wiesmann-Motorsport)
8. David Kolkmann (D/Rookie Team Deutsche Post by Project 1)
9. Robert Lukas (PL/Förch Racing by Lukas Motorsport)
10. Nicholas Yelloly (GB/Rookie Team Deutsche Post by Project 1)
11. Marek Böckmann (D/KÜS Team75 Bernhard)
12. Ryan Cullen (GB/Konrad Motorsport)
13. Ricardo Flores Ramirez (PE/MRS GT-Racing)
14. Wolfgang Triller (D/Team Huber Lechner Racing)
15. Wolf Nathan (NL/Team Huber Lechner Racing)
Points’ standings after 7 of 16 races:
Drivers’ classification
1. Sven Müller (D/Konrad Motorsport), 121 points
2. Christian Engelhart (D/MRS GT-Racing), 115 points
3. Dennis Olsen (N/Team Lechner Huber Racing), 104 points
Rookie classification
1. Dennis Olsen (N/Team Lechner Huber Racing), 104 points
2. Luca Rettenbacher (A/Konrad Motorsport), 78 points
3. David Kolkmann (D/Rookie Team Deutsche Post by Project 1), 69 points
Amateur classification
1. Wolfgang Triller (D/Team Huber Lechner Racing), 138 points
2. Ricardo Flores Ramirez (PE/MRS GT-Racing), 88 points
3. Wolf Nathan (NL/Team Huber Lechner Racing), 86 points
Team classification
1. Konrad Motorsport, 198 points
2. Team Lechner Huber Racing, 183 points
3. KÜS Team 75 Bernhard, 144 points