‟I was able to fend off Alessandro’s attack right after the start and then eke out a small advantage,” reported de Haan, who had lined up on pole just ahead of Ghiretti. ‟The first safety car period made things interesting again, but I’d managed my tyres well and was able to hold firm at the restart.” Two laps later, the safety car was deployed again following an accident. Both drivers involved escaped unhurt. However, with extensive clean-up required, the race came to an end a few minutes earlier than scheduled.
‟You can’t always win. The most important thing for me today was to collect as many points as possible, and I achieved that with second place,” summed up Ghiretti. On Sunday, the newly crowned champion of the international Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup will head into the race from third on the grid. In the rain-affected qualifying session, de Haan could do no better than ninth.
After celebrating his first win of the season at Zandvoort, Janne Stiak returned to the podium at the Red Bull Ring. Competing for Italian squad Target, the 18-year-old from Lower Saxony gained two positions during the turbulent race to finish third. ‟My Porsche was perfect today, and I pulled off two great overtaking moves,” he said, beaming with delight.
The next places went to Stiak’s Bavarian teammate Alexander Tauscher, followed by Dutchmen Huub van Eijndhoven (Team GP Elite) and Flynt Schuring (Schumacher CLRT). Finishing sixth, Schuring was the best-placed driver from the Porsche Sixt Carrera Cup Deutschland Talent Pool.
Victory in the ProAm category went to Sören Spreng (Team GP Elite). ‟I stayed clear of any trouble and even managed to advance to 14th overall,” said the driver from Germany’s Sauerland region. Sharing the ProAm podium with him were Kuwait’s Ahmad Alshehab (a-workx by Porsche Paderborn) and current class leader Michael Schrey from Osnabrück (Bonk Motorsport).
Among the rookies, Sacha Norden celebrated his seventh win of the season. His closest rival and Proton Huber Competition teammate, Briton Joseph Warhurst, was forced to retire. ‟I feel sorry for Joe. He had a real chance of winning today,” admitted Norden. With this result, the Dutchman extended his lead in the Rookies’ standings. Second place went to Bulgaria’s Alexandra Vateva (Proton Huber Competition), who was contesting her first race in the Porsche Sixt Carrera Cup Deutschland. The rookie podium was rounded out by Brazil’s Matheus Ferreira (Team Target).
Two Dutchmen line up on the front row for Sunday’s 14th race of the season
The top two grid positions for the second race at Spielberg are firmly in Dutch hands: In qualifying, Huub van Eijndhoven edged out his GP Elite teammate and compatriot Wouter Boerekamps by just under two-tenths of a second. The 30-minute sprint gets underway at 11:20 am (CEST) on Sunday.
Fans can follow the weekend’s second race live with English commentary on the internet, including on the Porsche Motorsport Hub and the Porsche Sixt Carrera Cup Deutschland channels on YouTube and Facebook.
Results race 13, Porsche Sixt Carrera Cup Deutschland, Red Bull Ring (AUT)
1. Robert de Haan (NLD/Proton Huber Competition), 14 laps
2. Porsche Junior Alessandro Ghiretti (FRA/Schumacher CLRT), +0.445 seconds
3. Janne Stiak (DEU/Target), +1.065 seconds
4. Alexander Tauscher (DEU/Target), +2.131 seconds
5. Huub van Eijndhoven (NLD/Team GP Elite), +2.514 seconds
6. Flynt Schuring (NLD/Schumacher CLRT), +3.145 seconds
Standings Porsche Sixt Carrera Cup Deutschland (after 13 of 16 races)
1. Porsche-Junior Alessandro Ghiretti (FRA/Schumacher CLRT), 228 points
2. Robert de Haan (NLD/Proton Huber Competition), 199 points
3. Huub van Eijndhoven (NLD/Team GP Elite), 150 points
Full results and championship standings on the Porsche Motorsport Hub.
