Round 4
“I noticed the pressure at first, but I was determined to bring home my first victory after nine podium finishes. During the race, I managed to eke out a solid lead and of course, I’m happy with the result,” said Heinrich. At race four in the Motorsport Arena Oschersleben, the 19-year-old took a lights-to-flag victory. Porsche Junior Ayhancan Güven (Turkey/Phoenix Racing), who secured his maiden win in the German one-make cup on Saturday, finished in second place. Series leader Larry ten Voorde (Netherlands/Team GP Elite) claimed the third podium spot. A total of 27 drivers in their Porsche 911 GT3 Cup racing cars tackled the doubleheader contested as support to the ADAC GT Masters.
Polesitter Heinrich got the jump at the start, however, the safety car came out after the first lap due to a collision at the back of the field. When the race went green again, pursuer Güven was waiting behind Heinrich. The Huber driver kept his cool, defended his lead and gradually pulled away from the rest of the field. After 20 laps, Heinrich took the flag to claim his first win at his 17th Carrera Cup race. Güven crossed the finish line 0.8 seconds behind the driver from the Talent Pool, the support programme of the one-make cup. “Victory on Saturday, second on Sunday – that’s a top result. Unfortunately during the race, I didn’t manage to put any effective pressure on Laurin Heinrich,” explained Güven.
Ten Voorde defended his championship lead with third place. “On the first lap, I dropped back to sixth. It was really tough among the midfielders. That was great fun and I did everything to get as far up the field as possible,” concluded ten Voorde. A spectacular duel for fourth place unfolded between Christopher Zöchling (Austria/Fach Auto Tech) and Leon Köhler (Germany/Nebulus Racing by Huber). Up until lap ten, Zöchling vehemently defended himself, however, Köhler saw a crucial gap, grabbed his chance and swept over the line in fourth place. Max van Splunteren (Netherlands/GP Elite) followed Zöchling over the line in sixth place. His compatriot Morris Schuring (Team GP Elite) was the best rookie in seventh place. Julian Hanses (Germany/HRT Performance), Rudy van Buren (Netherlands/CarTech Motorsport by Nigrin) and Jukka Honkavuori (Finland/MRS GT-Racing) also achieved a top ten result.
Bastian Buus (Denmark/Allied-Racing) launched a remarkable charge through the field. The 17-year-old rookie had started from P27 and achieved eleventh place after overtaking many of his rivals. Carlos Rivas (Black Falcon Team Textar) also enjoyed a successful race: The Luxembourger celebrated his fourth win in the Pro-Am class at the racetrack near Germany’s Magdeburg. Rivas beat Jan-Erik Slooten (Germany/Phoenix Racing) and Bashar Mardini (UAE/Van Berghe Huber Racing) in his class.
“These two races were exciting with many challenging but fair fights. After four races, Laurin Heinrich is the third driver to score his maiden win this season after Larry ten Voorde and Ayhancan Güven. That underlines just how high the competition is in our series,” says Hurui Issak, Project Manager of the Porsche Carrera Cup Deutschland. With 86 points, 24-year-old ten Voorde remains at the top of the leaderboard followed by Heinrich (81 points) and Güven (58 points).
For the next two races, the Porsche Carrera Cup Deutschland travels to Spielberg in Austria. From 11 to 13 June, races five and six will be contested as part of the ADAC GT Masters. The event at the Red Bull Ring is home turf for Christopher Zöchling: The experienced racer is the only Austrian in this year’s Porsche Carrera Cup Deutschland
Result race 4, Porsche Carrera Cup Deutschland
1. Laurin Heinrich (Germany/Van Berghe Huber Racing)
2. Ayhancan Güven (Turkey/Phoenix Racing)
3. Larry ten Voorde (Niederlande/Team GP Elite)
4. Leon Köhler (Germany /Nebulus Racing by Huber)
5. Christopher Zöchling (Austria/Fach Auto Tech)
6. Max van Splunteren (Netherlands/GP Elite)
7. Morris Schuring (Netherlands /Team GP Elite)
8. Julian Hanses (Germany /HRT Performance)
9. Rudy van Buren (Netherlands /CarTech Motorsport by Nigrin)
10. Jukka Honkavuori (Finland/MRS GT-Racing)
Points standings after 4 of 16 races
Drivers’ classification
1. Larry ten Voorde (Netherlands /Team GP Elite), 86 points
2. Laurin Heinrich (Germany /Van Berghe Huber Racing), 81 points
3. Ayhancan Güven (Turkey/Phoenix Racing), 58 points
Round 3
A special achievement for Ayhancan Güven: At the Motorsport Arena Oschersleben, the Porsche Junior notched up his first victory in the Porsche Carrera Cup Deutschland.
“I’m so happy. The initial phase in the wet was a huge challenge. Larry ten Voorde put me under a lot of pressure at first, but I defended myself well and was even able to pull clear at the front,” said Güven (Turkey/Phoenix Racing). This victory makes the 23-year-old the first Turkish race winner in the German one-make cup. At the round as part of the ADAC GT Masters, Larry ten Voorde (Netherlands/Team GP Elite) and Laurin Heinrich (Germany/Van Berghe Huber Racing) secured positions two and three in their Porsche 911 GT3 Cup.
As the 27 drivers rolled onto the starting grid on Michelin slicks, a brief rain shower set in. Consequently, the race started on a wet track behind the safety car. After three laps, the fully electric Porsche Taycan Turbo S headed back into the pit lane, pole-sitter Güven took the lead and immediately fended off an attack from ten Voorde in the first corner. The Phoenix Racing driver then proceeded to gradually eke out an advantage at the front of the field. After 20 laps, Güven took the flag with a 2.5-second lead over ten Voorde. “The rain made for an exciting start. You needed full concentration. Luckily, the track dried up as the race progressed. Second place earns me crucial points towards the championship,” said ten Voorde.
Heinrich scored third place on the 3.667-kilometre racetrack southwest Magdeburg. “I haven’t raced in rain much, so the first laps were hugely challenging for me. Still, it was great fun,” concluded the 19-year-old. This result makes Heinrich the best driver from the Talent Pool, a support programme for youngsters in the one-make cup. The battle for fourth place offered gripping motorsport, with six drivers just a second apart. In the end, Leon Köhler (Germany/Nebulus Racing by Huber) came out on top. The German was followed over the line by rookie Morris Schuring (Netherlands/Team GP Elite) ahead of Christopher Zöchling (Austria/Fach Auto Tech), Julian Hanses (Germany/HRT Performance) and Rudy van Buren (Netherlands/CarTech Motorsport by Nigrin).
Larry ten Voorde continues to lead the overall ranking
Bastian Buus (Denmark/Allied-Racing) worked his way up the order from 16th on the grid to finish in ninth. Max van Splunteren (Netherlands/GP Elite) rounded off the top ten finishers. In the ProAm class, Carlos Rivas (Black Falcon Team Textar) celebrated his third victory of the season. The Luxembourger won his class ahead of Jan-Erik Slooten (Germany/Phoenix Racing) and Kim Hauschild (Germany/HRT Motorsport).
After the third race, Larry ten Voorde (70 points) continues to lead the overall ranking of the Porsche Carrera Cup Deutschland. Position two is occupied by Laurin Heinrich (56 points) followed by Christopher Zöchling (42 points) in third. Race four of the Porsche Carrera Cup Deutschland gets underway on Sunday at 3.10pm (CEST). Fans can watch the race in Oschersleben live on the free-TV station Sport1.
Result race 3, Porsche Carrera Cup Deutschland
1. Ayhancan Güven (Turkey/Phoenix Racing)
2. Larry ten Voorde (Netherlands/Team GP Elite)
3. Laurin Heinrich (Germany/Van Berghe Huber Racing)
4. Leon Köhler (Germany/Nebulus Racing by Huber)
5. Morris Schuring (Netherlands/Team GP Elite)
6. Christopher Zöchling (Austria/Fach Auto Tech)
7. Julian Hanses (Germany/HRT Performance)
8. Rudy van Buren (Netherlands/CarTech Motorsport by Nigrin)
9. Bastian Buus (Denmark/Allied-Racing)
10. Max van Splunteren (Netherlands/GP Elite)
Points standings after 3 of 16 races
Drivers’ classification
1. Larry ten Voorde (Netherlands/Team GP Elite), 70 points
2. Laurin Heinrich (Germany/Van Berghe Huber Racing), 56 points
3. Christopher Zöchling (Austria/Fach Auto Tech), 42 points