Round 6
The German won Sunday’s race at the Red Bull Ring ahead of Porsche Junior Ayhancan Güven (Turkey/Phoenix Racing) and Leon Köhler (Germany/Nebulus Racing by Huber). Thanks to his victory in Spielberg, Heinrich takes over the lead of the championship. “My goal was to put in a good start and take the lead from the very first corner. I succeeded in doing that and it proved to be the key to success. With my teammate Leon Köhler also on the podium, it’s a fantastic result for our Huber squad,” said Heinrich. At the event held as part of the ADAC GT Masters support programme, 32 drivers lined up on the grid in the new Porsche 911 GT3 Cup. Thanks to the implementation of hygiene measures, up to 3,000 fans were able to witness the races on Saturday and Sunday live for the first time this season.
In bright sunshine and an air temperature of 20 degrees Celsius, polesitter Güven led the field onto the track. At the start, however, Heinrich got off the line faster in his Cup vehicle and snatched the lead. The 19-year-old from the one-make cup’s Talent Pool programme eked out an advantage over the rest of the field, confidently retained his lead after a restart and celebrated his second win of the season after 20 laps. For a long stretch, Köhler held the best cards in the battle for second place: The Huber driver also overtook Güven on the first lap, but the Turkish junior driver stuck close to Köhler. In lap 14, Güven got past the German and secured second place. “After two pole positions, I’d obviously hoped for an even better result. Unfortunately, my start wasn’t perfect but I still managed to earn critical points towards the championship,” said the driver from Phoenix Racing.
Saturday’s winner Köhler rounded off the podium. “I got off to a great start. Unfortunately, my tyres deteriorated during the race and Ayhancan Güven grabbed his chance. One win and a podium spot are great results.” Fourth place went to Julian Hanses (Germany/HRT Performance) – the best result of the season so far for the youngster. The Danish rookie driver Bastian Buus (Allied-Racing) took the flag in fifth place followed by Larry ten Voorde (Netherlands/Team GP Elite), guest driver Dorian Boccolacci (France/Martinet by Alméras) and Rudy van Buren (Netherlands/CarTech Motorsport by Nigrin).
Christopher Zöchling (Fach Auto Tech) competed on home turf at the 4.318-kilometre racetrack. After clinching seventh place in Saturday’s race, the only Austrian in the Porsche Carrera Cup Deutschland field had to pit early after a collision two laps before the end. In the ProAm class, Carlos Rivas (Black Falcon Team Textar) celebrated a perfect race weekend in Styria. The Luxembourger won both races in his class – in Sunday’s event, Kim Hauschild (Germany/HRT Motorsport) and Georgi Donchev (Bulgaria/Nebulus Racing by Huber) claimed the other two podium spots.
“For the first time this season, spectators were able to watch our races live again from the grandstands. That was obviously a real highlight for the team and drivers. With our two races, we treated fans to some great motor racing with many overtaking manoeuvres,” said Hurui Issak, Project Manager of the Porsche Carrera Cup Deutschland. In the championship, Heinrich (119 points) moves into the lead after six races followed by ten Voorde (116 points) and Güven (94 points).
The next race weekend of the Porsche Carrera Cup Deutschland takes place next weekend (18 to 20 June), with the drivers and teams heading to Monza in Italy. The DTM event marks the anniversary of the one-make cup: on the storied circuit northeast of Milan, the German Carrera Cup will hold its 350th race.
Result race 6, Porsche Carrera Cup Deutschland
1. Laurin Heinrich (Germany/Van Berghe Huber Racing)
2. Ayhancan Güven (Turkey/Phoenix Racing)
3. Leon Köhler (Germany/Nebulus Racing by Huber)
4. Julian Hanses (Germany /HRT Performance)
5. Bastian Buus (Denmark/Allied-Racing)
6. Larry ten Voorde (Netherlands/Team GP Elite)
7. Dorian Boccolacci (France/Martinet by Alméras)
8. Rudy van Buren (Netherlands /CarTech Motorsport by Nigrin)
9. Max van Splunteren (Netherlands /GP Elite)
10. Loek Hartog (Netherlands /Black Falcon Team Textar)
Points standings after 6 of 16 races
Drivers’ classification
1. Laurin Heinrich (Germany /Van Berghe Huber Racing), 119 points
2. Larry ten Voorde (Netherlands /Team GP Elite), 116 points
3. Ayhancan Güven (Turkey/Phoenix Racing), 94 points
Round 5
Leon Köhler (Nebulus Racing by Huber) scored his first win of the season at race five of the Porsche Carrera Cup Deutschland at the Red Bull Ring (Austria). The German won the action-packed race on Saturday at the wheel of his Porsche 911 GT3 Cup ahead of Larry ten Voorde (Team GP Elite) from the Netherlands and Porsche Junior Ayhancan Güven (Phoenix Racing) from Turkey. “What a great feeling! The decisive factor was that I managed to get ahead of Ayhancan Güven at the start. The two safety car phases made things gripping at times, but I stayed focused. I’m incredibly pleased with this victory,” said Köhler.
The 32-strong Carrera Cup field experienced a special race in Styria: Thanks to the implementation of hygiene measures, up to 3,000 spectators were allowed to witness the race run as support to the ADAC GT Masters live from the grandstand for the first time this season. Porsche Junior Güven set the fastest qualifying time and took up the race from pole position. Köhler, however, got the better start and snatched the lead at the first corner. Ten Voorde also catapulted off the line and overtook Güven. The safety car, a fully electric Porsche Taycan Turbo S, intervened twice and bunched the field together. Köhler kept his cool at both restarts, with the 21-year-old crossing the finish line in first place after 19 laps ahead of ten Voorde. Köhler is the fourth driver to win a Carrera Cup race this season after ten Voorde, Güven and Laurin Heinrich (Germany/Van Berghe Huber Racing).
The fight for second place turned into a hefty exchange between ten Voorde, Güven and Heinrich. In the final phase of the race, mere fractions of a second separated the trio. Ultimately, ten Voorde prevailed. “The duels were tough but fair – that’s exactly what the Porsche Carrera Cup Deutschland stands for. Obviously, I would’ve liked to win but I wasn’t quite quick enough,” concluded ten Voorde. Positions three and four went to Güven and Heinrich, the best driver from the one-make cup’s talent pool programme. “Unfortunately, I didn’t get off the line well. Afterwards, it got really competitive among the leading pack. I had the speed but Larry ten Voorde skilfully defended himself,” said Güven.
As the best rookie, Bastian Buus (Denmark/Allied-Racing) secured fifth place ahead of Max van Splunteren (Netherlands/GP Elite). Christopher Zöchling competes in front of home crowds this weekend: Driving for Fach Auto Tech, the Austrian driver took the flag in seventh place. Eighth went to Julian Hanses (Germany/HRT Performance). In the ProAm class, Carlos Rivas (Black Falcon Team Textar) celebrated his fifth win of the season. The Luxembourger won his class head of Kim Hauschild (Germany/HRT Motorsport) and guest driver Clément Mateu (France/Pierre Martinet by Alméras).
After round five of the season, ten Voorde maintains his lead in the overall standings. The 24-year-old ranks first with 106 points ahead of Heinrich (94 points) and Köhler (75 points). Race six of the Porsche Carrera Cup Deutschland on the Red Bull Ring takes off on Sunday at midday local time.
Result race 5, Porsche Carrera Cup Deutschland
1. Leon Köhler (Germany/Nebulus Racing by Huber)
2. Larry ten Voorde (Netherlands/Team GP Elite)
3. Ayhancan Güven (Turkey/Phoenix Racing)
4. Laurin Heinrich (Germany/Van Berghe Huber Racing)
5. Bastian Buus (Denmark/Allied-Racing)
6. Max van Splunteren (Netherlands/GP Elite)
7. Christopher Zöchling (Austria/Fach Auto Tech)
8. Julian Hanses (Germany/HRT Performance)
9. Dorian Boccolacci (France/Martinet by Alméras)
10. Jesse van Kuijk (Netherlands/Team GP Elite)
Points standings after 5 of 16 races
Drivers’ classification
1. Larry ten Voorde (Netherlands/Team GP Elite), 106 points
2. Laurin Heinrich (Germany/Van Berghe Huber Racing), 94 points
3. Leon Köhler (Germany/Nebulus Racing by Huber), 75 points
