“My team gave me a car with the best setup and driving it gave me a great feeling. At times, Christopher Zöchling put me under a lot of pressure but I managed to ward him off. I’m thrilled with my victory and I’m particularly pleased for my team, Black Falcon,” said Christian Engelhart.
Taking up the race from pole position, Engelhart got a clean start to retain his lead. But from the very beginning, Zöchling put pressure on the seasoned Porsche specialist. At times, only several tenths of a second separated the pair, but over the course of the race Engelhart managed to increase the gap by putting in several fastest race laps. This marks the first race win for the Bavarian’s Black Falcon squad after only just joining the Porsche Carrera Cup Deutschland this season. MRS pilot Zöchling ultimately finished on second: “I was really fast in the early phase and I was determined to get past Christian Engelhart. In the final laps, however, I wasn’t able to match his pace.”
The youngster stayed glued to his bumper
Behind the duo, Michael Ammermüller (D/raceunion Huber Racing) maintained third place for quite some time. Although Olsen managed to overtake him in the sprint to the first corner, the 31-year-old immediately countered in the same lap. But the youngster stayed glued to his bumper. In the penultimate lap, Olsen saw his chance and swept past, with the 21-year-old bringing home third place ahead of Ammermüller on the 3.478-kilometre racetrack. “I got away well off the line and I waited patiently for my chance to overtake Michael Ammermüller. I’m thrilled to have earned some all-important points,” said Olsen. Fifth place went to Nick Yelloly (GB/Team Deutsche Post by Project 1).
Porsche-Junior Thomas Preining (A/Konrad Motorsport) took the flag in sixth. “Unfortunately I lost a place to Nick Yelloly, but I was able to pick up my pace and drive well again. This makes me feel positive for the next races,” said the young racing driver from Linz. Preining has built his lead in the rookie classification to 91 points. The best amateur driver was Carlos Rivas (BLACK FALCON) from Luxembourg. Wolfgang Triller (D/Huber Racing by TriSpa) remains at the head of the amateur category with 42 points.
A look back at race 3
“My third win in a row feels fantastic. Although Christian Engelhart put a lot of pressure on me I stayed cool and didn’t make any mistakes. That was decisive,” said Olsen (Konrad Motorsport). Engelhart (BLACK FALCON) took up the race from pole position, but was surprised by Olsen after the first few metres. The driver from the Norwegian town of Våler made a lightning start off the line in his Porsche 911 GT3 Cup, beating the seasoned Porsche specialist in the sprint to the first corner. Ammermüller (raceunion Huber Racing) successively defended his third starting position. Over the course of the race, the trio pulled clear of the field on the 3.478-kilometre racetrack. Engelhart stuck close to Olsen’s bumper with a mere one-tenth of a second gap, however the Konrad Motorsport pilot kept him at bay to take the flag in first place after 18 laps.
“Unfortunately my start wasn’t good enough. I still managed to stay close to Dennis Olsen, but he simply put in a flawless drive,” said Engelhart. Ammermüller secured the third podium step: “The beginning of the race was good, but I lacked the speed today to really go for Christian Engelhart,” explained the 31 year old. Behind the first three drivers, Christopher Zöchling (A/MRS GT-Racing) crossed the finish line in fourth. For much of the race, the Austrian could not find a way past Porsche Junior Thomas Preining, however in lap 16 he finally grabbed his chance to sweep past his countryman after the finish straight. Preining concluded his race on fifth ahead of Nick Yelloly (GB/Team Deutsche Post by Project 1).
“I was able to match the pace of the frontrunners over the first laps and that was great,” said Preining. “In my duel with Christopher Zöchling, he played his advantage of experience to the max. He was just great.” The 18 year old initially managed to defend his fourth starting position and blocked many overtaking attempts from Zöchling. But with two laps left to the flag, the youngster had to let the 29 year old past. Victory in the amateur classification went to Wolfgang Triller (D/Huber Racing by TriSpa), who expands his lead in his category.
YouTuber Nihan visited round three of the Porsche Carrera Cup Deutschland on the Lausitzring. The social media producer shared her impressions from behind the scenes of the one-make race series on Twitter and Instagram. Nihan also captured the event on her camera for her YouTube channel.
Race results
Race 3:
1. Dennis Olsen (N/Konrad Motorsport)
2. Christian Engelhart (D/BLACK FALCON)
3. Michael Ammermüller (D/raceunion Huber Racing)
4. Christopher Zöchling (A/MRS GT-Racing)
5. Thomas Preining (A/Konrad Motorsport)
6. Nick Yelloly (GB/Team Deutsche Post by Project 1)
7. Luca Rettenbacher (A/Konrad Motorsport)
8. Max van Splunteren (NL/MRS GT-Racing)
9. David Kolkmann (D/Team Deutsche Post by Project 1)
10. Marius Nakken (N/MRS GT-Racing)
11. Gabriele Piana (I/RN Vision Team BLACK FALCON)
12. Ryan Cullen (GB/raceunion Huber Racing)
13. Henric Skoog (S/raceunion Huber Racing)
14. Larry Ten Voorde (NL/Team Deutsche Post by Project 1)
15. Richard Gonda (SK/Zele-Racing)
16. Wolfgang Triller (D/Huber Racing by TriSpa)
17. Kim André Hauschild (D/Speed Lover)
18. Carlos Rivas (L/BLACK FALCON)
19. Wolf Nathan (NL/Huber Racing by TriSpa)
20. Philipp Sager (A/Zele-Racing)
21. Jörn Schmidt-Staade (D/Cito Pretiosa)
22. Stefan Rehkopf (D/Cito Pretiosa)
23. Ronja Assmann (D/Cito Pretiosa)
Not classified:
Matthias Jeserich (D/Huber Racing by TriSpa)
Race 4:
1. Christian Engelhart (D/BLACK FALCON)
2. Christopher Zöchling (A/MRS GT-Racing)
3. Dennis Olsen (N/Konrad Motorsport)
4. Michael Ammermüller (D/raceunion Huber Racing)
5. Nick Yelloly (GB/Team Deutsche Post by Project 1)
6. Thomas Preining (A/Konrad Motorsport)
7. Luca Rettenbacher (A/Konrad Motorsport)
8. Gabriele Piana (I/RN Vision Team BLACK FALCON)
9. Henric Skoog (S/raceunion Huber Racing)
10. David Kolkmann (D/Team Deutsche Post by Project 1)
11. Ryan Cullen (GB/raceunion Huber Racing)
12. Max van Splunteren (NL/MRS GT-Racing)
13. Kim André Hauschild (D/Speed Lover)
14. Richard Gonda (SK/Zele-Racing)
15. Carlos Rivas (L/BLACK FALCON)
16. Wolfgang Triller (D/Huber Racing by TriSpa)
17. Matthias Jeserich (D/Huber Racing by TriSpa)
18. Stefan Rehkopf (D/Cito Pretiosa)
19. Philipp Sager (A/Zele-Racing)
20. Ronja Assmann (D/Cito Pretiosa)
Points standings after 4 of 14 races:
Driver classification:
1. Dennis Olsen (N/Konrad Motorsport), 91 points
2. Michael Ammermüller (D/raceunion Huber Racing), 69 points
3. Christopher Zöchling (A/MRS GT-Racing), 65 points
Info
Next up on the Porsche Carrera Cup Deutschland calendar is the double-header on the Red Bull Ring in Spielberg, Austria, from 9-11 June.