Lights-to-flag victory for Thomas Preining in Styria

“That was a perfect weekend. Michael Ammermüller put me under pressure at the start, but I stayed calm and I didn’t give him a chance to overtake,” said Preining (BWT Lechner Racing). Michael Ammermüller (BWT Lechner Racing) from Germany scored second place in his Porsche 911 GT3 Cup. Third place at round four of the Porsche Carrera Cup Deutschland went to Larry ten Voorde (Team Deutsche Post by Project 1) from the Netherlands.

Pole Position for Thomas Preining

Preining took off into the race from pole position in the 35-strong field in sunshine and a temperature of 29 degrees Celsius. The 19-year-old managed to defend his lead off the line. Starting from the second grid spot, Ammermüller stuck close to his teammate’s bumper. Additional suspense was provided by the safety car, which was deployed in lap five. Although the field bunched up, Preining refused to relinquish his lead over the entire distance. After 17 laps, the youngster from Linz took the flag as the winner with a 1.1-second advantage over Ammermüller. This also made him the best driver in the Porsche Carrera Cup Deutschland Talent Pool, the junior development programme of the one-make cup. “In the first lap I stuck close to Thomas Preining, but I couldn’t find a way past him. On top of that I had to keep an eye on the tyre temperature, as it increases in the slipstream,” said Ammermüller.

On the rollercoaster circuit in Styria, ten Voorde achieved third. “I’m really pleased to be on the podium in such a large field. The gaps between us were small and the race was great fun,” said ten Voorde. One second behind the 21-year-old, the French guest driver Florian Latorre (Martinet by ALMERAS) crossed the finish line in fourth. Fifth place went to Igor Walilko (Raceunion). The Polish driver ended the race on the 4.318-kilometre racetrack as the best rookie. Glenn van Parijs (MRS GT-Racing) from Belgium came sixth. Dylan Pereira (Lechner Racing) treated spectators to a spirited pursuit through the field: The Luxembourger, who celebrated his 21st birthday, ploughed from 31st at the start to seventh, only to be thrown out of contention by a puncture in the ninth lap.

Early retire for Julien Andlauer

Taking up the race from fourth on the grid, the Porsche Junior Julien Andlauer (Martinet by ALMERAS) had to retire early from the race in lap five. “Unfortunately a stone put a hole in the radiator causing my car to lose fluid. It’s a pity, because I wanted to get to know the track better in the two races. Still, I was fast in the first laps,” explained Andlauer. The Frenchman used the race as preparation for the Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup round that will be contested in Spielberg at the end of June as support to the Formula One race. The best driver in the amateur class was Jörn Schmidt-Staade (D/Cito Pretiosa) followed by his German teammate Stefan Rehkopf and guest driver Wolfgang Triller (D/Raceunion).

After four rounds, Ammermüller continues to lead the championship. With 90 points, the 32-year-old lies first ahead of Preining who has earned 64 points. Third place in the series is occupied by ten Voorde with 53 points. Pereira ranks first in the rookie classification with 71 points. The best driver in the class for amateur drivers is Schmidt-Staade. The racer from Düsseldorf has earned 100 points.

Special guests in the paddock

As special guests, “Mister Central Germany 2016/17”, Fabian Fröhlich, and “Mister Austria 2013”, Philipp Knefz, visited the paddock of the Porsche Carrera Cup Deutschland. The two social media producers followed the race on Sunday live from the racetrack and shared their impressions on their Instagram accounts @fabian_froehlich and @philippknefz.

The Porsche Carrera Cup Deutschland now heads into the summer break. The next doubleheader will be run from 3 to 5 August as support to the ADAC GT Masters at the Nürburgring. The national one-make cup will be joined for the two races by the Porsche Carrera Cup Scandinavia. Including the guest starters from the Scandinavian racing series, 44 Porsche 911 GT3 Cup will line up on the grid.

The third podium step was occupied by 21-year-old ten Voorde. “I got away a tad too late at the start and that cost me second place. Still, third is a super result for me,” said ten Voorde. One second behind the driver from the Dutch town of Boekelo, Porsche Junior Julien Andlauer (Martinet by ALMERAS) finished fourth. The Frenchman used the race as a rehearsal for the Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup round that will be contested in Spielberg at the end of June as support to the Formula One race. “I had an intensive but fair duel with Luca Rettenbacher for fourth place. I waited patiently and managed to overtake him in the twelfth lap,” said Andlauer.

Fifth place went to guest driver Florian Latorre (Martinet by ALMERAS) from France ahead of Luca Rettenbacher (A/MSG/HRT Motorsport). Poland’s Robert Lukas (Förch Racing) scored seventh on the 4.318-kilometre racetrack. The best rookie driver was Jacob Eidson (Team Project 1) from the USA, with the 23-year-old finishing eighth. In the amateur classification, guest starter Wolfgang Triller (D/Raceunion) held the top spot. Second in this class went to Jörn Schmidt-Staade (D/Cito Pretiosa) followed by Sören Spreng (D/Black Falcon).

Ammermüller holds the overall lead

With 70 points, Ammermüller holds the overall lead in the one-make cup standings after three races, followed by Lukas in second with 47 points. Dylan Pereira ranks third (L/Lechner Racing) with 41 points. Holding 61 points, Pereira is the best driver in the rookie classification. Schmidt-Staade leads the class for amateur drivers with 75 points.

Fabian Fröhlich presented the trophies on the podium. The winner of “Mister Central Germany 2016/17” also got a look behind the scenes of the one-make cup and shared his impressions on his Instagram account @fabian_froehlich. The social media producer will be back on Sunday when round four of the Porsche Carrera Cup Deutschland takes off at 11:40 hrs as support to the ADAC GT Masters.

#CarreraCupDE - Ever wondered how it looks like to present a trophy at the cup handover? Here you go. Your camera man was influencer @fabi_froehlich #spectacles pic.twitter.com/xLAgZWU70R

— Porsche Motorsport (@PorscheRaces) 9. Juni 2018