Van Lagen wins home race, Preining extends series lead

The 29-strong fleet of vehicles drove out onto the racetrack at the Dutch North Sea coast in drizzle and a temperature of 19 degrees Celsius. Still, all 485-hp Porsche 911 GT3 Cup cars took up the race on slicks. When the lights went out, Van Lagen took the lead. Preining, who had started from second, immediately tucked in behind him. The pair treated fans to a close duel for the lead. Just as van Lagen was able to pull clear slightly the safety car was deployed in lap five so that a vehicle could be salvaged. After the restart, the 20-year-old immediately put the Förch driver under pressure however van Lagen fended him off and reached the chequered flag in first place after 16 laps. This marked the second win of this year’s Porsche Carrera Cup Deutschland for the driver from the Dutch town of Ede. Preining finished on second place, 0.3 seconds behind the leader. “Not all sections of the track were completely wet. The conditions were tricky. I was right on Jaap van Lagen’s bumper, but towards the end of the race I didn’t want to take any unnecessary risks and endanger the championship. I managed to extend my advantage this weekend and that’s the main thing,” said Preining.

Dylan Pereira was the best rookie of the day

Ten Voorde also had reason to celebrate: For the fourth time this season, the youngster from Boekelo (Netherlands) crossed the finish line in third place. In lap nine while running in fourth, the 21-year-old made the decisive move and swept past Dylan Pereira (L/Lechner Racing). “My main goal was the podium. During the safety car phase I planned very carefully how I was going to overtake Dylan Pereira. It worked brilliantly,” said ten Voorde. 21-year-old Pereira reached the flag on the coastal circuit in fourth, making him the best rookie of the day. Fifth place went to Henric Skoog (Raceunion). The Swede had started from tenth on the grid and managed to make up five places during the race.

Thirty-two-year-old Ammermüller scored position six ahead of Igor Walilko (Raceunion) from Poland. Eighth place on the 4.307-kilometre race track was occupied by Germany’s Tim Zimmermann from the Black Falcon Team TMD Friction squad. His teammate Carlos Rivas was classified as the best driver in the amateur class. The race driver from Luxembourg relegated Stefan Rehkopf (D/Cito Pretiosa) to second place. The third step on the amateur podium was taken by Andreas Sczepansky (D/QA Racing by Kurt Ecke).

In the championship, Preining has pulled clear from his rivals: With six wins and 179 points the racer from Linz ranks first ahead of Ammermüller. After ten races, the German driver sits second with 169 points. Ten Voorde follows on third place with 122 points. The leader of the rookie class is Pereira. The 21-year-old has 159 points to his credit. In the amateur classification, Jörn Schmidt-Staade (D/Cito Pretiosa) ranks first with 183 points.

Thomas Preining (A/BWT Lechner Racing) continues his winning streak in the Porsche Carrera Cup Deutschland: On the Circuit Zandvoort in the Netherlands, the Porsche Junior clinched a lights-to-flag victory on Saturday ahead of local hero Jaap van Lagen (NL/Förch Racing). Third place went to Dylan Pereira (Lechner Racing) from Luxembourg. Of the nine races contested so far this season, Preining has won six of them. “Overtaking on this circuit is relatively difficult, so pole position was important. I won the sprint to the first corner and afterwards I was really fast. It’s my maiden win at Zandvoort and I’m really thrilled about that,” said Preining.

A 29-strong field took up the race on the circuit on the Dutch North Sea coast. Preining (A/BWT Lechner Racing) made a clean start off the line with his Porsche 911 GT3 Cup, which enabled him to defend his lead. Lap by lap, the youngster from Austria pulled clear of his rivals. By the time the safety car was deployed in lap seven, Preining had eked out a 3.2-second advantage. After the restart, a collision amongst several vehicles resulted in the race being red-flagged. Due to the extensive clean-up of the dune circuit, the race could not be continued. Thus, Preining was classified as the winner. Because less than 50 percent of the scheduled race distance had been covered at the time of the race cancellation, the drivers received no points towards the championship. Behind the Austrian, Pereira took up the race from second on the grid but the 21-year-old immediately came under pressure from van Lagen (NL/Förch Racing). Starting from third, the seasoned Porsche specialist overtook Pereira in the Gerlachbocht right-hander on lap two. “I was determined to put pressure on Dylan Pereira right from the start and that worked well. At the restart I was catching up to Thomas Preining but unfortunately the race was then cancelled,” said van Lagen.

This is Pereira’s third podium result so far this season, making the driver from Schouweiler (Luxembourg) the best rookie. “Jaap van Lagen passed me on the outside and so he was on the inside at the next corner. Although we don’t receive any points, third place is a good result and it gives me a lot of confidence heading into Sunday’s race,” said Pereira. Fourth place went to Michael Ammermüller (BWT Lechner Racing) from Germany. The 32-year-old took up the race from fifth on the grid and managed to snatch one position in the first lap. Ayhancan Güven (MSG/HRT Motorsport) from Turkey finished on fifth.

Sixth place on the 4.307-kilometre racetrack was occupied by Frenchman Jean-Baptiste Simmenauer (Lechner Racing). Igor Walilko (Raceunion) from Poland scored seventh place ahead of his Swedish teammate Henric Skoog. In front of his home crowd, Larry ten Voorde (Team Deutsche Post by Project 1) from the Dutch town of Boekelo started from tenth on the grid and managed to overtake a rival. Tenth place went to Robert Lukas (PL/Förch Racing). The best driver in the amateur class was Carlos Rivas (L/Black Falcon Team TMD Friction) ahead of Jörn Schmidt-Staade (D/Cito Pretiosa). Stefan Rehkopf (Cito Pretiosa) from Germany rounded off the podium for amateur drivers.

The championship standings remain unchanged

With no points awarded for round nine of the series, the championship standings remain unchanged: Preining leads with 159 points ahead of Ammermüller. Although the two Lechner drivers are tied for points, the junior driver has four victories more than Ammermüller under his belt. Third in the Porsche Carrera Cup Deutschland is occupied by 21-year-old ten Voorde with 106 points. Leading the rookie class is Pereira with 134 points. With 172 points, Schmidt-Staade is the leader of the amateur classification.