Sven Müller claims title with fifth place

Sven Müller is the new champion of the Porsche Carrera Cup Deutschland. The 24-year-old German from the town of Bingen on the Rhine kept the suspense high at the season finale on the Hockenheimring Baden-Württemberg and, despite a collision, drive-through penalty and fifth place, secured the title. Christian Engelhart (D/MRS GT-Racing) won round 16 on Sunday ahead of Nicholas Yelloly (GB/Rookie Team Deutsche Post by Project 1) and Matteo Cairoli (I/KÜS Team75 Bernhard), but this was not enough for Engelhart to snatch the championship crown from Müller. At the end of the day, Müller had eight points more than Engelhart. Clinching ten victories from 16 races, Porsche junior Müller set a new record in the Porsche Carrera Cup Deutschland. “In the end things got tighter than I’d hoped for. At times I thought it wasn’t going to be enough. But with my Konrad Motorport team I dominated the season and now I’m simply thrilled to take home the title,” said Müller.

Müller tackled the race from pole position, the ninth time this season, but initially struggled. Despite getting a clean start, Müller was unable to shake off Schmidt, with the Swiss overtaking him before into the fourth corner. As the German tried to re-establish himself at the front, he touched his opponent’s vehicle. Schmidt slid into the run-off zone, scraped the guard rail and was out of contention. The safety car was deployed and the manoeuvre earned Müller a drive-through penalty. Once the Konrad pilot had driven through the pit lane he was back to 13th place and over the remaining seven laps worked his way through the field to finish fifth. This was enough for him to secure the title.

Engelhart: “He had a fantastic season with ten victories”

Although Engelhart was delighted with his win after 18 laps, he was still disappointed at missing out on the title: “I had a very consistent season and was on the podium 13 times. Of course I’m now struggling a bit with the odd point that I missed out on. Still, it’s great to wind up the season with a victory. I’d like to congratulate Sven on the title. He had a fantastic season with ten victories.” Over the course of the season Yelloly’s form improved, culminating in podium spots at both the penultimate race weekend on the Nürburgring and at the final race in Hockenheim. Second place at the finale marked his best result of the year. Porsche junior Cairoli, who contested the Carrera Cup for the first time this year for Team75 Bernhard, claimed the last podium step. “There were lots of collisions today and I’m pleased that I didn’t get caught up in any of them. I congratulate my Porsche junior colleague on the title. He did a great job this season.”

Position four went to the Swedish guest driver Philip Morin (S/Team Lechner Huber Racing). Müller was flagged off in fifth, after David Kolkmann (D/Rookie Team Deutsche Post by Project 1) was handed a 10-second drive-through penalty due to a jump start. Porsche junior Dennis Olsen (N/Team Lechner Huber Racing) delivered a gripping duel with Müller over the last laps only to receive a 30-second penalty after causing a collision which relegated him back to 16th position. “This season was packed with action, which I sometimes could have done without. To finish the season third overall, however, is more than I expected. I’m really pleased with my first Porsche year,” declared Olsen.

While Müller was crowned champion with 271 points, the vice-championship title went to Engelhart with 263 points. Olsen claimed third with 218 points and also secured an early rookie championship title. In the team classification, Frank Konrad’s squad held a narrow lead. Konrad Motorsport won the team title with 419 points ahead of the Lechner Huber Racing team (411) managed by Christoph Huber. Third place went to MRS GT-Racing (342) with the team bosses Iris Dorr and Karsten Molitor.

Jeffrey Schmidt (Team Lechner Huber Racing) from Switzerland won the action-packed round 15 on the Hockenheimring Baden-Württemberg circuit with Porsche junior Sven Müller (D/Konrad Motorsport) and Christian Engelhart (D/MRS GT-Racing) occupying the second and third podium steps. With this, the championship goes down to the wire at the last race on Sunday, with Müller holding a 14-point advantage over his closest pursuer Engelhart. “My race went perfectly. I managed to win the Hockenheim round at the beginning of the season, so I tackled this race feeling quite confident and I didn’t make any mistakes,” said Schmidt with obvious pleasure.

From the first to the last lap, fans were treated to some gripping racing on Saturday. Müller lined up on pole with his arch rival Engelhart next to him on the first grid row. The series’ leader made a poor start allowing Engelhart to snatch the lead in the first few metres. Schmidt, who had started from third on the grid, got the last laugh and swept into first place in the Spitzkehre hairpin. In the meantime a turbulent scene played out behind them: Australian Nick Foster (Konrad Motorsport) was involved in a spin, Marek Böckmann (D/KÜS Team75 Bernhard) and Wolf Nathan (NL/Team Huber Lechner Racing) collided and the race was red-flagged. It took more than ten minutes to clean up the circuit with the race finally restarting behind the safety car.

Engelhart: “I believe I have a chance”

Spearheading the 23-strong field, Schmidt held on to his lead over the remaining 15 minutes to take the flag as the winner. Müller trimmed the gap to him to 0.4 seconds and managed to extend his lead over Engelhart by two championship points. “Unfortunately due to the red flag, the race ran over only twelve laps. With an eye on the title, I wasn’t prepared to risk too much and I’m pleased with the points. I would like to bring home the title on Sunday,” explained Müller. Finishing third and just 14 points down on Müller in the overall standings, Engelhart remains in contention for the championship crown. “Sven and I had a great fight over the first few laps. Unfortunately I lost two positions because of it. From fourth I managed to make up one place with an overtaking manoeuvre. It’ll be hard to win the championship title in the last race, but I believe I have a chance,” said Engelhart.

Nicholas Yelloly (GB/Rookie Team Deutsche Post by Project 1) finished in fourth place in front of Porsche junior Matteo Cairoli (I/KÜS Team75 Bernhard). Cairoli was satisfied with his performance: “The team put a good car on the track for me today. Over the longer race distance on Sunday I aim to push harder.” The Swedish guest driver Philip Morin (S/Team Lechner Huber Racing) took the flag in sixth, with Porsche junior Dennis Olsen (N/Team Lechner Huber Racing) securing seventh place. “That was an exciting race. I narrowly avoided getting caught up in the collision by just a few centimetres. After the restart I was faster than the cars in front of me, but I couldn’t get past. My squad Lechner Huber Racing is currently leading the team classification and my aim is to win this title at the final race,” said Olsen. Flagged off behind him in eighth place was David Kolkmann (D/Rookie Team Deutsche Post by Project 1).

As a prominent guest start, Richy Müller joined the action

In the overall standings after 15 of 16 races, Müller ranks first with 257 points and holds a record number of ten victories. Engelhart lies in second place with 243 points. Olsen is third with 210 points and has already claimed the title as the best rookie. Hockenheim winner Schmidt occupies position four in the standings with 192 points. In the B-classification, Wolfgang Triller (D/Team Huber Lechner Racing) has also taken home the laurels. In the fight for the championship crown as the best team, Lechner Huber Racing (403 points) pushed past Konrad Motorsport (396 points) on Saturday.

As a prominent guest start, Richy Müller (D/Rookie Team Deutsche Post by Project 1) joined the action. The actor and Porsche ambassador took the flag in the B-category in seventh place. YouTuber Danny Jesden took a look behind the scenes in Hockenheim. Luca Rettenbacher (A/Konrad Motorsport) showed him his 460 hp Porsche 911 GT3 Cup and talked shop with the Hanoverian.