Sven Müller has the Porsche Carrera Cup Deutschland firmly in his grasp: Porsche Junior has won six of the eight races contested so far. As part of the motorsport festival at the Lausitzring he relegated Christian Engelhart (D/MRS GT-Racing) and Nick Foster (AUS/KÜS Team75 Bernhard) to positions two and three on Sunday. “You couldn’t ask for a better weekend. I was the fastest in practice, I set pole position for both races, I won both races and also clocked the fastest lap times twice. I’m pretty happy with that,” said Müller with a smile.
Race eight of the Porsche Carrera Cup Deutschland was contested in glorious sunshine and morning temperatures of 27 degrees Celsius. Müller and Engelhart took off from the first grid row, with Foster and Jeffrey Schmidt (CH/Team Lechner Huber Racing) in pursuit. The pilots turned their first laps perfectly with their Porsche 911 GT3 Cup, with Müller, Engelhart and Foster spearheading the field over the 24 laps to finish on the podium. “Around halfway through the race I got my chance because Sven made a small mistake. I stuck to his bumper but couldn’t overtake,” explained Engelhart. “After this weekend, Sven now has an eight-point lead. But he can’t rest on his laurels because there are still loads of points up for grabs from the remaining eight races,” said the Bavarian throwing down the gauntlet.
Dennis Olsen on position four
The Australian Nick Foster was thrilled with his two third places. The champion of the Porsche Carrera Cup Australia drives for the Team 75 Bernhard, which is managed by the long distance world champion Timo Bernhard and his father Rüdiger. “Timo sent me a text message from the Le Mans pre-test and was thrilled about the points I earned here,” declared Foster.
Porsche Junior Dennis Olsen (N/Team Lechner Huber Racing) finished Sunday’s race on position four. “I had a great start and I managed to overtake my teammate Jeffrey in lap two. So I’m still leading the rookie classification” said Olsen. Jeffrey Schmidt (CH/Team Lechner Huber Racing) saw the flag in fifth place. Sixth place went to guest starter Robert Lukas (PL/Förch Racing by Lukas Motorsport). The rookies from the Deutsche Post by Project 1 team, Briton Nicholas Yelloly and Germany’s David Kolkmann, finished on positions seven and eight.
Müller at the top: six victories and 141 points
Müller heads into the second half of the season as the “half-time champ”. After scoring six victories, the 24-year-old sits at the top of the table with 141 points. On position two with one win and five second places is Engelhart (133 points). Olsen, who contests his first Porsche Carrera Cup Deutschland season and, like Müller, receives support from Porsche, ranks third in the overall classification with 118 points. With this points tally, Olsen is the best rookie in the field. At round eight, Wolf Nathan (NL/Team Huber Lechner Racing) was the winner of the B-category. Wolfgang Triller (D/Team Huber Lechner Racing) still leads the special classification for amateurs, with Konrad Motorsport ranking first in the team classification.
A look back at race 7
Porsche Junior Sven Müller celebrated his fifth win of the Porsche Carrera Cup season on Saturday. At the seventh of 16 races, Müller (D/Konrad Motorsport) crossed the finish line first ahead of Dennis Olsen (N/Team Lechner Huber Racing) and Nick Foster (AUS/KÜS Team75 Bernhard). In the final phase of the race, the 24-year-old from the German town of Bingen managed to pull clear of the rest of the field in his mint-green Porsche 911 GT3 Cup. “Even though I started from pole position this wasn’t an easy race. My start wasn’t perfect, but at least I was able to stay in front of Engelhart. Ultimately it was a lights-to-flag victory with a five-second advantage. That, of course, was great fun,” said Müller.
Sharing the first grid row with Müller, Christian Engelhart (D/MRS GT-Racing) made a cracking start off the line to pull alongside Müller, and for a moment it looked as if he would move into the lead. But in the duel with Müller, Engelhart encountered a slippery patch on the track and lost ground, which gave the pole-sitter the chance to edge ahead. In the second lap, Engelhart had to let Foster past. Running in positions three and four, the Australian and the German delivered a fierce duel, with Engelhart finally having to concede to the champion of the Porsche Carrera Cup Australia. “That was a fantastic race for me. Christian was strong and put me under incredible pressure. But I stayed calm and I’m really happy with third place,” said a satisfied Foster, who had started from fifth on the grid.
Olsen benefited from Engelhart’s setback
Unimpressed by the turmoil was Porsche Junior Olsen. The 20-year-old Norwegian took off into the race from the third grid spot. Olsen benefited from Engelhart’s setback in the first lap and settled in behind Müller in second. “While I was running second in the first lap I tried to stick with Sven, but I had to consider my tyres. Later in the race they began to deteriorate and the gap between us grew. I’m starting from fifth for the next race. From that position Nick achieved a place on the podium,” explained Olsen with a mischievous grin. The 21-year-old Austrian Luca Rettenbacher (Konrad Motorsport) was able to work his way through the field from tenth to sixth place. Carrera Cup newcomer Daniel Keilwitz (D/Team Wiesmann-Motorsport) finished on seventh, with rookie David Kolkmann (D/Rookie Team Deutsche Post by Project 1) scoring crucial points for eighth place.
In the overall classification, Müller holds the lead after seven of 16 races with 121 points ahead of Engelhart with 115 points. Third place is occupied by Olsen (104 points), making him the best rookie in the field. Winner of the special category for B pilots was Peruvian Ricardo Flores Ramirez (PE/MRS GT-Racing), which now puts him on second place in the amateur classification. Still leading that category is Wolfgang Triller (D/Team Huber Lechner Racing). In the team classification, Konrad Motorsport has extended its lead slightly to 198 points over Lechner Huber Racing (183 points).
Race results
Race 7:
1. Sven Müller (D/Konrad Motorsport)
2. Dennis Olsen (N/Team Lechner Huber Racing)
3. Nick Foster (AUS/KÜS Team75 Bernhard)
4. Christian Engelhart (D/MRS GT-Racing)
5. Jeffrey Schmidt (CH/Team Lechner Huber Racing)
6. Luca Rettenbacher (A/Konrad Motorsport)
7. Daniel Keilwitz (D/Team Wiesmann-Motorsport)
8. David Kolkmann (D/Rookie Team Deutsche Post by Project 1)
9. Robert Lukas (PL/Förch Racing by Lukas Motorsport)
10. Nicholas Yelloly (GB/Rookie Team Deutsche Post by Project 1)
11. Marek Böckmann (D/KÜS Team75 Bernhard)
12. Ryan Cullen (GB/Konrad Motorsport)
13. Ricardo Flores Ramirez (PE/MRS GT-Racing)
14. Wolfgang Triller (D/Team Huber Lechner Racing)
15. Wolf Nathan (NL/Team Huber Lechner Racing)
Race 8:
1. Sven Müller (D/Konrad Motorsport)
2. Christian Engelhart (D/MRS GT-Racing)
3. Nick Foster (AUS/KÜS Team75 Bernhard)
4. Dennis Olsen (N/Team Lechner Huber Racing)
5. Jeffrey Schmidt (CH/Team Lechner Huber Racing)
6. Robert Lukas (PL/Förch Racing by Lukas Motorsport)
7. Nicholas Yelloly (GB/Rookie Team Deutsche Post by Project 1)
8. David Kolkmann (D/Rookie Team Deutsche Post by Project 1)
9. Ryan Cullen (GB/Konrad Motorsport)
10. Luca Rettenbacher (A/Konrad Motorsport)
11. Daniel Keilwitz (D/Team Wiesmann-Motorsport)
12. Wolf Nathan (NL/Team Huber Lechner Racing)
13. Wolfgang Triller (D/Team Huber Lechner Racing)
14. Ricardo Flores Ramirez (PE/MRS GT-Racing)
15. Marek Böckmann (D/KÜS Team75 Bernhard)
Points’ standings after 7 of 16 races:
Driver classification
1. Sven Müller (D/Konrad Motorsport), 141 points
2. Christian Engelhart (D/MRS GT-Racing), 133 points
3. Dennis Olsen (N/Team Lechner Huber Racing), 118 points
Team classification
1. Konrad Motorsport, 226 points
2. Team Lechner Huber Racing, 209 points
3. MRS GT-Racing, 166 points
Info
The next race weekend is contested on the Norisring in Nuremberg, with round nine and ten held on the narrow street circuit from 24 to 26 June.