Double victory for Dennis Olsen at the Hockenheimring

At the wheel of his 485 hp Porsche 911 GT3 Cup, Olsen relegated the German Michael Ammermüller (raceunion Huber Racing) and Christopher Zöchling (MRS GT-Racing) from Austria to the other podium steps. “The weekend was simply perfect! The three safety car phases made it difficult to stay focused, so that makes me all the more thrilled with my victory,” said Olsen.

Directly after the start Ammermüller managed to defend his pole position but the seasoned Porsche pilot from the raceunion Huber Racing squad immediately came under pressure Olsen. In the first-turn mayhem, the situation turned critical: Several vehicles made contact and the safety car was deployed. After the racetrack went green again, Ammermüller and Olsen gave spectators a gripping performance as they battled for the lead. In lap five, the Norwegian used the slipstream to overtake his rival. Although the safety car was sent out two more times, Olsen kept a cool head and concluded the race at the front.

An excellent start

In a repeat of round one on Saturday, Ammermüller had to admit a close defeat to Olsen. “After the first safety car phase, I slid off the track slightly in the hairpin. That’s when Olsen grabbed his chance,” said the 31-year-old. Directly behind him, Zöchling secured the third grid spot: “Perhaps I could have done better today, but I also had to contend with Nick Yelloly who was breathing down my neck. I had to watch him like a hawk.” Nick Yelloly (GB/Team Deutsche Post by Project 1) took the flag in fourth place, followed closely by his teammate Larry Ten Voorde (NL/Team Deutsche Post by Project 1). Sixth place went to Luca Rettenbacher (A/Konrad Motorsport), with Marius Nakken (N/MRS GT-Racing) finishing on position seven.

The Porsche Junior Thomas Preining (A/Konrad Motorsport) had an excellent start. The 18-year-old Austrian took up the race from the fourth grid spot and, with a catapult start, overtook Yelloly in the first turn. However, in the second lap, Preining lost control of his nine-eleven when he encountered radiator fluid left on the track after a collision amongst the backmarkers. “When I warmed up my tyres in the first safety car phase, I was taken by surprise by the damp track surface,” said the youngster from Linz. Preining fell back to position 18 and worked his way through the field to finish on eighth place. In ninth place, Jörn Schmidt-Staade (D/Cito Pretiosa) was the best amateur driver in the field.

Olsen was handed the winner’s trophy for his second win of the season by Albrecht Reimold. Like last year, the Board Member for Production and Logistics at Porsche AG visited the season-opening race weekend of the Porsche Carrera Cup Deutschland.

Pole-sitter Ammermüller got off the line well to take the lead, with Olsen, Zöchling and Porsche Junior Thomas Preining (A/Konrad Motorsport) fighting for positions behind him on 4.574-kilometre racetrack: After Zöchling cleverly fended off an attack from Preining, he proceeded to put second-placed Olsen under increasing pressure. Bumper to bumper, the two treated spectators to a thrilling duel. Olsen kept his cool, and after finally shaking off his pursuer, he closed in on Ammermüller. Until that point, the German had driven a flawless race, but in lap ten Olsen saw his chance and overtook at the exit of the hairpin. The Konrad Motorsport pilot then held on to his lead to the flag.

Adept overtaking moves

Ammermüller was unable to keep up with the swift Norwegian. “My lap times were very good at first, but Dennis Olsen pulled away and I simply couldn’t match his pace,” stated the driver for raceunion Huber Racing. Zöchling declared: “After the start I maintained contact with Dennis Olsen and I could’ve gone faster, but he simply defended himself perfectly and in the second half of the race I no longer had the speed.” Olsen received the winner’s trophy from Albrecht Reimold. Like last year, the Board Member for Production and Logistics at Porsche AG came to witness the season-opening race of the Porsche Carrera Cup Deutschland.

Porsche Junior Thomas Preining also enjoyed a successful debut at the wheel of a nine-eleven. At just 18 years old, he posted an impressive grid position with fourth place, which he then managed to defend: “Since I didn’t quite know how the tyres would perform in the race I took things a little cautiously in the beginning. But I knew that Ryan Cullen behind me was very fast and I increased the pace. That worked perfectly.” The most exciting pursuit of the day, however, came from Nick Yelloly (GB/Team Deutsche Post by Project 1). The 26 year old took up the race from position 19 on the grid and, with adept overtaking moves, he ploughed his way through the field to finish on fifth. Position six went to his teammate Larry Ten Voorde (NL/Team Deutsche Post by Project 1). As the best amateur driver, Wolfgang Triller (D/Huber Racing by TriSpa) finished on twelfth.

A special guest at Hockenheim was YouTuber ViscaBarca, one of Germany’s most successful social media producers with over one million subscribers. He followed race one of the Porsche Carrera Cup Deutschland live and shared his impressions from behind the scenes of the Porsche paddock on his YouTube channel and on Instagram.