Robert de Haan posted the fastest time in both qualifying sessions, won Saturday’s and Sunday’s race from pole position, and leaves Emilia-Romagna as the clear leader of the standings. ‟That was a perfect weekend for me! And my team did a mega job,” said the newcomer to Proton Huber Competition, giving his team most of the credit for his success.
While de Haan enjoyed a relatively relaxed Easter Sunday spearheading the 32-strong field of Porsche 911 GT3 Cup racers, gripping battles for positions unfolded behind him: Over the entire 17-lap race, Flynt Schuring and Marvin Klein locked horns for second place. ‟I’d have liked to put more pressure on Robert, but I had to fend off Marvin in almost every corner,” stated Schuring. Competing for the Schumacher CLRT team, the Dutchman narrowly snatched second place and was delighted to be honoured as the best-placed driver from the Porsche Sixt Carrera Cup Germany Talent Pool.
‟Honestly, I’m thrilled with third place,” Klein admitted. ‟In qualifying and the first race on Saturday, I didn’t quite get the feel for my car. Today, things went much better.” The Frenchman rounded off Proton Huber Competition’s banner result, with the team also advancing to the top of the team standings.
Fourth place went to Dutchman Huub van Eijndhoven (Team GP Elite) ahead of the French Porsche Junior Alessandro Ghiretti (Schumacher CLRT) and his teammate and compatriot Kas Haverkort.
In the Rookie classification, Brazilian Matheus Ferreira (Target) outpaced Sacha Norden (Proton Huber Competition) and Raphael Rennhofer (Wimmer Werk Motorsport) from Austria. ‟To win the Rookie classification in my second Carrera Cup race is a fantastic result, but I had to work hard for it,” commented Ferreira, who switched from single-seater racing to the Porsche one-make cup.
While Michael Schrey (Bonk Motorsport) is another newcomer to the Porsche Sixt Carrera Cup Deutschland, he is by no means a rookie. The seasoned endurance and GT4 driver from Germany celebrated his first victory in the ProAm classification. ‟Despite all my experience, I was a bit nervous before my first Carrera Cup weekend. I was still struggling a bit on Saturday,” admitted the 42-year-old. ‟That makes today’s victory all the more satisfying.” Schrey was joined on the podium by his fellow compatriot Michael Essmann (Team75 Bernhard) and Sam Shahin (GP Elite) from Australia.
Thomas Laudenbach, Vice President of Porsche Motorsport, watched Sunday’s Porsche Sixt Carrera Cup Deutschland race at the track and presented the trophies. He said: ‟What a perfect start to the season with two action-packed races. Congratulations to Robert de Haan on his convincing performance. And it seems we’re in for another exciting season in the rookie and ProAm classifications. I was particularly impressed by the Talent Pool drivers.”
Round two of the Porsche Sixt Carrera Cup Deutschland will once again be contested on a Formula 1 circuit as part of the FIA World Endurance Championship support programme: The Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps in Belgium will host races 3 and 4 of the season on 9th and 10th May 2025.
Result race 2, Imola (ITA)
1. Robert de Haan (NLD/Proton Huber Competition), 17 laps
2. Flynt Schuring (NLD/Schumacher CLRT), +1.350 seconds
3. Marvin Klein (FRA/Proton Huber Competition), +1.727 seconds
4. Huub van Eijndhoven (NLD/Team GP Elite), +2.358 seconds
5. Porsche Junior Alessandro Ghiretti (FRA/Schumacher CLRT), +3.507 seconds
6. Kas Haverkort (NLD/Team GP Elite), +3.771 seconds
Standings after 2 of 16 races
1. Robert de Haan (NLD/Proton Huber Competition), 50 points
2. Marvin Klein (FRA/Proton Huber Competition), 27 points
3. Porsche Junior Theo Oeverhaus (DEU/Bonk Motorsport), 26 points
Full results and championship standings:
https://racing.porsche.com/de-DE/carrera-cup-deutschland/ergebnisse
