Hauser/Pommer extend their lead in the table with victory on Saturday in Assen

• Racing Experience duo wins ahead of Tunjo/Apothéloz, who lie second in the championship
• Matthias Lüthen completes the podium and triumphs in the Trophy class alongside Laurents Hörr

Assen. On its debut at TT Circuit Assen in the Netherlands, the Prototype Cup Germany put on a spectacular show and treated spectators to a feast of exciting entertainment. At the end of an action-packed one-hour race, it was Gary Hauser (31/LUX) and Markus Pommer (32/Untereisesheim) from the Racing Experience team who claimed their third win of the season in the Duqueine D08. In doing so, they also extended their lead in the championship, which is organised by the ADAC and Creventic. Fellow Duqueine racers Oscar Tunjo (27/COL) and Julien Apothéloz (22/CHE, both Van Ommen Racing by DataLab) finished runner-up and remain the biggest threat to Hauser and Pommer in the title race. Matthias Lüthen (42/Hamburg) and Laurents Hörr (25/Gerlingen, both Koiranen Kemppi Motorsport) came home third to make it an all-Duqueine podium. “We are delighted with the win here in Assen. The day went brilliantly. However, there are still three races remaining this year, so we have to stay focussed,” said a beaming Pommer after the race.

The former ADAC GT Masters driver started the race from pole position in glorious sunshine, and promptly converted his ideal grid position into the race lead. However, fellow Duqueine drivers Hörr and Tunjo were soon looming large in his mirrors. A few minutes into the race, the Columbian from Van Ommen Racing by DataLab found a way past the German and moved into second place. The front three remained in that order for the rest of the first half of the race, despite two safety car phases bringing the high-class field of 15 cars back together. Jan Marschalkowski (20/Inning am Ammersee) produced a strong performance in the first half of the race in the Ligier JS P320 of MRS GT-Racing. The ADAC Stiftung Sport driver skilfully climbed from ninth into fifth place.

Following the mandatory driver changeover at the halfway point of the race, Gary Hauser, who had taken over from Pommer, and Tunjo’s team-mate Julien Apothéloz pulled clear of the rest of the field and battled hard for the race win. With three laps remaining, a collision resulted in the Swiss taking the lead. Apothéloz went on to cross the finish line first, but was subsequently handed a five-second penalty, as he was deemed to have gained an advantage from leaving the track whilst overtaking Hauser. That saw him and team-mate Tunjo relegated to second place. However, Apothéloz had still done enough to win the Junior class.

Matthias Lüthen, who replaced Hörr at the wheel of the Koiranen Kemppi Motorsport Duqueine for the second half of the race, performed admirably to hang on to third place and take victory in the Trophy competition. A thrilling multi-car battle for fourth place developed in the closing stages, with Marschalkowski’s team-mate Jasper Stiksma (22/NLD) eventually coming out on top. Fifth place went to Valentino Catalano (17/Westheim) and Robin Rogalski (23/POL, both DKR Engineering) in another Duqueine, ahead of yet another Duqueine pairing of Gustavo Kyrila (29/BRA) and Nico Göhler (20/Grasleben, both BWT Mücke Motorsport). The Ligier duo of Dino Steiner (54/Wehingen) and Nigel Moore (31/GBR, both Aust Motorsport) came home seventh. Xavier Lloveras (23/ESP) and Gabriela Jílková (28/CZE) completed the top eight in the second Duqueine run by Van Ommen Racing by DataLab.

Markus Pommer – winner for Racing Experience
“Despite the two safety car starts, I still had a really comfortable race. I had come up with something for the long back straight, which seemed to work. Plus, my pace was a bit better than those of my closest rivals. We are very happy with the win here in Assen. However, the championship is still wide open. We cannot afford to make any mistakes in the final few races.”

Gary Hauser – winner for Racing Experience
“It was an exciting race right down to the finish. I took over from Markus in first place. From the middle of my stint, my rear tyres started to wear a bit. Julien Apothéloz had roughly the same pace as me and then attempted an overtaking manoeuvre that was too optimistic. We want to deliver another strong race tomorrow.”

Julien Apothéloz – second place for Van Ommen Racing by DataLab
“Second place definitely gets us some good points, but we are in the title race and would obviously have liked to have made up some ground in the table. Oscar did a superb first stint and gave me the car in second place. I then pushed and took a certain degree of risk. On the whole, I am a bit disappointed with second place, as we have dropped valuable points against the championship leaders. We’ll just have to win on Sunday.”

Oscar Tunjo – second place for Van Ommen Racing by DataLab
“We wanted to win that race, so we are not entirely satisfied with second place. Having said that, we had a strong race. The team is making its first appearance here in Assen. The circuit is really excellent. I spent most of my stint in second place. However, I could not find an opportunity to pass the leaders, as overtaking is not easy here. There are still three races to come. We will continue to do our best, as we are still right in the thick of the title race.”

Matthias Lüthen – third place for Koiranen Kemppi Motorsport
“Third place feels like a win for me, particularly as Laurents was first in the car and spent a lot of time behind the safety car during his stint. I think Assen is awesome. Because the track is relatively narrow, everything feels extremely fast. My father rode here on a motorbike roughly 20 years ago.”

Laurents Hörr – third place for Koiranen Kemppi Motorsport
“We struggled a little with the car today, so could do no better than third. Matthias did an unbelievable job. All in all, we can be happy with third place.”