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26.05.2024 - Prototype Cup Germany
No way past Danny Soufi / Torsten Kratz at the Lausitzring
- First victory in the Prototype Cup Germany for Konrad Motorsport
- Mücke duo Julien Apothéloz / Riccardo Leone Cirelli narrowly miss out in second place
- Junior and Trophy silverware also goes to Konrad Motorsport
Klettwitz. The pairing of Danny Soufi (20/USA) and Torsten Kratz (53/Mönchengladbach, Konrad Motorsport) finished just ahead of Julien Apothéloz (23/CHE) and Riccardo Leone Cirelli (16/ITA, both BWT Mücke Motorsport) to win the second race of this season’s Prototype Cup Germany at the Dekra Lausitzring; championship leaders Valentino Catalano (18/Westheim) and Markus Pommer (33/Untereisesheim, both Gebhardt Motorsport) had to settle for third place. This was the maiden victory in the series for Konrad Motorsport, who have been racing in the Prototype Cup Germany since day one. “The first success was really special, as everyone in the team has worked hard to achieve this,” said a beaming Soufi, who has been driving an LMP3 car for the Konrad team since 2022. “I think the air pressure in the tyres was a little too high in my stint today, which meant that the car was not perfect to drive. However, that is part and parcel of motorsport, and something you have to deal with as a driver.” His partner Kratz was rather critical of his own performance: “I think I still need to work on my race pace. Riccardo was able to close in on me quickly, but I knew that he would not get past without me making a mistake or him forcing his way through. As I did not make any mistakes, I was able to get home in first place. I am obviously very happy with this result.” Soufi and Kratz not only picked up the trophy for the overall victory, but they each also received another trophy: Soufi was the top Junior, Kratz the best of the Trophy drivers.
Apothéloz made the best start, getting away ahead of Soufi and Felipe Laser (34/Leipzig, Frikadelli Racing Team). Turn one was less successful for Jaime Guzman (33/MEX, AF2 Motorsport), who spun after contact with Maxim Dirickx (20/BEL, Gebhardt Motorsport) and rejoined the race at the back of the field. The Belgian was handed a drive-through penalty for his part in the incident. A few kilometres later, Kenau Al Azhari (16/UAE, Mühlner Motorsport) rolled out of the race when his fire extinguisher exploded. Race control took the opportunity to send the safety car onto the track. However, the order did not change at the restart, with Apothéloz still out in front ahead of Soufi and Laser. This trio was able to pull clear of Catalano as the race progressed.
Once all the driver changeovers had been completed, it was Klaus Abbelen (63/Barweiler, Frikadelli Racing Team) who found himself out in front, having taken over from Laser at the wheel of their Ligier. However, he was not able to enjoy this feeling for long, as Kratz, Soufi’s team-mate, soon passed the Frikadelli driver. Cirelli, now in the pink Mücke Duqueine, took advantage of the situation and passed Abbelen to take second place. Pommer, at the wheel of Catalano’s Duqueine, followed him through to leave the experienced Abbelen outside the podium positions. Back at the front, Cirelli set off in pursuit of Kratz and increasingly put the race leader under pressure, while Pommer tried to close the gap to the leading duo. Cirelli was ultimately unable to find a way past the car in front, leaving Soufi and Kratz to clinch the victory ahead of Apothéloz and Cirelli, with Catalano and Pommer third. Antti Rammo (41/EST, MRS GT-Racing) came across the finish line in fourth place; Laser / Abbelen had to settle for fifth place, followed by Dirickx / Sven Barth (43/Eberbach, Gebhardt Motorsport) and Guzman / Robert Doyle (64/USA, AF2 Motorsport).
Julien Apothéloz (second): “Pole put us in a very good starting position, but we knew that I had to open up a bit of a lead before the pit stop if we were to beat Konrad. The safety car meant I was unable to get a large enough lead, especially as Danny was also very fast behind me. Despite this, we picked up some good points for second place.”
Roberto Leone Corelli (second): “It was a good race, which I believe we lost in the safety car phase. That prevented Julien from establishing a big enough lead over Danny Soufi, and the Konrad car was able to overtake us, as they were not required to remain stationary for as long as us. Out on the track, I was able to close the gap to Torsten, but it is rarely possible to overtake here unless the car in front makes a mistake. However, I am still happy with second place.”
Valentino Catalano (third): “I overtook Keanu at the start and was lined up to attack Felipe a little later, but then came the safety car. Generally speaking, I had a bit of an issue with tyre pressure at the start of my stint, and struggled a little with the car. That improved towards the end, and Markus was able to attack during his stint. With that in mind, and taking the whole race into consideration, I believe that we had the right set-up.”
Markus Pommer (third): “I took over the car in fourth place and, after passing Klaus Abbelen, tried to close the gap to the cars in front. I did get closer, but did not have enough time to actually catch them. Despite this, the car was good and I am satisfied with third place, which earned us some valuable points.”
Broadcast times for the 2024 Prototype Cup Germany at the Dekra Lausitzring
Sunday, 26th May 2024
16:40 – Race 3 live – youtube.com/adacmotorsports
