Final turn drama in Hockenheim

• Valentino Catalano wins on his comeback at the Hockenheimring
• Oscar Tunjo / Mikkel C. Johansen denied victory in the final turn
• First Trophy success of the season for Michael Herich

Hockenheim. Valentino Catalano (19/Westheim, Badischer Motorsport Club) took the spoils in race three of this season’s Prototype Cup Germany, which took place at the Hockenheimring Baden-Württemberg. The reigning champion of the German LMP3 series benefitted from a crash involving Mikkel C. Johansen (37/DEN, Gebhardt Intralogistics Motorsport) and Mattias Bjerre Jakobsen (18/DEN, BWT Mücke Motorsport), who collided and spun in the final turn before the finish. “I have never experienced an end to a race like that,” said a delighted Catalano, who was also the top Junior. “My pace was improving all the time towards the end, and I was able to close in on the two leaders. That resulted in a group of four, in which you really have to consider carefully whether it is worth attacking the car in front of you. If it goes wrong, you can soon lose a place. Anyway, I am now really pleased to finally celebrate my first victory at the Hockenheimring, having come so close on a number of occasions in the past.” He was initially joined on the podium by Danny Soufi (21/USA) and Pavel Lefterov (27/BUL, both Konrad Motorsport), who started from the back of the grid following a disqualification in qualifying, and Oscar Tunjo (29/COL, Gebhardt Intralogistics Motorsport) and Johansen, who led for much of the race. However, their joy at a first appearance on the podium together was short lived, as they were subsequently disqualified for having too little fuel in the tank after the end of the race. Third place was inherited by Maksymilian Angelard (17/POL) and Mattis Pluschkell (20/Elmenhorst, both BWT Mücke Motorsport).

The race started with a battle for the lead, with Riccardo Leone Cirelli (17/ITA, BWT Mücke Motorsport) initially getting his nose in front. However, there was no shaking off Tunjo, who overtook the young Italian on lap five. The Columbian then set about opening a lead, which had grown to a good five seconds by the time the pit stop window opened. Catalano was running third at this point, Soufi was behind Sven Barth (44/Eberbach, Aust Motorsport) and Angelard found himself sixth.

When all the pit stops had been completed, Johansen, who had taken over from Tunjo, held a lead of almost ten seconds over Maxim Dirickx (21/BEL, Aust Motorsport), who had taken his place at the wheel of Barth’s Duqueine. However, Aust Motorsport’s pit stop was seven seconds too short, resulting in a stop-and-go penalty for the Belgian, who dropped back to sixth place. Over the course of the second half of the race, Jakobsen, gradually cut the gap to race leader Johansen, while Catalano and Pluschkell in third and fourth place also closed in on the cars ahead of them. Shortly before the finish, all four drivers were within striking distance of each other, with Johansen still leading the way. However, the Dane was struggling with issues: “I was experiencing misfires, which were getting worse towards the end,” he explained. “For that reason, I slowed down a bit more in the final corner, which must have surprised Mattias behind me. He had to drive past me to avoid a crash, and that resulted in the collision.” Not only did Johansen and Jakobsen spin in this incident, but also Pluschkell. Catalano was the only driver in the leading quartet to make it through unscathed. He went on to take the chequered flag ahead of Soufi / Lefterov and Tunjo / Johansen. However, Tunjo and Johansen were then stripped of third place. Pluschkell and Angelard consequently took the final podium position, ahead of Cirelli / Jakobsen and Barth / Dirickx. Jérémy Siffert (21/SUI) was sixth in his first LMP3 race together with Jacob Erlbacher (24/Böblingen, both Gebhardt Intralogistics Motorsport), followed by Michael Herich (47/Brühl) / Alexzander Kristiansson (25/SWE, Gebhardt Intralogistics Motorsport) and Thomas Ambiel (45/Eppingen, Rinaldi Racing). Herich claimed his first victory of the 2025 season in the Trophy classification.

Danny Soufi (runner-up): “I struggled with oversteer in the first five laps, until I adapted to it. Plus, the asphalt was quite slippery. As such, it was not easy to make progress from the back of the field, as overtaking is not particularly easy at this circuit. In the end we were lucky to finish second, thanks to the incident involving the drivers ahead of us.”

Pavel Lefterov (runner-up): “At the end, I was in the right place at the right time, which allowed me to climb into second place. I have to admit that there was a lot of luck involved. As I approached the corner, I saw a car to my left and my right, and nothing but smoke in the middle of the track. However, I had to go somewhere, and fortunately the middle was clear.“

Broadcast times for the 2025 Prototype Cup Germany in Hockenheim
Sunday, 11th May 2025
09:00 - Qualifying 2, live youtube.com/adacmotorsports
16:10 – Race 2, live youtube.com/adacmotorsports