Marvin Dienst and Berkay Besler – a profile of the Prototype Cup Germany champions

• Double in Spa-Francorchamps gets season off to a perfect start
• Industrious Dienst and student Besler form perfect team

Hockenheim. Marvin Dienst (25/Lampertheim) and Berkay Besler (23/TUR, Toksport WRT) have done it: they are the first champions of the Prototype Cup Germany. Fourth place at the 4.574-kilometre Hockenheimring Baden-Württemberg was enough to give the duo the title in the final race of the season. “Winning the title is a great way to end the season, “said a jubilant Sarper Sabuncu, team manager of Toksport WRT, who was able to rely on his strong pair of drivers. “Marvin is very experienced and fast. And because he is a relaxed driver, he is really easy to work with. Berkay is also very calm but, unlike Marvin, he is lacking a little experience of racing. However, he is working hard to make up for that: if you give him a task, he normally does more than required, because he is so motivated.” However, Sabuncu believes one thing is particularly important: “We have known each other for a very long time and are far more than a team. We are more of a family.”

Dienst and Besler made a perfect start to the season. The Toksport WRT Ligier immediately hit the front at the opening round of the season – and the premiere of the Prototype Cup Germany – at Spa-Francorchamps, Belgium, at the end of April. “The weekend in Spa was one of the highlights of the season – not just because of our success, but also because it was so much fun to go racing in LMP3 cars in Spa,” Dienst and Besler agree. At the Nürburgring too, things initially looked to be going the way of the two Toksport drivers, who secured their first pole position of the year in the second qualifying session. However, they suffered their first set-back in the race, when Besler spun in the pit lane entry and crashed backwards into the pit wall. “That was probably the lowest point of the year,” the unfortunate Turk jokes. “I was simply too hungry. However, I learned my lesson.” Just one day later, the WRT duo bounced back with another victory. Dienst and Besler were back to winning ways again at the Lausitzring, and crossed the finish line in third place in race two in Lusatia. That meant they travelled to the final weekend as favourites to win the title, with a 25.5-point lead over Donar Munding and Mathias Lüthen. And they ultimately lived up to that billing, although they were made to work a little harder than hoped. The two drivers, who were also classified in the Junior competition, failed to finish the opening race after a collision, but a solid fourth place in the final race of the year was enough to wrap up the title.

Dienst is a familiar face in the world of ADAC motorsport: after winning the Formula BMW Talent Cup in 2012, he switched to ADAC Formula Masters. In 2015, he was crowned champion in the inaugural ADAC Formula 4 series. He then moved into GT racing, competing in series including the ADAC GT Masters and FIA WEC. He won the LMGTE Am class in the FIA World Endurance Championship in 2017 and was named “ADAC Junior Motorsport Athlete of the Year”. This year, parallel to the Prototype Cup Germany, Dienst has again been racing in GT series, including the ADAC GT Masters. “Marvin is a great team-mate, as he has a wealth of experience in motorsport and is happy to share that with me. Plus, he is a great guy. I have known him for a long time and am really happy to have him as a partner in the team,” beams Besler.

Besler himself is the son of former Turkish rally champion Mehmet Besler. When he wanted to switch to Formula racing after starting his career in karting, he did not have the necessary budget. As such, he decided to take the route via the Renault Clio Cup Italia. The following year, he switched to the Porsche scene and finished runner-up in the German Porsche Super Sports Cup. He also took race wins and podiums in the Porsche Carrera Cup Deutschland and the Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge Middle East, until the coronavirus pandemic took some of the momentum out of his career. When racing resumed, he lined up in GT4, and continues to do so to this day. “Berkay is young and has great potential,” says Dienst, who can relate to his partner’s situation. “He does not have any experience of Formula racing, which did not make the move into the Prototype Cup any easier for him. However, I am trying to support him with my experience, and he is only too happy to accept the help. He has developed well this year.”

Dienst pretty much only has time for motorsport in his life. “I do a lot of racing in various different cars and in different series. I also coach racing drivers. For this reason, I am hardly ever at home and have little time for hobbies. When I am at home, I mainly have to take care of everyday things, like washing. Until the middle of the year, I was also giving product training courses for people selling Porsche and Maserati cars.” In Besler’s case, it is not all about racing cars. He is also studying business administration at the University of Istanbul, and enjoys playing tennis and skiing. “I come from Bursa, which is only about 45 minutes from one of the best skiing regions in Turkey. Although we are primarily known as a summer holiday destination in central Europe, we also have wonderful winter resorts,” he says, waxing lyrical about his native Turkey.