Matthias Lüthen / Laurents Hörr triumph for first time

• Koiranen Kemppi Motorsport also celebrates its maiden win in the Prototype Cup Germany
• Collision between Gustavo Kiryla and Oscar Tunjo in battle for first place
• Nico Göhler wins Junior competition, Matthias Lüthen is top Trophy driver

Nuremberg. Matthias Lüthen (42/Hamburg) und Laurents Hörr (25/Gerlingen, both Koiranen Kemppi Motorsport) celebrated victory at the end of a thrilling race in the Prototype Cup Germany at the Norisring. This was the first appearance on the top step of the podium in the Prototype Cup Germany for the duo and their Finnish team Koiranen Kemppi Motorsport; Lüthen is also the first Bronze driver to win a race this season. “The team did everything right, we had that little bit of luck you need, and Mathias was really fast in his stint,” said Hörr after the race. Despite a collision, Nico Göhler (20/Grasleben) and Gustavo Kiryla (29/BRA, both BWT Mücke Motorsport) crossed the finish line second, ahead of Gary Hauser (31/LUX) and Markus Pommer (32/Untereisesheim, both Racing Experience). The duo from Germany and Luxembourg extended their lead in the overall standings to 31 points over second-placed Julian Apothéloz (22/CHE) and Oscar Tunjo (27/COL, both van ommen racing by DataLab).

Valentino Catalano (17/Westheim, DKR Engineering) took full advantage of his pole position at the start and grabbed the lead with both hands. As the first half of the race progressed, Catalano was never really able to shake off his closest rival Xavier Lloveras (23/ESP, van ommen racing by DataLab). When the Spaniard came into the pits for the mandatory driver changeover, the two rivals were separated by roughly a second. However, any hopes of the number five car winning were dashed at the pit stop: when Belén García Espinar (23/ESP) wanted to set off, she was prevented from doing so by clutch damage. When she did rejoin the race, she was a few laps behind the leaders and eventually went on to finish tenth. However, Robin Rogalski (22/POL, DKR Engineering), who inherited a clear lead after the van omen duo’s misfortune, was also unable to enjoy his position of superiority for long. He skidded into the wall and was forced to retire.

That meant the duel raging between Gustavo Kiryla and Oscar Tunjo was also the battle for the win. Tunjo put plenty of pressure on the Brazilian, but Kiryla refused to make a mistake. With Hörr closing in all the time behind them, the Columbian had to attempt an attack. The two collided and Hörr inherited the lead without even the slightest struggle. “The battle between the two cars in front meant I was able to keep closing the gap. When it eventually came to overtaking them, they actually did my job for me by crashing,” said the 25-year-old, who went on to take a comfortable victory. “The race went our way, but that can happen in motorsport. Sometimes you are lucky, sometimes you are unlucky. Having said that, I feel really sorry for Oscar, with whom I get on very well, that he lost his spot on the podium in that way,” said Lüthen.

Tunjo had to settle for fourth after the incident, while Kiryla was able to rescue second place. Markus Pommer slotted into third place between the two adversaries. Together with Gary Hauser, he extended his lead in the overall standings. Mark van der Snel (52/NLD) and his son Max van der Snel (19/NLD, More Motorsport by Reiter) ended race eight of this season’s Prototype Cup Germany in fifth place, ahead of Jan Marschalkowski (20/Inning am Ammersee, MRS GT-Racing) and Michael Lyons (32/GBR) / Jacob Erlbacher (22/Böhlingen, both Gebhardt Motorsport). Seventh place was the best result of the season so far for 22-year-old Erlbacher.

Nico Göhler – second place for BWT Mücke Motorsport
“I did not expect us to finish second today, even though fifth place on the grid was a good starting position for us. I had a good start, a good first lap and was then able to drive consistently until I handed the car over to Gustavo.”

Gustavo Kiryla – second place for BWT Mücke Motorsport
“That race was hard work, but I enjoyed it. I had a nice battle with Oscar Tunjo, in which we unfortunately spun. Despite that, I was still able to finish in second place. We are now hungry for our first win in Assen, as that would be the next logical step given the way that we and the car are developing at the moment.”

Gary Hauser – third place for Racing Experience
“The race began well, but I am frustrated by my spins. The first time I strayed too far off the racing line, so I braked in the dust and spun. A little later, I spun again. However, I did not bury my head in the sand and gave it my all until the end of my stint.”

Markus Pommer – third place for Racing Experience
“My stint started well, as I gained two positions thanks to the misfortune of others. From fourth place, I then wanted to chase down Laurents, but he was damned fast today. I then passed Oscar later and, because I knew that they are our closest rivals in the overall standings, I avoided taking any major risks from that point on. On the whole, it was a very positive weekend for us.”