Paddock Radar from Spa-Francorchamps

Here are some of the other things that caught our eye at races one and two of this season’s Prototype Cup Germany at Spa-Francorchamps, Belgium.

Fastest LMP3 lap ever at Spa-Francorchamps

Oscar Tunjo (29/COL) formed a team with Mikkel C. Johansen (37/DEN, both Gebhardt Intralogistics Motorsport) at Spa-Francorchamps. The Columbian can call on plenty of experience on the LMP3 scene, and has already won races in the Prototype Cup Germany. In Belgian, he gave a taste of what he is capable of in the first qualifying session, when he set the fastest lap time ever in an LMP3 car on the ‘Ardennes Rollercoaster’. No car in this category has ever gone below 2:09.703 minutes. In doing so, Tunjo left his rivals in his wake; second-placed Riccardo Leone Cirelli (17/ITA, BWT Mücke Motorsport) was 0.72 seconds slower than the Gebhardt driver.

The two BWT Mücke Motorsport duos each won the Junior classification in one race © Photo: ADAC

Many youngsters in the field

The Prototype Cup Germany, with its LMP3 cars, is also seen as a junior class on the LMP scene. BWT Mücke Motorsport has definitely bought into this idea: the Berlin-based team has called upon the services of four drivers who are all aged 20 or younger. At 20 years of age, Mattis Pluschkell (Elmenhorst) is the old man of the quartet, which also includes 18-year-old Mattias Bjerre Jakobsen (DEN) and the two 17-year-olds Riccardo Leone Cirelli and Maksymilian Angelard (POL). 17-year-old Keanu Al-Azhari (UAE, Mühlner Motorsport), 20-year-old Maxim Dirickx (BEL, Aust Motorsport) and 21-year-old Danny Soufi (USA, Konrad Motorsport) are also regarded as talented youngsters, underlining the fact that the Prototype Cup Germany is a good choice for aspiring young drivers. Incidentally, the pairing of Pluschkell and Angelard were top of the Junior classification in the opening race, while the trophy for the top juniors went to Cirelli and Jakobsen in race two. They also leave the Ardennes as the leaders in the Junior competition.

Keanu Al-Azhair (left) was at the wheel for team principal Bernhard Mühlner (right) © Photo: ADAC

Colourful mix of nations

LMP3 drivers from ten countries took to the track in the Ardennes on Easter weekend, including representatives from the United Arab Emirates (Keanu Al-Azhari), the USA (Danny Soufi) and Columbia (Oscar Tunjo). In terms of the Europeans, the grid featured drivers from Germany, Denmark, Bulgaria, Poland, Italy, Belgium and Sweden. The country with the largest contingent was Germany with four drivers, while Denmark lined up with two racers. All the other nationalities were represented by one driver in the Prototype Cup Germany paddock.

The last-minute decision to race in the Prototype Cup Germany paid dividends for Pavel Lefterov (right), who made it onto the podium twice alongside team-mate Danny Soufi (left) © Photo: ADAC

Last-minute outing

Keanu Al-Azhari (17/UAE, Mühlner Motorsport) and Pavel Lefterov (27/BUL, Konrad Motorsport) only joined the field late on. Because the Bulgarian was unable to call in at home on his way back from Bahrain, he arrived in Belgium without a helmet or overall. Once at the track, he was able to borrow his team principal Franz Konrad’s overall and head protection, which appeared to spur him on to great things: he and team-mate Danny Soufi took the chequered flag as winners of race one, before finishing third in the second race. Al-Azhari, on the other hand, had less cause for celebration. A faulty fuel pump meant he had to miss the first qualifying session, and a mistake in the opening race then resulted in a DNF. He did bounce back with the fastest time in the second qualifying, but again failed to finish the second race after skidding into the gravel.

Thomas Ambiel was pleased with his maiden victory at the opening round of the season © Photo: ADAC

Trophy drivers produce exciting battle

The Trophy competition, for drivers with little motorsport experience, delivered a fascinating battle between Michael Herich (47/Brühl, Gebhardt Intralogistics Motorsport) and Thomas Ambiel (45/Eppingen, Rinaldi Racing) in race one at Spa-Francorchamps. They had previously battled it out for sixth place in qualifying, with Herich coming out on top on this occasion. However, it was to be a different story in the opening race of the weekend, as Ambiel came home just ahead of Herich and his team-mate Alexzander Kristiansson (25/SWE, Gebhardt Intralogistics Motorsport). The battle went right down to the final turn: Ambiel, who had the car to himself in Belgium, managed to get his nose ahead of the German/Swedish pairing and clinch sixth place. “It is obviously fun to battle with a rival who is of a similar standard,” said Herich. One day later, it actually looked at times as though the two Trophy drivers might both make it onto the podium. However, unlike Ambiel, who claimed a fine victory, Heric was unable to hang onto second place and ultimately dropped back to fifth.

Chassis manufacturers Ligier (left) and Duqueine (right) each claimed one victory at Spa-Francorchamps © Photo: ADAC

The battle of the chassis continues

Two chassis models lined up at the opening round of this season’s Prototype Cup Germany: Ligier and Duqueine. The Duqueine is regarded as the better option at Spa-Francorchamps, a track with many fast passages. Despite this, Danny Soufi and Pavel Lefterov won the opening race in a Ligier. The biggest trophy after race two went to Thomas Ambiel at the wheel of a Duqueine. As such, the score between the two chassis manufacturers currently stands at 1:1.