Here are some of the other things that caught our eye at races three and four of this season’s Prototype Cup Germany at the Hockenheimring Baden-Württemberg.

The reigning champion makes his comeback

Valentino Catalano (19/Westheim, Badischer Motorsport Club) joined the Prototype Cup Germany grid for the first time this year. The reigning champion was alone at the wheel of his Duqueine, which his team only received from Finland at the start of the week. In the opening race, he was the only driver to come through a final-turn collision unscathed, while the drivers in first, second and fourth place all spun. Catalano continued regardless and took the chequered flag as the race winner. “I have finally won at my home circuit,” beamed the racer from Westheim, who only lives about 30 kilometres from the Hockenheimring. A faulty drive shaft prevented him from finishing race two. “On the whole, it was a good weekend for me – and not just because of the win. I was also able to help my team-mates in the other two Duqueine, for example by trying a different set-up to them.”

Jacob Erlbacher is an old acquaintance

Unlike Siffert, Erlbacher was able to call on some experience in LMP3 racing and was even familiar with the Ginetta chassis. “Before I switched to the Duqueine in Assen in 2023, I drove the Ginetta for one and a half years. For this reason, the switch was no problem for me.” The man from Böblingen had not actually been expecting to make another appearance in the Prototype Cup Germany. “This outing came as a bit of a surprise. To be able to start here at all, I first had to renew my racing licence, as I had not yet done that for this year.”

Jérémy Siffert adds a big name to the field

Jérémy Siffert (21/SUI, Gebhardt Intralogistics Motorsport) made his debut in the LMP3 class in Hockenheim. “It was a nice weekend,” said the grandson of Swiss motorsport legend Jo Siffert, who usually drives a Porsche GT3 Cup. “The LMP3 is obviously a totally different car to my Porsche, but it is good to drive. Thanks to the help of my team-mates, I was able to improve all the time.” “Jérémy did a good job,” confirmed Jacob Erlbacher (24/Böblingen, Gebhardt Intralogistics Motorsport), who shared the Ginetta with the Swiss driver, but was struggling with a cold in Hockenheim. The duo finished sixth in both races.

Jörg Müller the race engineer

Ambiel also brought a prominent assistant with him last weekend, in the form of Jörg Müller. The long-time BMW works driver took on the role of race engineer, as Ambiel’s team Rinaldi had had to split up to cover both the Prototype Cup Germany in Hockenheim and the ADAC Nürburgring Endurance Series at the circuit in the Eifel Mountains. “My team principal Michele Rinaldi was very happy when I approached him and suggested that Jörg could help us here.” This was intended as a one-off for Müller.

Special lead car

In both Prototype Cup Germany races, spectators were able to admire a very special lead car: the original Porsche 962 in a striking MOMO livery. At the wheel of this historic Group C car was Harald Grohs. “During my career, I spent many years racing against precisely this car, and now I have been able to drive it myself for the first time. It was an honour for me, at 81 years of age, to be trusted with this valuable car, and it was a lot of fun.” Between 1989 and 1991, the MOMO Porsche started many races for Gebhardt Motorsport in the ADAC Supercup, IMSA, Le Mans and the Interserie, achieving numerous podiums during that time. Among those to grace the cockpit were Le Mans winners Derek Bell and Stanley Dickens, as well as MOMO company founder Gianpiero Moretti. Having temporarily been in the hands of a French owner, Fritz Gebhardt bought the car back in 2022 and has since had it completely restored.

Many guests support local favourites

Hockenheim is a home event for Thomas Ambiel (45/Eppingen, Rinaldi Racing). The surprise winner of the season opener at Spa-Francorchamps took the opportunity to not only invite roughly 80 guests, but also to host a get-together in the Prototype paddock on the Friday evening. Drivers, teams and officials from the German LMP3 series attended the event. “We compete against each other in our races, and it is nice to get to know each other a little better off the track now and again,” said Ambiel, who feels extremely happy in the Prototype Cup Germany and the Rinaldi Racing team. The Gebhardt Intralogistics Motorsport team, for whom the Hockenheimring is also the home circuit, welcomed more than 100 guests. Thanks to Catalano, they were able to celebrate the first win of the season for the team from Sinsheim.

Two triumphs at home

In the Trophy competition, Michael Herich (47, Gebhardt Intralogistics Motorsport) was unbeatable at his home event in Hockenheim. The racer from Brühl enjoyed his first two victories of the season in the classification for less experienced drivers. Herich’s team-mate Catalano came out on top in the Junior competition in race one, while the largest trophy went to Maksymilian Angelard (17/POL) and Mattis Pluschkell (20/Elmenhorst, both BWT Mücke Motorsport) in race two. All the Junior winners were also the overall winners of the respective races, underlining the standard of this year’s young drivers.

Duqueine beats Ligier twice

Last weekend, three different chassis manufacturers lined up in the Prototype Cup Germany: Duqueine, Ligier and Ginetta. Both races saw Duqueine models at the head of the field, while Ligier had to settle for second place on both occasions. The only Ginetta in the field was less successful and could do no better than sixth place in its first two outings of 2025. So far this year, Duqueine has three wins to Ligier’s one, while Ginetta is yet to record a victory.

The bridge between history and the present day

The Prototype Cup Germany was the only series with modern cars at the ADAC Hockenheim Historic weekend. Apart from that, the programme only featured classes with vintage race cars. Despite this, the prototypes fit perfectly into the weekend, as vintage prototypes were also in action. Jamie Constable twice claimed comfortable victories at the wheel of his Zytec 04S in the Masters Endurance Legends. The Prototype Cup Germany represented a bridge to modern motorsport in front of a backdrop of 45,000 spectators over the course of the weekend.