Here are a few other things we noticed at races seven and eight of this season’s Prototype Cup Germany at the Norisring.
Familiar face at Gebhardt Intralogistics Motorsport
Frank Jelinski was at the Norisring as the driver coach for Fritz Gebhardt’s team. Now 67 years of age, Jelinski was part of the Sinsheim-based team back in 1985, when he drove their own Group C car – the Gebhardt JC853. And the man who, as a driver, helped Brun Motorsport to the team title in the 1986 World Sportscar Championship, has his own history at the Norisring: in 1989, at the wheel of a Porsche 962 for Joest Racing, he won the ADAC Supercup in Nuremberg – the last sportscar race at the Norisring until the Prototype Cup Germany added the Franconian street circuit to its calendar in 2023. His chief mechanic at the time: no other than Karl Jennings, today’s team manager at Gebhardt Intralogistics Motorsport, ensuring that story has come full circle.
New pairing in the Prototype Cup Germany
They already share a car in the Michelin Le Mans Cup, and Valentino Catalano (19/Westheim) and Oscar Tunjo (29/COL, both Badischer Motorsport Club) now also made their debut as a duo in the Prototype Cup Germany at the Norisring. With two top drivers lining up together in the LMP3 series, the goal was clear: victory. And they wasted little time achieving that goal, taking victory in Saturday’s race. They followed this up with second place on Sunday, but were still happy. “It was a great weekend. With the exception of the final race, we won all of the sessions,” said a satisfied Catalano. He also demonstrated a good degree of sportsmanship: “Oscar and I have not contested all the races in the Prototype Cup Germany, whereas the Konrad duo, which was in front of us in the race, has. Furthermore, Danny Soufi and Pavel Lefterov are championship leaders at the moment and in contention to win the title. With that in mind, I did not want to launch any risky attacks, as I definitely did not want to risk taking them out of the race.”
New design looks resplendent out in front
The LMP3 car of Catalano and Tunjo shone in its new design, with the main colour now yellow. Team principal Fritz Gebhardt had a simple explanation as to why this colour was chosen: “I checked which colours you don’t see very often, and realised that there is no yellow at all in our field.” That is why the car is yellow, and it also impressed from the word go from a sporting perspective in this striking livery.
Jacob Erlbacher and his podium misfortune
Jacob Erlbacher (24/Böblingen, Gebhardt Intralogistics Motorsport) has been part of the Prototype Cup Germany since the series was launched in 2022, although he has not started every single race. He can definitely be regarded as one of the more unfortunate drivers in the German LMP3 series, as he is yet to celebrate on the podium – although this has not always been his fault. Last Saturday, he was on his way to his first podium. He was running second when he handed the Duqueine over to his partner Jérémy Siffert (21/SUI, Gebhardt Intralogistics Motorsport), who promptly spun and crashed out. “I am honestly so sorry that I threw away a possible first podium for Jacob,” said the sympathetic Swiss. One day later, they finished a thankless fourth.
Thomas Ambiel joins forces with Jörg Müller again
They were perfectly prepared for the heat at Rinaldi Racing, as Thomas Ambiel (45/Eppingen, Rinaldi Racing) actually brought a small pool with him. However, there were also new features from a sporting perspective, as Jörg Müller returned as race engineer with the Rinaldi Racing team – a position he also held in Hockenheim. “It is just fun with Jörg, he is doing a really good job,” said Ambiel, impressed.
Battle of the chassis: Greater success for Duqueine this time
On the chassis side of things, it was another case of Ligier verses Duqueine in Nuremberg. This time, it was the Duqueine contingent that nearly always had its nose in front. Tunjo and Catalano took top spot in both free practices, both qualifying sessions, and in the opening race. However, the best-placed Ligier was already almost on a par in the second qualifying, as Pavel Lefterov (27/BUL, Konrad Motorsport) took just 0.003 seconds longer than Duqueine racer Tunjo for his flying lap of the street circuit in Nuremberg. And in race two, the Ligier of Lefterov and Danny Soufi (21/USA, Konrad Motorsport) came out on top for the first time that weekend.
Around the classes
Catalano took victory in the Junior competition in both races at the Norisring, while Mattis Pluschkell (20/Elmenhorst) and Maksymilian Angelard (17/POL, both BWT Mücke Motorsport) continue to top the table in this category. In the Trophy competition, Ambiel and Michael Herich (47/Brühl, Gebhardt Intralogistics Motorsport) shared the victories between themselves, each claiming one win in the competition for Bronze drivers. As such, Ambiel remains top of this classification. After four race weekends, Konrad Motorsport leads the Team competition, ahead of BWT Mücke Motorsport.
