Placings decided in the closing phase. Sven Barth and Maxim Dirickx celebrate second successive podium. Michael Herich best Trophy driver in fourth.
The Dekra Lausitzring welcomed racers to the sixth race of the Prototype Cup Germany season with rain and an accordingly wet circuit. Danny Soufi (21/USA) and Pavel Lefterov (27/BUL, both Konrad Motorsport) dealt best with the conditions as they claimed their third win of the season. However, they did have luck on their side: Soufi was behind Mattias Bjerre Jakobsen (18/DEN, BWT Mücke Motorsport) and Zino-Ferret Fahlke (18/Hergiswil, Konrad Motorsport) when those two drivers collided, allowing the Texan to climb into second place. He proceeded to overtake leader Sven Barth (44/Eberbach, Aust Motorsport) when the race restarted after the safety car phase. “In the end, we did get lucky. It was the safety car that helped us to get within striking distance of Sven Barth. Sometimes you just need that luck to be successful,” said Soufi, who also praised his team-mate Lefterov. “Pavel had no experience with the LMP3 cars in the rain and he did a bloody good job.” The recipient of this praise confirmed that the conditions had been anything but easy. “You could see how difficult it was, because Maxim Dirickx spun behind the safety car and Mattis Pluschkell came off the track on lap three. At that point, I decided not to take too many risks and I am delighted with the win.” Barth and the best Junior Maxim Dirickx (21/BEL, Aust Motorsport) finished in second place, with Maksymilian Angelard (17/POL) and Mattis Pluschkell (20/Elmenhorst, both BWT Mücke Motorsport) classified in third.
Riccardo Leone Cirelli (17/ITA, BWT Mücke Motorsport) converted his pole position into a lead that he defended until the obligatory pit stop. The Italian driver was going round the Lausitzring ahead of Fahlke and Lefterov, with the Bulgarian unable to get past the German. Pluschkell and Dirickx were also battling for fourth place, with the Belgian driver finally prevailing.
Once all the pit stops were complete, Cirelli’s team-mate Jakobsen had moved into the lead, followed by Fahlke, Dirickx’ partner Barth and Soufi, who had taken over the Duqueine from Lefterov. Fahlke stayed in close pursuit of Jakobsen for a few laps before launching his attack. Both drivers left the track after contact, but while Fahlke did rejoin proceedings in third behind Barth and Soufi, Jakobsen was unable to continue. In order to retrieve the Mücke car, race control had to send out the safety car. As soon as the race restarted with two laps to go, Soufi started to attack leader Barth, who had to let the Konrad driver pass him. The duo Soufi / Lefterov then secured victory ahead of Barth / Dirickx. Fahlke took the flag in third, but received a 15-second time penalty due to the accident with Jakobsen and dropped back to fifth position. Angelard and Pluschkell therefore moved up to third place.
Michael Herich (47/Brühl) and Alexzander Kristiansson (25/SWE, both Gebhardt Intralogistics Motorsport) finished the race in fourth, securing the Trophy win for Herich. Valentino Catalano (19/Westheim) and Mikkel C. Johansen (37/DEN, both Gebhardt Intralogistics Motorsport) crossed the finishing line in sixth, with seventh place going to Thomas Ambiel (45/Eppingen, Rinaldi Racing).
Sven Barth (second place): “The conditions were challenging. We were a long way back as Maxim spun early on. But it did not take long to realise that the car was really good in these conditions, as Maxim then produced a great stint. I was also satisfied with my stint. In the end, we were unlucky that Danny Soufi overtook me at the restart after the safety car phase and pushed me back into second. I am still happy though, as I wouldn’t have expected two second places beforehand.”
Maxim Dirickx (second place): “I spun early on as there was hardly any grip on the track. I did manage to post some good times after that and mostly avoided any mistakes. When it was his turn, Sven produced a fantastic stint, even though the safety car phase was unfortunate for us. I am still happy with this weekend though.”
Mattis Pluschkell (third place): “Unfortunately, I spun in the early phase and that cost us a few places. I couldn't find my rhythm after that. We really did get lucky to finish third in the end. So, it’s difficult for me to be really happy with that, although we did score some important points.”
Maksymilian Angelard (third place): “I had a difficult race, as that was just the second time that I had driven an LMP3 in the rain. At times, I was really fighting it. But I managed to keep the car in one piece and get it home, and we even finished third.”
