Stefan Rehkopf set the course for the unofficial title of half-time champion of the Sprint Challenge of the Porsche Sports Cup Germany. At the Red Bull Ring in Spielberg, Austria, the Bovender drove the 991.2 generation Porsche 911 GT3 Cup to his sixth class victory in the sixth race. Felix Neuhofer was the overall winner of Saturday’s race.
On a wet track with the current Cup 911, the driver from Gröbenzell held his own against Ulrich Becker in the 911 GT3 R. In the Sprint GT group for the different racing versions of the Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 Clubsport, RS driver Alon Gabbay from Jerusalem took first place unchallenged. 17-year-old Paul Schubert clinched victory in class 1b despite a five-second time penalty. Tomas Urban won the first race of the Porsche Drivers Competition Pro. On Sunday, the second day of racing on the 4.318-kilometre Grand Prix circuit starts at 8:30 a.m. with the 40-minute qualifying for the Porsche Endurance Challenge. In addition to other races in the Porsche Sprint Challenge and the Sprint GT group, a 100-minute endurance race is one of the highlights.
Porsche Sprint GT
Alon Gabbay easily won Saturday’s Sprint GT race at the Red Bull Ring. For the 19-year-old newcomer from Team Schütz Motorsport, it was his second race victory in the GT4 series at the third start. The Israeli had secured pole position in qualifying with the around 358 kW (500 hp) Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 RS Clubsport, turned the fastest lap of the race in 1:38.044 minutes and did not relinquish the lead to the finish. 7.5 seconds behind him, Marco Seebach came second in front of Sebastian Roth. The two Seebach Motorsport drivers each had to accept a five-second penalty because they drove through the pit lane again before the starting grid. However, this did not affect the result.
“I started in first place and really had a good race,” said Alon Gabbay. “It’s my first time here at the Red Bull Ring and I’m really happy with how it went. My second victory in the Sprint GT of the Porsche Sports Cup Germany also feels like a dream come true.”
Fourth place went to 17-year-old Paul Schubert. He thus won class 1b for participants with the 313 kW (425 hp) Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 Clubsport. The man from Schleswig-Holstein had also charged himself a five-second penalty for clearly pushing the track width to the limit. However, the young talent from the East Racing Motorsport team benefited from the fact that behind him Osman Tüccaroglu was caught up in a position duel by Marco Daedelow shortly before the end and was therefore unable to close the gap sufficiently. Tüccaroglu, who competes for a-workx Motorsport, also missed the leap to the top of the Sprint GT classification. Steve Caroli could claim that. The Seebach Motorsport driver from Saxony finished fourth in class ahead of Alexandra Vateva, the surprise class winner of the opening race at Hockenheim.
“My race was very eventful, but it was a lot of fun,” admitted Paul Schubert. “Thanks to good qualifying, I was able to start from the front and stay close to the Cayman GT4 RS. Because I was a bit overconfident, I got myself a time penalty and hoped that I would still get on the podium. Thank God they fought for positions behind me and I was able to build up a sufficient gap again.”
Porsche Sprint Challenge
The question of the right racing tires from Michelin was clarified shortly before the start of the Porsche Sprint Challenge: Increasing rainfall caused all 30 participants with the various racing versions of the Porsche 911 GT3 to swing the pendulum in favor of rain tires. The start took place behind the safety car, which turned into the pit lane after three laps. Jörg Dreisow, who had secured pole position with a 911 GT3 R of the 991.2 generation, was initially able to lead the field. On lap five, however, he had to let his pursuers go. Felix Neuhofer (Team Neuhofer Rennsport) moved up to the top, closely followed by Tom Nittel (Team Laptime-Performance) and Philipp Gresek (Plus.Line Racing Team). All three drove a 911 GT3 Cup of the current generation 992. When the rain eased a little in the middle of the race, Ulrich Becker got into better momentum. With his 911 GT3 R, the man from Marl first passed Gresek, then drove Nittel into a mistake and started chasing Neuhofer with big strides. The last laps were all about this duel. But Neuhofer was undeterred and defended his lead to the finish.
“That was definitely an exciting race for me,” summed up Felix Neuhofer. “I started from fourth place, was able to move up quickly, even hold my position and bring home the win. In the last laps, however, things got very tight. Ulrich Becker kept getting closer, but I was able to defend it.”
Third place initially went to Gresek, who in the meantime had to admit defeat to Tomasz Magdziarz from Poland from the Förch Racing by Atlas Ward team. But then the former professional soccer player made a mistake and Gresek was back in front. Magdziarz finished seventh behind Nittel and the 16-year-old Carrera Cup driver Janne Stiak (ID Racing). He slipped back to third place in the 2d class points classification. However, Gresek was excluded from the classification during the technical follow-up examination. As a result, third place went to Misano race winner Karol Kret (Förch Racing by Atlas Ward), who also moved up to the top of the driver standings.
As the overall leader of the Porsche Sprint Challenge, Stefan Rehkopf was able to celebrate his fifth victory in the fifth race in Saturday’s race. With the Porsche 911 GT3 Cup of the previous generation 991.2, the Bovender had no trouble keeping his pursuer Andreas Sczepansky (Waiblingen) at a distance. Third place in this class went to Matthias Karlowski from Lünen.
“A wet race with particularly poor visibility in the first two laps is always exciting,” says Stefan Rehkopf. “I took some speed out at the beginning and gave away a place or two in the overall standings – but I knew they weren’t my competitors in the class. I saw Andreas Sczepansky in the rear-view mirror after six laps, but then he made a mistake and I was able to finish the race comfortably.”
Porsche Drivers Competition Pro
In the first regularity test of the Porsche Drivers Competition Pro, championship leader Tomas Urban triumphed again. The man from Prague won ahead of Josef Hrdlicka and his Czech compatriot Jaroslav Mikola.
2023-07-22 18:36:25
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