"First we had no luck at all, then came only bad luck." This famous quote from former BVB and Bayern star, Jürgen 'Cobra' Wegmann, could have been penned by Robert Renauer after his six races in the current ADAC GT Masters season. The Porsche driver is currently experiencing a season of highs and lows at the racetrack.

After a strong opening round with a win at Oschersleben and subsequent championship lead, the reigning champion has taken points only once in four races. Team Precote Herberth Motorsport found the weekend at Autodrom Most particularly tough, as they failed to score at all after a time penalty on Saturday and the collision with David Jahn's Corvette in the race on Sunday. Renauer and new team-mate, Thomas Preining, went on a strong charge on Saturday at the Red Bull Ring to finish seventh but immediately suffered yet another setback the following day. A technical problem after a contact with another competitor forced Herberth's drivers to retire. They are currently in eighth place in the overall standings.

So as you can imagine, Renauer has very mixed feelings about results to date: "Actually, the negatives have outweighed the positives so far. The first weekend was still really great, but things then went downhill - despite Thomas always doing very well in qualifying, we were behind in the races. The way the season is going reminds me a little bit of 2017 when we often had the lead in qualifying, but then things did not go our way in the races. I hope to get back on track at Zandvoort."

There's still every chance of that happening. When Renauer won the championship last season, he achieved victory from pole position at the circuit on the Dutch North Sea coast. The Bavarian expects that their new Porsche 911 GT3 R should be good for a place on the podium once again this year (9th-11th August). Renauer: "Zandvoort really suits us."

And he expects to achieve good results not just at Zandvoort. Team Renauer/Preining also hope to do well in the finale at the Sachsenring. Their goal is to finally carry their good performance in qualifying through into the races. There is real harmony between Renauer and new cockpit partner, Thomas Preining: "Thomas is extremely fast. He always gives 100 per cent. His go-getting attitude is pretty obvious in every session. He wants to win trophies. I think we can notch up some decent results together."

Herberth Motorsport are currently the best-placed Porsche outfit in the field just ahead of Küs Team75 Bernhard on points in the team competition. "Things may look good at this particular moment in time, but Team75 were really strong last time out. They too have had plenty of bad luck to contend with this year, just like us. Our two outfits are practically on an equal footing."

As far as Renauer is concerned, predicting how much further Precote can go this season is not easy at present, as he has got no experience of the new car at the Nürburgring and Hockenheim to call on. Renauer: "I can't possibly forecast how well we'll do at the Nürburgring, but the Porsche's excellent traction should help us at Hockenheim." Nevertheless, Renauer remains optimistic in his outlook: "We can finish in the Top Five at every circuit. It's always possible."