Two wins for Leonard Weiss and Torsten Kratz at the finale in Hockenheim. Podium for Gary Hauser and Sebastian von Gartzen. Mühlner Motorsport celebrates: Munding is top Junior, Lüthen best Trophy driver.
Torsten Kratz (51/Mönchengladbach) and Leonard Weiss (24/Monschau, both WTM Racing) enjoyed a virtually perfect weekend at the 4.574-kilometre Hockenheimring Baden-Württemberg. After victory in Saturday’s race in the Prototype Cup Germany, the Duqueine drivers were again unbeatable today. “It was a great end to the season. At the start, I tried to open a lead and then to maintain it,” said Weiss. “All I actually had to do was control the race through to the finish,” said Kratz, summing up his stint. Ligier driver Rory Penttinen (42/FIN, MRS GT-Racing) crowned the debut of his MRS GT-Racing team, and his first appearance in the LMP3 racing series, with second place, followed by the pairing of Sebastian von Gartzen (29/Butzbach) and Gary Hauser (30/LUX, Racing Experience) in their Duqueine. Fourth place at the wheel of a Ligier was sufficient for title favourites Berkay Besler (23/TUR) and Marvin Dienst (25/Lampertheim, both Toksport WRT) to be crowned champions of the Prototype Cup Germany. The trophy for the best Junior of the year goes to Donar Munding (20/Stuttgart), while the top Trophy driver is Munding’s team-mate Mathias Lüthen (41/Hamburg, both Mühlner Motorsport).
Weiss took the lead at the start, and proceeded to consistently extend his advantage. He was followed by Penttinen in second place after a good start, with Hauser third. Jacob Erlbacher (22/AUT, Gebhardt Motorsport) also got off the line well and found himself running fourth in the early stages. However, he was not fourth for long, as Maximilian Hackländer (32/Rüthen, Konrad Motorsport) passed the Gebhardt driver. The Konrad driver was also unable to retain fourth place and crashed out of the race. Meanwhile, Dienst was making big strides towards the front-runners and took over fourth place. He then set off in pursuit of the two men in front of him, Hauser and Penttinen, and overtook the driver from Luxembourg on lap ten. Penttinen, on the other hand, was able to withstand the pressure until the pit stop, meaning Dienst handed the Ligier over to Besler in third place.
Once all the cars had completed their mandatory pit stop, Kratz led the race. Penttinen remained his closest rival in second place, but was in turn being hunted down by Sebastian von Gartzen. Besler slotted in behind the Racing Experience driver. Kratz managed his lead of around ten seconds and took the chequered flag as the race winner after 34 laps. Penttinen finished runner-up in the final race of the 2022 Prototype Cup Germany, while Gartzen / Hauser crossed the finish line third, ahead of Dienst / Besler. They picked up 16 valuable points, taking their total for the season to 111.5 points. That gave them 14.5 points more than Kratz and Weiss, who ended the season in second place in the championship. Munding and Lüthen were third, but could celebrate winning the titles in both the Junior and Trophy competitions. 20-year-old Munding was crowned the best Junior, ahead of Weiss and Besler. 41-year-old Lüthen triumphed in the Trophy competition, ahead of Kratz and Michael Herich (45/Brühl, Gebhardt Motorsport).
Leonard Weiss: “That is a nice way to end the season. It could not have gone better. Unfortunately, we did not have a chance of winning the Prototype Cup Germany, as we had to miss a race weekend due to coronavirus. And the Junior and Trophy competitions would certainly also have been closer, were it not for that missed weekend.”
Torsten Kratz: “We made a few changes to the car between yesterday and today, which really benefitted the car, particularly over the full distance. When you have such a good car, it is easier to round off the win. In hindsight, it is obviously excruciating that we had to miss the race weekend at the Nürburgring because of coronavirus, but unfortunately there is nothing we can do about that now.”
Rory Penttinen: “My race was quite controlled today, and not as exciting as yesterday. I tried not to take too many risks, but still really enjoyed myself. I came to Hockenheim without any big expectations, and am heading home with two podiums to my name – on the team’s debut in the LMP3 class and my first appearance in Hockenheim. We are all very happy.”
Gary Hauser: “I am particularly happy for the team, as they worked through the night until 05:50 to repair the car after the crash in yesterday’s race. Somehow, the weekend seems to have had it in for us. As well as the crash in race one, when we were taken out of the race by Berkay Besler, we were denied a chance of pole position this morning, when Mathias Lüthen got in our way in qualifying. That makes it all the more pleasing to finish third in the end.”
Sebastian von Gartzen: “I am also delighted for the team, they more than deserve third place. Rory overtook me when I braked a little too late. However, third place is great.”
Marvin Dienst: “We made life a bit difficult for ourselves this weekend, with the crash in race one and the five-place grid penalty, as well as the fastest time in Q2 under yellow flags, which cost us another three positions on the grid. Looking at the results, the start of our season was better than the end. Ultimately, however, the only thing that matters is that we won the title.”
Berkay Besler: “It was a variable season, with highs and lows. I think we deserve the title, the team has done a great job all year. The final weekend was not easy, but now we are champions and really happy.”
