Matthias Lüthen and Donar Munding win Sunday’s race in the Prototype Cup Germany. First win for a Duqueine D08 in the German championship. Berkay Besler/Marvin Dienst head to the finale in Hockenheim as championship leaders.
Matthias Lüthen (41/Hamburg) and Donar Munding (20/Stuttgart, both Mühlner Motorsport) took victory in a Duqueine D08, as race two of the Prototype Cup Germany at the DEKRA Lausitzring provided excitement right down to the finish. Both drivers had two reasons to celebrate: Munding also won the Junior competition, and Lüthen the Trophy class. There were also celebrations at French chassis manufacturer Duqueine, for whom this was the first victory in the German prototype series. Second place went to fellow Duqueine drivers Oscar Tunjo (26/COL) and Mateo Villagomez (20/ECU, both Rinaldi Racing), ahead of Berkay Besler (23/TUR) and Marvin Dienst (25/Lampertheim, both Toksport WRT) in a Ligier JS P320, who lead the championship heading to the season finale at the Hockenheimring.
Ligier driver Dienst started the race from pole position and immediately established himself at the front of the field. He was followed by the two Ginetta G61-LT-P3 of Konrad Motorsport, with Axcil Jefferies (28/ZWE) and Danny Soufi (19/USA) at the wheel. Meanwhile, there was a collision in the midfield involving the two Duqueine cars of Lüthen and Villagomez, for which the South American was handed a drive-through penalty. After roughly 15 minutes, race control declared two back-to-back safety car phases, which saw the cars bunch back together and allowed Lüthen and Villagomez to rejoin the field.
Shortly after the restart, the pit stop window opened and the crew on the Mühlner Motorsport pit wall immediately brought Lüthen in to hand over to team-mate Munding. The early stop meant he then benefitted from a clear track. There were two pit lane dramas in the leading group: the second-placed Ginetta of Jefferies refused to start, due to an issue with the starter motor, forcing him out of the race. Shortly after, it all got a bit hectic for the leading Ligier of Toksport WRT. Their car also refused to start at first during the changeover from Dienst to Besler. The Turk was eventually able to rejoin the race, but dropped back to fourth place.
The rivals’ misfortune and the tactical nous on the pit wall meant that Munding found himself at the head of the field in the Mühlner Duqueine after the round of pit stops. He was followed by fellow Duqueine drivers Sebastian von Gartzen (29/Butzbach, Racing Experience) and Oscar Tunjo, who had taken over from Villagomez. However, Tunjo really put his foot down and soon took second place. He then closed in on Munding in the closing stages, but was unable to launch a successful overtaking manoeuvre.
Berkay Besler also put pedal to the metal late on, and passed von Gartzen at the end of the start/finish straight to secure third place for himself and Marvin Dienst. Behind von Gartzen and his team-mate Gary Hauser (30/LUX), Leonard Weiss (24/Monschau) and Torsten Kratz (51/Mönchengladbach, both WTM Racing) came home fifth, ahead of the Ginetta duo of Jacob Erlabacher (21/AUT) and Michael Lyons (31/GBR, both Gebhardt Motorsport). Rounding off the top seven in another Ginetta was Danny Soufi, who started the race in third place.
Matthias Lüthen – winner for Mühlner Motorsport: “The win is totally awesome. We are absolutely thrilled. The team has really earned this success. We had a good strategy, but also a little luck. That is part and parcel of motor racing. At the start of my stint, another car drove into me. However, the safety car allowed us to catch up again. Donar then did a good job in his stint. I am already looking forward to the finale in Hockenheim.”
Donar Munding – winner for Mühlner Motorsport: “When we came in for our driver changeover immediately after the safety car, we knew that we could come out very near the front. And we were actually in first place. It took me a little while to get up to pace at the start of my stint, as we had a lot of pick-up on the tyres. When I found my rhythm, I did not want to push too hard. At the end of the race, I was able to watch Oscar in my rear mirror and maintain the lead, in order to secure the win.”
Oscar Tunjo – second place for Rinaldi Racing: “We were very close to winning today. Nevertheless, I am very happy with the result. I did not want to take too many risks on the last lap. The car had some damage after Mateo’s collision at the start, so it was not easy to drive.”
Mateo Villagomez – second place for Rinaldi Racing: “On the one hand I am happy, but I am also a little displeased with myself. I would have liked to have given Oscar a better car, but we had a bit of damage. I am proud to be his team-mate. Second place is a great result for the team, which once again worked hard.”
