Axcil Jefferies goes fastest in qualifying for Saturday’s race in the Prototype Cup Germany at the DEKRA Lausitzring. Four Duqueine D08 qualified behind his Ginetta G61-LT-P3 in a wet session.
A first in the Prototype Cup Germany: Axcil Jefferies (28/ZWE), in a Ginetta G61-LT-P3 run by Konrad Motorsport, topped qualifying for race one at the DEKRA Lausitzring. This marks the first time that an LMP3 car from the British manufacturer has won a session in the Prototype Cup Germany. “I am not only happy for myself, but for the whole team,” said a beaming Jefferies, who shares the cockpit with Maximilian Hackländer (32/Rüthen), after setting a blistering time of 1:33.765 minutes. “There are not many Ginetta LMP3 cars in the world, but Konrad Motorsport believes in this car. We have had a lot of work to do, which has now paid dividends.”
Unlike the preceding sessions, qualifying at the DEKRA Lausitzring took place in wet conditions, meaning the entire field took to the track on wet tyres. “That was completely new to us,” Jefferies continued. “We had no experience in the wet. As such, we did not take too many risks in qualifying. In the race, we will be going for our first win of the season. Even if it is dry, we will still have a good chance.”
Sebastian von Gartzen (29/Butzbach, Racing Experience) set the second fastest time in a Duqueine D98, 0.221 seconds behind the pole-sitter. “I am thrilled with that. We did not expect to start from the front row of the grid. I really enjoy driving in the rain,” said von Gartzen, who starts alongside Gary Hauser (30/LUX). “I could probably even have gone a bit faster. However, I came upon another car on my final lap, and had to abort my attempt. The goal for the race is to finish on the podium.”
On the whole, qualifying was very successful for Duqueine. The French manufacturer’s cars also occupied positions three to five. Third place, with a deficit of 0.802 seconds, went to Matthias Lüthen (41/Hamburg) and Donar Munding (20/Stuttgart, both Mühlner Motorsport). They were followed by fellow Duqueine drivers Jesse Salmenautio (21/FIN) and Sebastian Arenram (39/SWE, both Koiranen Kemppi Motorsport), and Oscar Tunjo (26/COL) and Mateo Villagomez (20/ECU, both Rinaldi Racing).
The lights go green at 15:35 for Saturday’s race in the Prototype Cup Germany at the Lausitzring. The race action will be streamed live and free of charge at youtube.com/adac, adac.de/motorsport and youtube.com/24hseries.
