Glorious sunshine again greeted the drivers in the second qualifying session of the Prototype Cup Germany at Motorsport Arena Oschersleben. Valentino Catalano (17/Westheim, DKR Engineering) responded by setting the fastest lap time, ahead of Xavier Lloveras (23/ESP, van ommen racing by DataLab) in second place. That also made the German the top junior in the field. Julien Apothéloz (22/CHE, van ommen racing by DataLab), Gary Hauser (31/LUX, Racing Experience) and Danny Soufi (19/USA, Konrad Motorsport) rounded out the top five.
With roughly six minutes of the 15-minute session remaining, Maximilian Hackländer (33/Rüthen, Konrad Motorsport) skidded off into the gravel bed, resulting in a short break in the action. At this point, Xavier Lloveras was sitting proudly at the top of the timing sheet. However, he was unable to improve his time when qualifying resumed. “I think I could have gone even faster, but I was constantly stuck in traffic in the closing stages,” said the Spaniard, who is making his debut in the Prototype Cup Germany in Oschersleben. Valentino Catalano had more joy: “My team deliberately sent me out after everyone else after the interruption, which gave me a clear run. Then it was simply all-out attack for me.” The 17-year-old moved to the top of the timings on his penultimate lap, before going even faster on his final lap. “I was determined to go under 1:19 minutes and really drove at the limit. It was a lot of fun and I am really happy with pole position,” said a delighted Catalano.
In Julien Apothéloz and Gary Hauser, third and fourth place were occupied by two drivers who have finished on the podium in each of the three races so far in this season’s Prototype Cup Germany. That cannot be said of Danny Soufi, who was fifth fastest. “That was a decent qualifying. We had made a few changes to the set-up after yesterday’s race, but still need to take a closer look to see what effect they have ultimately had. I am definitely happy with my fifth place and am looking forward to the race.”
