The Prototype Cup Germany is at the Sachsenring for the first time this weekend; on Friday, the competitors have three hours, in which to familiarise themselves with the undulating circuit. A one-hour test in the morning, at the end of which Keanu Al Azhari (16/UAE, Mühlner Motorsport) had his nose in front, was followed at lunchtime by the first Free Practice. Here too, Al Azhari set the fastest lap time, followed by Julien Apothéloz (23/CHE) / Riccardo Leone Cirelli (16/ITA, both BWT Mücke Motorsport) and Danny Soufi (21/USA) / Torsten Kratz (53/Mönchengladbach, both Konrad Motorsport).
Despite this, FP1 was not all a positive experience for Al Azhari: the 16-year-old skidded into the crash barriers in his Duqueine, causing a break in the action. When the session resumed, nobody was able to beat the time set by the Mühlner protégé, and Al Azhari ultimately topped the timing sheet with an advantage of 0.56 seconds. Behind the second-placed pair of Apothéloz / Cirelli, who like Al Azhari line up in a Duqueine, were the championship leaders and top Ligier drivers Soufi / Kratz. “The circuit is a challenge,” said Kratz, summing up his first metres at the Sachsenring. “I knew roughly what to expect from my training in a simulator, but it is still a bit different in reality. The track is totally unforgiving, as you could see from Keanu’s crash. Danny and I also had our moments here. Otherwise, I don’t think we were at the limit in terms of our driving or the car, but we are well on track.”
Behind Felipe Laser (36/Leipzig) and Klaus Abbelen (63/Barweiler, both Frikadelli Racing Team) were Markus Pommer (33/Untereisesheim) and Valentino Catalano (18/Westheim, both Gebhardt Motorsport) in fifth place. “I started slowly, as I wanted to get to know the track first,” said Duqueine driver Catalano. “However, I then upped the pace from lap to lap.” Team-mate Pommer was already familiar with the Sachsenring. “I have driven Formula cars and GT3 racers here, but am still learning in an LMP3. The second sector, in particular, is great fun in a prototype, as it is damned fast and does not allow any errors. If you are too fast, you are going to end up in the crash barrier.”
Jacob Erlbacher (23/Böblingen) and Maxim Dirickx (20/BEL, both Gebhardt Motorsport) were sixth after an hour of Free Practice, ahead of Antti Rammo (41/EST, MRS GT-Racing) and the pairing of Sven Barth (43/Eberbach) and Michael Lyons (33/GBR, both Momo Gebhardt Racing).
