The reigning champion of the Prototype Cup Germany was unbeatable again in the first free practice session of the 2024 season at Spa-Francorchamps. Last year’s runner-up Julien Apothéloz was second.
The 2024 season of the Prototype Cup Germany is up and running: the first free practice ahead of the season-opener took place at midday on Friday at the Spa-Francorchamps circuit – and Markus Pommer (33/Untereisesheim, Gebhardt Motorsport) was unbeatable in the Duqueine D08. “It is obviously great to start the season with the fastest time,” said a delighted Pommer, who shares the cockpit with Valentino Catalano (18/Westheim), after his lap time of 2:32.527 minutes.
As is apparent from the lap times over 2:30 minutes, the free practice took place in the rain. “Despite this, I immediately felt comfortable in the car,” Pommer continued. “The conditions here are always really difficult. It is ice cold, which means it is not easy to get the tyres up to the right temperature. However, the final round of the 2023 season at the Nürburgring also took place in the rain, so I knew what to expect.“
Second place in the opening session went to Julien Apothéloz (23/CHE) in another Duqueine. The BWT Mücke Motorsport driver produced his fastest lap right at the end of the session and trailed Pommer by 0.223 seconds. “The weather made for difficult conditions at the start of practice, but I am very happy,” said the Swiss, who lines up alongside Riccardo Leone Cirelli (16/ITA). “We also tried out a few things with the car during the session. They could definitely be relevant when it comes to qualifying and the race.”
0.443 seconds back in third place was rookie Keanu Al Azhari (16/UAE, Mühlner Motorsport) in another Duqueine. He was followed by the Ligier JS P320 of Danny Soufi (20/USA) and Torsten Kratz (53/Mönchengladbach, both Konrad Motorsport), who were 0.975 seconds slower than Pommer. Antti Rammo (41/EST, MRS GT-Racing) rounded out the top five in his Ligier. The second practice session follows later on Friday, as does qualifying for the first race of the season on Saturday.
