Reigning champion Markus Pommer was the fastest driver in qualifying for race 1 of the Prototype Cup Germany at Spa-Francorchamps. Sebastian von Gartzen qualified second.
Markus Pommer (33/Untereisesheim) produced a strong display at the opening round of this season’s Prototype Cup Germany at Spa-Francorchamps. The Gebhardt Motorsport driver set the fastest time in the first free practice session and was again unbeatable in qualifying for Saturday’s race, securing pole position with a time of 2:30.416 minutes. This was also the fastest lap time set across the whole of Friday.
“I am obviously happy with first place. The track was drying out, so we opted for a relatively dry set-up. Then we had another heavy shower shortly before qualifying. That ultimately meant that my lap was not optimal and could have been even faster. I was really well positioned with regard to the traffic. All in all, it worked out well. Bring on the race,” said Pommer, who shares the cockpit with ADAC Stiftung Sport driver Valentino Catalano (18/Westheim).
Keanu Al Azhari (16/UAE) initially led qualifying. The young Mühlner Motorsport driver is making his very first appearance in the Prototype Cup Germany at Spa-Francorchamps. After the session, Al Azhari had two laps struck off for exceeding track limits. However, his time of 2:31.409 minutes was still good enough for third place. “It is really great fun driving here, and the team has done a fantastic job of preparing the car,” said a beaming Al Azhari, who lines up without a team-mate in Belgium. “It is my first weekend in LMP3. I am now looking forward to the race. The competition here in the Prototype Cup Germany is really class.”
Former ADAC GT4 Germany driver Sebastian von Gartzen (31/Butzbach) secured second place for Racing Experience in a Duqueine, 0.798 seconds slower than Pommer. He starts the race alongside Wolfgang Payr (60/AUT). Fourth place went to Francesco Dracone (40/ITA, BHK Motorsport), who was 1.032 seconds off the top time in another Duqueine. The Italian is also racing on his own at Spa-Francorchamps. The Duqueine of Julien Apothéloz (23/CHE) and Riccardo Leone Cirelli (16/ITA, both BWT Mücke Motorsport) completed the top five.
The opening race of the 2024 Prototype Cup Germany gets underway at 10:40 on Saturday and will be streamed live and free of charge on the ADAC Motorsport channel at youtube.com/adacmotorsports.
