Close title race: Pommer / Catalano four points clear of Kratz / Soufi ahead of final race. Keanu Al Azhari beaten for the first time this weekend. Four pairs and individual starters could still mathematically win the title.
Title showdown in the Prototype Cup Germany at the Sachsenring: Markus Pommer (33/Untereisesheim) and Valentino Catalano (18/Westheim, both Gebhardt Motorsport) move to the top of the table ahead of Sunday’s final race of the season, courtesy of victory in race one at the Sachsenring. Pommer took the lead shortly after the start and handed over to Catalano in first place. He then managed the lead and came home first, ahead of Keanu Al Azhari (16/UAE, Mühlner Motorsport) and the pairing of Julien Apothéloz (23/CHE) and Riccardo Leone Cirelli (16/ITA, both BWT Mücke Motorsport). “I managed to take the lead when Keanu made a slight mistake under braking in turn one. I then tried to open up a bit of a lead, so Valentino would rejoin the race in first place after the pit stop,” said Pommer. His partner Catalano was overjoyed after the finish. “I am mega happy. I took as few risks as possible in my stint, whilst at the same time holding onto first place. It doesn’t get any better than winning here and moving to the top of the Drivers Championship. However, we still have a job to do. There is still one race to come tomorrow. We definitely cannot afford to rest on our laurels yet.”
The race did not start according to plan for pole-sitter Al Azhari in his Duqueine, as he promptly lost the lead to Pommer. He was then unable to find a way past Pommer or Catalano, who took over from Pommer at the wheel of the Gebhardt Duqueine. The 16-year-old tracked the 18-year-old through to the finish, but Catalano did not give the Mühlner protégé any opportunity to launch a successful attack. Apothéloz initially slotted in behind Pommer and Al Azhari, but his team-mate Cirelli found himself down in fifth place after the pit stop. A drive-through penalty for Torsten Kratz (53/Mönchengladbach, Konrad Motorsport), after the Konrad Ligier was six seconds too fast leaving the pits after the driver change-over from Danny Soufi (21/USA) to Kratz, saw Apothéloz / Cirelli climb back to fourth place. When Maxim Dirickx (20/BEL, Gebhardt Motorsport), who shared a Duqueine with Jacob Erlbacher (23/Böblingen), retired from third place with a damaged gearbox shortly before the end of the race, it left the way clear for Apothéloz and Cirelli to finish third in their Duqueine.
Sven Barth (43/Eberbach) and Michael Lyons (33/GBR, both Momo Gebhardt Racing) followed the Mücke duo home to claim the best result of the 2024 Prototype Cup Germany for the only Ginetta chassis in the field. Previous championship leaders Soufi and Kratz crossed the finish line in fifth place after an unfortunate race. However, just four points behind the new leaders in the Drivers Championship, the Konrad drivers still have everything to play for in Sunday’s final race. A maximum 25 points are up for grabs, meaning Apothéloz / Cirelli and Al Azhari also still have a mathematical chance of being crowned 2024 champion, as well as Pommer / Catalano and Soufi / Kratz.
In the Trophy competition, Antti Rammo (41/EST, MRS GT-Racing) can only theoretically be denied the title. The Ligier driver finished sixth as the second-best Trophy starter behind Kratz. He now holds a lead of 42.5 points. Erlbacher and Dirickx were classified in seventh place, despite their retirement shortly before the end of the race.
Keanu Al Azhari (second): “I am happy with second place. It may be the first time this weekend that I have not been in first place, but I made a mistake braking in turn one and consequently lost the lead. I knew straight away that it was going to be tough to get back to the front. However, second is a good result and there is still a race to come tomorrow.”
Julien Apothéloz (third): “On the whole, that was not ideal for us. I was third for a long time in my stint, and wanted to really give it everything towards the end. Unfortunately, I wanted too much and spun. Shortly after, I came into the pits to hand the car over to Riccardo. In the end, we benefitted from the misfortune of our rivals and moved up to third place.”
Riccardo Leone Cirelli (third): “It was a tough race, partly because the tyres degraded. Plus, the car was not running so well – probably because of the tyres. Then I made a mistake and ended up skidding through the gravel bed. We go again tomorrow.”
Broadcast times for the 2024 Prototype Cup Germany at the Sachsenring
Sunday, 8th September 2024 09:55 – Qualifying 2, live youtube.com/adacmotorsports 15:15 - Race 2, live youtube.com/adacmotorsports
