The drivers of the Berlin race team won the first two qualifying sessions of the Prototype Cup Germany at the Hockenheimring. Julien Apothéloz took the lead in the first qualifying session and team-mate Riccardo Leone Cirelli came out top of the second session.
Jubilation at BWT Mücke Motorsport: The iconic team’s Duqueine D08 was unbeatable at the Hockenheimring on Friday. In Qualifying 1, Julien Apothéloz (23/CHE) set the best time of 1:35.574 minutes. “I’m delighted with the result. It was super close, but luck was on our side this time around. I was also really pleased with the car. We got ourselves into a good position on the track during the session, which meant I didn’t have any traffic for my lap. We want to be up there doing battle for the win during the race,” said Apothéloz, who shares the car with Riccardo Leone Cirelli (16/ITA). “I love the Hockenheimring. I drove my first ever race here in the ADAC TCR Germany, so I already have a lot of good memories of this place.”
With a deficit of just 0.044 seconds, second place in the session went to brand colleagues Valentino Catalano (18/Westheim) and Markus Pommer (33/Untereisesheim, both Gebhardt Motorsport). In third place was Keanu Al Azhari (16/UAE, Mühlner Motorsport), who trailed by 0.134 seconds in another Duqueine. He was followed by championship leaders Danny Soufi (21/USA) and Torsten Kratz (53/Mönchengladbach, both Konrad Motorsport) in the fastest Ligier JS P320.
BWT Mücke Motorsport also came up trumps in the second qualifying session. This time it was team-mate Riccardo Leone Cirelli at the wheel of the Duqueine. The young Italian is making his first ever Hockenheim appearance – and secured P1 on the grid for the second race with a time of 1:35.470 minutes.
“It’s hard to put into words how amazing the result is,” said Cirelli beaming as he exited the cockpit. “But the session was far from easy. I got the fastest lap on my third attempt and the asphalt temperatures are very high today. I’m really pleased. The team gave me a great car. The Hockenheimring really is a tricky track. But I really like the layout with its many fast and some tight corners.”
Once again, second place in the session went to the Duqueine of Catalano/Pommer, who trailed by 0.373 seconds. Mühlner driver Keanu Al Azhari finished third again with a deficit of 0.386 seconds. The Ligier of Klaus Abbelen (63/Barweiler) and Felipe Fernández Laser (35/Leipzig, both Frikadelli Racing Team) completed the top four of the second qualifying session. The third Prototype Cup Germany qualifying session at the Hockenheimring gets underway at 9:30 on Saturday, with the race scheduled to start at around 13:50. Both are available to stream for free on ADAC’s motorsport channel youtube.com/adacmotorsports.
