“Team Deutsche Post by tolimit“ would have expected way more from the third round of the Porsche Carrera Cup Deutschland at the Lausitzring: Sean Edwards saves two points for the team standings with position 14, Sascha Maassen drops out with a damaged radiator in lap 4.

The weekend actually started well – as expected: Sean Edwards constantly ranked among the potential podium positions in the free practices. Sascha Maassen also constantly hit the top ten.

In qualifying, however, a strategy fault at Sean Edward’s car: The Brit from “Team Deutsche Post by tolimit” achieved the quickest sector times and would have been able to achieve pole, however, had to break off his fastest lap shortly before the start-finish-line. “In the first part of the qualifying, my lap times were sensationally fast. Unfortunately, we had a strategy issue.” Thus in the second part, he fought with low fuel levels. Position 10 on the starting grid was the best possible result.

In the race, the 23-year-old again had a good start, however, clashed with Philipp Wlazik, the pilot in front of him. It all resulted in a drive-through-penalty imposed by the race stewards. Withdrawn to position 19, the ambitious race driver fought back to 14th place in the end: “On Friday, I was surprised, how well I was getting along with the track. It’s my first time at the Lausitzring. The more annoying it is that I wasn’t able to attack again in qualifying. In the race, I pushed hard to get upfront. Unfortunately, this attempt backfired. Once again, it is not the result we expected to achieve“, the Brit sums up.

Sascha Maassen experienced a weekend to forget at the Lausitzring. Oversteer and a penalty in free practice – his fastest lap happened under yellow flags – resulted in position 20 on the starting grid. A radiator damage in lap 4 of the race forced him to give up. „If you start that much on the back of the field, you try to push as hard as possible. Thus I push-started the one in front of me. My car didn’t like it obviously and redeemed with a radiator damage” the experienced pilot comments with a grim sense of humor.

Paul Schlotmann, who at the Lausitzring acted not only as technical director, but also as team manager for the diseased Jörg Michaelis, sums up: “We expected way more from the weekend. We know that we are fast. Unfortunately, we had some adjustment issues at Sascha’s car and a strategy fault in Sean’s qualifying. In the race, some things happened that are quite normal in such tight position fights. Thus we were only able to achieve two points for the championship standings.”

tolimit managing director Hans-Bernd Kamps adds: “Now we need to make sure that the team does not hang the heads and continues to look ahead. Success means to stand up once more than you fell down. Despite quick lap times, we don’t achieve the results that would be expected. And we will change that quickly.”

Next race of Porsche Carrera Cup Deutschland takes place on July 4, at the Norisring (Nurnberg). A summary of the race at the Lausitzring will be broadcast on June 9, in the “Motodrom” show. “n-tv“ and “DMAX“ show race extracts on June 8, in “PS Spezial“ (4.25 p.m.), respectively on June 13, in “DTM Magazin” (noon).

Sean Edwards was able to bring his Abu Dhabi Tourism Authority (ADTA)-backed 911 GT3 Cup undamaged through the starting collisions to defend his starting position of 4th but had to cut a chicane in order not to collide with competitors. And although the cut did not bring him any advantage, the stewards decided to fine him with a drive-through penalty.He moved upto 3rd place and held this position for the whole race whilst the team fought the stewards over the decision. But it was to no avail, four laps from the finish he had to serve the penalty and dropped down the order to 10th.

“In the starting turmoil, I didn’t have any other chance than to cut the chicane. I don’t understand the penalty, as the move didn’t bring any advantage. Nevertheless, the stewards told us before the race that they would immediately fine, especially in the first laps. And I have to accept it if I like it or not. Silly things have cost us three podiums over the last three races, so our bad luck is now over and we will deliver a good result in Carrera Cup”

Sascha Maassen from ‘Team Abu Dhabi by tolimit’ battled through with clutch issues at the Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup race in Monaco – an issue which hampered his winning ambitions when it led to a drive-through-penalty for a jump start. Team mate Sean Edwards was also penalised with a drive-through and eventually scored 10th position. Khaled Al Qubaisi achieved a respectable 22nd position in his first showing in the Principality.

Widely acknowledged as the ‘tight race specialist’, Sascha Maassen showed his competitors in qualifying why he is fully deserving of the title after he secured a second placed qualifying spot – his best performance so far. However, at the race start his 911 GT3 Cup moved off the line too early, resulting in a jump-start penalty. “The jump start was caused by some problems with the clutch I had throughout the whole weekend. Obviously, it looked as if the endurance racer had starting problems. That’s of course annoying,” said the team’s most experienced driver.

For sure, his premature start was noticed in race control. The following damage limitation resulted in a short engine break-down. After some additional turbulence in the first curve, he re-joined the field in position seven. The serving of his penalty finally resulted in him finishing 19th.

Khaled Al Qubaisi, the Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup Emirati rookie, also went through a turbulent race: “It was my first start in Monaco and my ultimate ambition was to stay out of trouble… which I managed to do. Nevertheless, the race was very confusing. There were a lot of rule breaches around me, which were quite irritating. I don’t have a lot of experience on street races so I am looking forward to the race in Valencia to help build confidence.”

Team manager Michael Seifert commented on the race weekend with mixed emotions: “We started into the race with a lot of expectations. We worked hard, the sun is shining despite of a rainy weather forecast. Now we leave with the swallow of another bitter pill. Of course, Sascha wanted to show a good performance. Unfortunately, the clutch put a spoke in his wheel. Sean had to accept a severe penalty for the second time in a row. From Khaled, we only expected him to stay on track and to manage the 107% rule this weekend. It was his first entry in the tight street course so we are very pleased with his improving performance throughout the weekend.”

Technical director Paul Schlotmann added: “Let’s see it positively: we are happy that all cars are undamaged. In the short period between Barcelona and Monaco, the whole team pushed the envelope of burden. The result that we expected after the qualifying performance would of course have been motivating, however, I am sure that we will get our chance to show our performance.”

tolimit managing director Hans-Bernd Kamps commented: “All good things come in threes. All bad things obviously, too. Monaco is of course always a special race in which many unforeseen things can happen. Drive-through penalties of course don’t belong to the anticipated ones. The whole team does a lot of hard work, for which we unfortunately have not been rewarded so far. I would like to thank our partners from Abu Dhabi Tourism Authority, Deutsche Post and Windreich AG, who all were on site to cross their fingers for us and to go with us through all ups and downs.“

The next Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup race takes place on June 27, 2010 in Valencia, Spain.

Sean Edwards from “Team Abu Dhabi by tolimit“ stood on top of the podium in the Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup race in Barcelona, however, was set back to position 12th due to a retrospective penalty. Sascha Maassen thus achieves position 11. Khaled Al Qubaisi ends up on position 14 and registers his first championship points.

The penny has dropped, however, also in Barcelona the race result of the “Team Abu Dhabi by tolimit“ drivers still does not show the true performance. Sean Edwards was considered being one of the front-runners for the Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup European season opener and achieved the result that complied to his performance –in the unofficial race standings. The stewards’ decision to impose a 25 second penalty on him means the officials deprived him of the victory.

In free practice as well as in qualifying, the 23-year-old clearly marked his territory with position 2. “I am pretty sure to also find the 0.3 seconds that are missing to the pole sitter”, was his comment after the timed session. “Unfortunately, I didn’t have another clear lap in the end.”

The race started perfectly for the young Brit and he immediately set himself upfront. In the following 14 laps, he delivered some great race action in his battles against the runner-off Jeroen Bleekemolen. A true racing feast for the spectators’ eyes at the “Circuit de Catalunya”.

The battle came to a head in the last two laps, when Jeroen Bleekemolen managed to get passed Sean Edwards. In the following counter strike, Bleekemolen closed the door and the “Team Abu Dhabi by tolimit” pilot was not able to prevent the contact. „I am sorry that I collided with Jeroen, but he didn’t leave any room any more. We had a captivating fight in the race. That was great. Unfortunately, my tyres lost grip, as I pushed a bit too early in the race. The stewards decided afterwards, that my contact would have been avoidable and gave me a 25 second penalty, which was too much. But I have to accept this decision of course.”

Edwards’ obvious disappointment was quickly allayed by the team’s backer Abu Dhabi Tourism Authority (ADTA). “This is what the sport is all about – the ability to deal with set-backs and move on to future triumphs,” said Ahmed Hussein, Deputy Director General, ADTA.

Sascha Maassen was dogged by bad racing luck. After the change of the differential lock on his Porsche 911 GT3 Cup after qualifying, the balance of his car was performing as expected. Starting from position 14, the 40-year-old, however, had to evade colliding competitors and was in the end pushed into the gravel from behind. “All of a sudden, you start it all again – from the back”, was his comment with a grim sense of humour. Due to the following catch-up, he finished the race on position 11. “All in all, I caught up 10 positions. The car feels better with the new differential lock. Many thanks to the whole team, who did everything to convince the Porsche race organisation that a change was necessary.”

Khaled Al Qubaisi, the third pilot of “Team Abu Dhabi by tolimit” experienced a truly unleashed race. The “king of the race start”, as he is called in his home country Abu Dhabi, was fully complying to his nickname and caught up five positions in the race start. “It was a great race for me. The start was perfect. In the race itself I most of all tried to hold the speed and keep out of the collisions in front of me.“ With a constant performance, the Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup “rookie” managed to capture position 12, however finished on position 14 due to a smaller driving mistake. “I am not only very confident, but absolutely happy. I was able to reduce the gap to the front constantly during the weekend. Furthermore, the result means my first two championship points.”

“Team Abu Dhabi by tolimit” team manager Michael Seifert comments: „It is absolutely annoying. Our performance is good, however, also this time it is not shown in the result. The battle between Sean and Jeroen was captivating and in the end unfortunate for us. Sean did not want to send him off track, however, there was no other chance. Sascha is still dogged by bad luck. For Khaled we are very happy. The result means the first championship points for him and he was able to close the gap to the top. That’s a great result for him.”

tolimit managing director Hans-Bernd Kamps adds: „At first, the weekend showed the results that we are able to achieve. This confirms not only us in our team composition, but also the Abu Dhabi Tourism Authority, Deutsche Post and Windreich AG in partnering with us. That we had to step back from the top of the podium in the end is to be regretted. But that’s racing.”

“Team Deutsche Post by tolimit” pilot Sascha Maassen finishes the first run of Porsche Carrera Cup Deutschland in Hockenheim on position seven. His team mate Sean Edwards fell back in the very last lap due to the loss of fuel pressure and saves position ten.

The race weekend started well for the 23-year-old Brit Sean Edwards. The fourth-best time in qualifying with a gap of only two hundreds of a second to the top brought him to the second row on the grid. After a successful start, the ambitious race driver was able to break away with the top flight around Nick Tandy, Nicolas Armindo and Christian Engelhart and showed the spectators some exciting battles. By the way, he was able to set the fastest race lap. Unfortunately, some of the 911 GT3 Cup suffered from the loss of fuel pressure. This technical problem hit Armindo and Engelhart as well as Sean Edwards.

“It happened in the very last lap, that I was also hit by the fuel pressure problem after it had showed up on Christian’s and Nicolas’ car. With a stuttering engine, I was able to save position ten. The weekend started very well, but unfortunately didn’t end with the respective outcome. Anyway I was able to drive the fastest race lap. That’s motivating for the next races”, says Sean Edwards.

For Porsche one-make-cup repatriate Sascha Maassen qualifying position 13 hadn’t been the desired result. In the race, however, the 40-year-old race driver played out his experience. Although he had to shortly drive off track at the start and needed some laps to clean his tyres, he was able to avoid all duels and collisions.

His tactics: as a tyre-saving driver catching some less-experienced with dismantling tyres. With a constant performance, the former Porsche works driver achieved position seven and profited from the technical problems of the leading group: “My qualifying didn’t bring the desired result. In the race, however, I was sure to be able to catch up. Position seven is ok, but can of course be improved.”

Team manager Jörg Michaelis comments: „It’s of course annoying that Sean was hit by the fuel pressure problem in the very last lap. His fastest race lap and his constant performance in the race, however, showed that we will be a serious competitor in this championship. Sascha played off his routine. The result overall means 15 points in the team championship. That’s ok for the first race weekend.”

tolimit general manager Hans-Bernd Kamps adds: „Sometimes you need to be lucky in racing. Today, luck wasn’t on our side. Despite of this, we are pleased that we were able to show some exciting races to the spectators, the fans and our partners – above all from Deutsche Post and Windreich AG.“

Sascha Maassen, Sean Edwards and Khaled Al Qubaisi from Abu Dhabi Team by tolimit finished their first two races in the Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup season 2010 on the positions 7, 8 and 20 as well as 9, 15 and 21.

It was the first liaison of a newly assembled team: Sascha Maassen, for a long time endurance racing specialist, Sean Edwards, sprint race talent and Khaled Al Qubaisi, who is on a mission to fulfil his dream of racing with his start in Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup. Supplemented by a new team of mechanics and engineers, a package that gives hope for a successful season.

Qualifying ended up with Sean Edwards on position 11th and 8th, Sascha Maassen on position 10th and12th and Khaled Al Qubaisi on position 25 and 24th.

Sean Edwards made a great start in race one and worked his way through the field, closely followed by his team mate Sascha Maassen. He got all the way upto 6th position and was closing in on reigning champion Jeroen Bleekemolen, but with only 2 laps to go his rear tyres had nothing left to give, leaving him helpless against the cars behind. “It was undrivable really, I had so much oversteer in the last two laps it was like a drift challenge! So I lost two places on the last lap unfortunately, but still got 8th.” Commented Edwards after the race.

He was unlucky in the second race, when he got caught up in a crash between Siso Cunill and Jan Seyffarth, resulting in a spin which put himself at the end of the field in 24th. With some thrilling overtaking manoeuvres, he battled his way upto position 15 again! As Salman Al Khalifa is a guest starter, who finished the race in front of him, he will get the points for 14th position. “I wasn’t able to keep myself out of the trouble, when Cunill and Seyffarth hit each other, but I had a good fight back through the field and would like to thank Team Abu Dhabi for all their hard work this weekend and we will be testing before Barcelona so we can be right up the front this time.”

Sascha Maassen comments: “I am pretty satisfied with my 10th qualifying position. Eventually this is my first sprint race for some years.” In the first race, the former Porsche works driver worked himself constantly through the field up to position 7. In the second race, he provided a lot of thrilling entertainment in his multiple fights for positions with Zampedri, Bridgman and Huisman. “I can’t remember how often we overtook each other,” the pilot says with a smile.” For the spectators, it must have been a good show.” In the end, this meant position 9 for the 40-year old. “That’s ok at first. However, I am sure that I will get more used to the sprint format again and be able to push forward.”

Khaled Al Qubaisi is also satisfied with his results: “My qualifying session was ok. In each of the races I was able to overtake some of my competitors at the start. I still need more experience, however, I am sure, that I am able to learn a lot this season, especially from my team mates Sascha und Sean.”Position 20 and 21 leave the 35-year old race driver from Abu Dhabi content.

Team chef Michael Seifert assures: This was a good start for a newly assembled team. Now we have to keep up the good work, establish some routines and make the next step in the next race in Barcelona. I am sure that we can catch up to the teams of Lechner Racing, MRS and Konrad. We look forward to it”.

Tolimit general manager Hans-Bernd Kamps is also satisfied: “The team has shown that it has the potential for being successful. I am pretty sure that we can better the results quite quickly”.