The eighth and ninth races of the Porsche Carrera Cup were lucky races for the German ‘Team Deutsche Post by tolimit’ drivers. With two pole positions, René Rast had the best chances at the Norisring, which he put to good use. He shone in both races with a perfect start–finish victory. “It was a great feeling. Up to now, I’ve never been able to win at the Norisring. I’ve also taken over the lead of the drivers championship, which is brilliant” said the delighted René, who comes from Frankfurt. With a sensational lead of 17.8 seconds over the second placed Kévin Estre, he confirmed his deserved position at the top of the drivers championship on Sunday.

His team mate Sean Edwards also started both races this weekend on the front row, in second position. With his third place in Saturday’s race, the team from Lohne again celebrated a double podium victory. Sunday’s race was on a wet track and did not run according to plan for the wet weather specialist. But despite an engine problem, he finished in sixth position and therefore holds on to his second place in the drivers championship.

The Porsche-Junior driver achieved his best starting positions in the Porsche Carrera Cup, with eighth place on the grid in the first race and fourth place on the grid in the second race. Saturday’s race was turbulent from the start. A pile up on the first bend forced many of the drivers to retire early. Klaus Bachler collided with Sean Edwards and had to retire. The race had the highest number of retirements of any race so far this season. The Austrian driver had better luck in Sunday’s race. “The track was wet this morning and we started the race on slicks. I started in fourth place and lost two places at the start. After the fifth lap I gained fourth place again. My speed was good but unfortunately I span coming into the Schöller-S bend and I fell back to tenth place. I managed to finish eighth.” said the Porsche-Junior driver.

Paul Schlotmann believes results were mixed: “tolimit went to the Norisring with very high expectations. We did well in training and qualifying. We were put back by the collision in Saturday’s race. René was in a class of his own this weekend. Sean did well despite engine problems, and Klaus reached his top speed. He was too optimistic today and unfortunately lost a couple of places because of his spin.” 

This weekend will stay in the memory of the teams in the Porsche Carrera Cup Germany. Saturday presented a huge challenge for everybody. Damage to the track meant that the second practice session had to be moved from Friday afternoon to Saturday at 7.15am. This meant that, for the first time this season, the practice session, qualifying and the race all took place on the same day.

Further information, results and photos can be found at www.facebook.com/tolimit and at www.tolimit-motorsport.de.

On Mondays after race weekends, the news channel N24 broadcasts a 30 minute Carrera Cup programme at 6.30pm, with reports about the race series, the drivers, the highlights and stories about the people involved in the Carrera Cup.

The Racing Calendar:
19th August 2012 DTM Nürburgring
26th August 2012 DTM Circuit Park Zandvoort, Netherlands
16th September 2012 DTM Oschersleben
21st October 2012 DTM Hockenheimring Baden-Württemberg

Eventful racing and exciting overtaking manoeuvres were on offer in the two races of the Porsche Carrera Cup at the Red-Bull-Ring. Klaus Bachler, one of six Austrians on the starting grid, achieved his first podium place of the season in Saturday’s race. Klaus, who is from Styria in Austria, crossed the line in 6th place, behind his teammates Sean Edwards in 2nd place and René Rast in 4th place. However, these turned out not to be the final results. Several drivers received time penalties for driving too fast past an accident. Among others, Sean Edwards and René Rast were given 30 second penalties, putting the British driver in 11th place and the German driver in 14th place.

Sunday’s race was less eventful than Saturday’s race, although there was an accident right at the start, followed by a long safety-car phase. After the 5th lap the Porsche Carrera Cup drivers were able to get going. Sean Edwards delivered a superior start-finish win. The ‘Team Deutsche Post by tolimit‘ driver René Rast also achieved a podium position, finishing the race in 3rd place. The team from Lohne therefore celebrated another double podium finish. The Porsche-Junior driver was also able to show off his abilities on Sunday. He fought his way from 10th place to 7th place, and then successfully defended this position to the end of the race.

With his first podium place and nine championship points, Klaus Bachler is extremely happy with his home Grand Prix: “I don’t know what to say. It’s an unbelievable feeling. Third at home, and that after such a difficult start to the season. The race was really great!“

René Rast views the second race of the weekend as damage limitation, following Saturday’s time penalty: “It was the best I could do, reaching 3rd place after starting in 6th place. I’m very happy. It wasn’t an easy race. I must say, everybody behaved fairly. Thank you for that. Again, it was a great result for the team, with 1st and 3rd places. Of course, it would have been nice if we hadn’t received a penalty yesterday.”

Sean Edwards maintains his second place in the drivers‘ championship. René slips to third place as a result of his penalty yesterday. The first race on Saturday was disappointing for the British driver, but the ‘Team Deutsche Post by tolimit‘ driver has no intention of giving up: ”We will carry on fighting for the championship!” With his first place on Sunday, he has turned his words into deeds.

Paul Schlotmann looks back at the races with some sceptisism: “Spielberg didn’t turn out quite how we imagined it to on Saturday. We were handed a 30 second penalty due to the yellow flags and the best time in the yellow sector. Otherwise, the positions would have been as we wished. We couldn’t do better than 1st and 3rd places on Sunday (. But we’re very pleased with the result. Klaus did a very good job all weekend.“

Further information, results and photos can be found at www.facebook.com/tolimit and at www.tolimit-motorsport.de.

On Mondays after race weekends, the news channel N24 broadcasts a 30 minute Carrera Cup programme at 6.30pm, with reports about the race series, the drivers, the highlights and stories about the people involved in the Carrera Cup.

The Racing Calendar:
1st July 2012 DTM Norisring
19th August 2012 DTM Nürburgring
26th August 2012 DTM Circuit Park Zandvoort, Netherlands
16th September 2012 DTM Oschersleben
21st October 2012 DTM Hockenheimring Baden-Württemberg

He had dreamed of winning in the glamour world of the rich and famous since he first contested the Porsche Mobil1 Supercup: Sean Edwards, the Konrad Motorsport pilot who lives in Monaco, celebrated his first victory on Sunday in the Principality on the Cote d’Azur. At the wheel of his 450 hp Porsche 911 GT3 Cup, based on the street-legal lightweight 911 GT3 RS sports car, he won round four of the world’s fastest international one-make race series with a 1.257-second advantage over Frenchman Kévin Estre (Hermes Attempto Racing). Third place went to his teammate Christian Engelhart (Germany). Fourth position was enough for Austria’s Norbert Siedler (VELTINS Lechner Racing) to defend his points’ lead.

At the most prestigious race of the year, Sean Edwards, whose last Supercup victory was over a year ago in Barcelona, was on course to win right from the start. Taking up the 16-lap race from pole, he found the fastest line around the twisty labyrinth between high-rise apartments and high-end boutiques. Through the early retirement of Dutchman Sebastiaan Bleekemolen (Team Bleekemolen), who had shared the front row of the grid with Edwards but buried his hopes in the barrier at the exit of the swimming pool chicane in the second lap, the Briton was able to pull clear of the field. But it was not to be a solo run to the flag: Kèvin Estre and René Rast (Lechner Racing Team) lay in wait in his slipstream and put the front-runner under pressure at about the halfway distance.

Strong rookie

Setting one fastest lap after the other, title defender René Rast was determined not to let his goal of becoming the first Supercup driver to notch up three wins in Monaco go without a fight. But with five laps left to the flag, his dream died when he had to park his Porsche trackside after crashing in St. Devote. When the fan belt went, the water temperature rose and the power steering failed as a consequence. Through this, he missed the apex of the corner. As a result the safety car was deployed, which leader Sean Edwards in particular then used to his advantage. Determined not to let go of his dream he brought his first Monaco victory safely home. At the 20th Supercup race in the Principality, he was the 17th driver to win from pole position.

Supercup returnee Jeroen Bleekemolen from the Netherlands secured fifth place. Like Rast, Bleekemolen already has two Monaco victories under his belt. Behind the double Supercup champion came Supercup newcomer Michael Ammermüller driving for VELTINS Lechner Racing in sixth place after a strong drive. With this, the German moved to the top of the rookie classification, replacing the previous points’ leader, Nicki Thiim (Hermes Attempto Racing) when the Dane failed to make it to the flag.

Drivers’ quotes

Sean Edwards (winner): “That was a fantastic race. I had a clean start and was able to pull clear of my pursuers. After that I controlled the race, even with Kévin and René close behind me. The last laps were not easy because there was a lot of oil on the track and parts were scattered everywhere. But I made it through well. I want to thank my team for this perfect weekend.”

Kévin Estre (second): “Second place is a great result. Right to the end I tried to put Sean under pressure at the front and looked for my chance. I was a little faster than he, but I saw no possibility of overtaking. In the final lap I kissed the barriers but luckily nothing happened. It’s a great experience to stand on the podium in Monaco.”

Christian Engelhart (third): “I took off into the race from sixth place. After the qualifying I would never have guessed that it would still be enough for a podium finish. But so much happened during the race, and that makes me even happier to have secured third, especially here in Monaco.”

Michael Ammermüller (sixth, best rookie): “After the qualifying I aimed to keep out of trouble, get through safely and earn points. This worked – and I’m very pleased about that.”

Statistics

Race result
1. Sean Edwards (GB), Konrad Motorsport, 28:01.234 minutes
2. Kévin Estre (F), Hermes Attempto Racing, + 1.254 seconds
3. Christian Engelhart (D), Konrad Motorsport, + 2.511
4. Norbert Siedler (A), VELTINS Lechner Racing, + 3.474
5. Jeroen Bleekemolen (NL), Lechner Racing Team, + 5.312
6. Michael Ammermüller (D), VELTINS Lechner Racing, + 6.276

Points’ standings after 4 of 10 races *
Drivers
1. Norbert Siedler (A), VELTINS Lechner Racing, 54 points
2. Christian Engelhart (D), Konrad Motorsport, 48
3. Sean Edwards (GB), Konrad Motorsport, 43
4. Kévin Estre (F), Hermes Attempto Racing, 39
5. René Rast (D), Lechner Racing Team, 36
6. Kuba Giermaziak (PL), VERVA Racing Team, 30

Teams
1. Konrad Motorsport, 88 points
2. VELTINS Lechner Racing, 79
3. Hermes Attempto Racing, 58

Rookie classification
1. Michael Ammermüller (D), VELTINS Lechner Racing, 28 points
2. Nicki Thiim (DK), Hermes Attempto Racing, 19
3. Patryk Szczerbinski (PL), 14

* Although the race in Barcelona was cancelled, the extra points for pole position were still awarded.

Valencia preview

Valencia: Preview to the 5th of 10 races on 24 June
After a year’s break, the Porsche Mobil1 Supercup returns to Valencia. The 5.419 kilometre Valencia Street Circuit around the America’s Cup harbour of the Spanish metropolis is not a typical street course. “Valencia is almost like a real race track with fast corners and wide run-off areas. This allows you to make small mistakes without ending up in the wall,” says René Rast, who won the 2010 race here. Austrian Norbert Siedler, who clinched second then, travels to Spain at the top of the points’ table. TV stations Eurosport and Sky broadcast the race live.

The Eifel has lived up to its reputation. The Porsche Carrera Cup teams had to deal with everything from snow to sunshine. The tolimit motorsport driver Sean Edwards was able to show off his skills on a wet track during a very wet qualifying. After setting a best time during qualification on Thursday, Sean, who lives in Monaco, fought to finish in third place. Nicki Thiim, who qualified in 2nd position, started in 7th position as a result of a penalty. Sean Edwards therefore started from the first row in 2nd position. His teammate René Rast, who also received a five place penalty at the Lausitzring, started the race from 10th position instead of 5th position. The Porsche Junior driver, Klaus Bachler, fought his way to a good 11th position in his first qualifying at Nordschleife.

After a flying start the 24 Porsche drivers were involved in plenty of battles for position. In the early stages the `Team Deutsche Post by tolimit` drivers Sean Edwards and René Rast lost places, which they then managed to make up during the course of the race. The British driver fought his way to 2nd place. René Rast, who won the Porsche Carrera World Cup last year, used his experience at Nordschleife to make a successful series of overtaking manoeuvres. He was rewarded with a podium place alongside his teammate. The Austrian Klaus Bachler finished his first race at Nordschleife in 13th place.

It was another successful weekend for the `Team Deutsche Post by tolimit‘. The team from Lohne has again demonstrated its professionalism and passion for motorsport. The constellation of the two experienced Porsche Cup drivers, Sean Edwards and René Rast, round off the team perfectly. Similarly, the Porsche Junior driver displayed real fighting spirit this weekend and confidently drove his first laps on what is considered to be the most difficult race track in the world, Nürburgring Nordschleife.

Klaus Bachler: “The start was good. On the first lap of the Grand Prix stretch I managed to gain a place. On the first lap of the Nordschleife I was able to follow well. But unfortunately my lack of experience meant I wasn’t fully competitive. Then I had a collision and lost my front lip. Without a front lip, Nordschleife is really difficult.”

Paul Schlotmann: „The Nordschleife challenge. We’ve overcome the challenge extremely well, better than we expected. I wasn’t expecting this result. What`s bad luck for one is good luck for another. That`s motorsport.“

Hans-Bernd Kamps: “On our own, we would only have managed 3rd and 4th places, and Klaus would have been able to finish in the top 10. He performed well and sadly the minor impact caused him to drop back. Sean and René`s performances can be improved. We got a good result with 2nd and 3rd places but we need to work harder. We can do better“.

Further information, results and photos can be found at www.facebook.com/tolimit and at www.tolimit-motorsport.de.

On Mondays after race weekends, the news channel N24 broadcasts a 30 minute Carrera Cup programme at 6.30pm, with reports about the race series, the drivers, the highlights and stories about the people involved in the Carrera Cup.

The Racing Calendar:
3rd June 2012 DTM Red-Bull-Ring Spielberg, Austria
1st July 2012 DTM Norisring
19th August 2012 DTM Nürburgring
26th August 2012 DTM Circuit Park Zandvoort, Netherlands
16th September 2012 DTM Oschersleben
21st October 2012 DTM Hockenheimring Baden-Württemberg

The third and fourth races of the Porsche Carrera Cup Germany turned out to be as exciting as promised. After a mixed qualifying session, on Saturday the ‘Team Deutsche Post by tolimit‘ drivers started with René Rast in position 3, Sean Edwards in position 6 and Klaus Bachler in position 12. The Porsche Junior driver had a collision on the first lap and couldn`t keep his place. A damaged car led him to finish the race in 18th place. Drivers championship leader René Rast had a better race. He put pressure on the two leading drivers and managed to take 2nd place. His teammate Sean Edwards initially fell back to 7th place but then undertook a series of successful overtaking manoeuvres to finish directly behind René. For a second time, two of the ‘Team Deutsche Post by tolimit‘ drivers finished on the podium.

Sunday`s race was not so successful for the tolimit motorsport team. An accident in another series led to a delayed start for what turned out to be a turbulent 4th race. Sean had a good start and was able to defend his 1st place and ended with a start-finish victory. René Rast joined the leading cars in position 5 and fought to the final lap for a podium position. Shortly before the end he had a collision with Nicki Thiim which put him back to 9th place, where he finished the race. The second race was not very successful for the Porsche Junior driver. After an impact on the start-finish straight, he was unable to finish the race. Despite the highs and lows of the Sunday race, the ‘Team Deutsche Post by tolimit‘ drivers René Rast and Sean Edwards lead the Drivers` Championship. The lead in the Team` Championship has also been extended.

Sean Edwards: “A perfect race. I had a good start, but Kevin`s start was a bit better. I managed to push past on the inside. In the middle of the race I put more distance between us and managed to hold on to my lead. I´ve caught up in the Drivers` Championship and it was a good weekend for the team. Thanks to all at tolimit. I really had a perfect car. Hopefully we´ll be able to carry on with this level of performance at Nordschleife.

René Rast: “At the end of the day it wasn’t a satisfactory result for me in Sunday`s race, with 9th place. I had to fight with Nicki the whole way through the race. On the last lap he made a small mistake and I took advantage of the slipstream and got close to him. We drove through the bend together. He then drove over the kerb which made his car lift up and he made contact with me. I went off the racing line and into the grass and also lifted up whilst trying to get back onto the track. I hit Nicki in the process. After that everything took its course. I finished in 9th place despite a damaged tyre and managed to get some points. The most important thing is that I`m still leading the Drivers` Championship. That`s what we set out to do and that`s what we did.”

Klaus Bachler: “I got off to a good start but at the end of the first lap Norbert Siedler drove into the back of me. As a result I drove into the car in front of me and damaged my radiator. I suspect coolant got onto the wheels and blocked them, causing me to drive into the wall.”

Paul Schlotmann: “A flawless start-finish victory for Sean Edwards. Unfortunately there was an accident on the last lap with René and Nicki Thiim. Both have received a 5-position penalty at the next race at the Nürburgring. The weekend was a success for the team. We`ve confidently defended our lead and René has 1st place and Sean has 2nd place at the top of the Drivers` Championship.”

Further information, results and photos can be found at www.facebook.com/tolimit and at www.tolimit-motorsport.de.

On Mondays after race weekends, the news channel N24 broadcasts a 30 minute Carrera Cup programme at 6.30pm, with reports about the race series, the drivers, the highlights and stories about the people involved in the Carrera Cup.

The Racing Calendar:
18th May 2012 ADAC Zurich 24h Race Nürburgring
3rd June 2012 DTM Red-Bull-Ring Spielberg, Austria
1st July 2012 DTM Norisring
19th August 2012 DTM Nürburgring
26th August 2012 DTM Circuit Park Zandvoort, Netherlands
16th September 2012 DTM Oschersleben
21st October 2012 DTM Hockenheimring Baden-Württemberg