The first race weekend of the Porsche Carrera Cup Germany has finished. The high powered performance of the drivers at the Hockenheimring gave spectators plenty to see at the Saturday and Sunday races. The `Deutsche Post by tolimit` Team started the season with two best times in qualifying, courtesy of Sean Edwards. In Saturday’s race, tyre damage forced the British driver to retire on the 5th lap. On the same lap, technical problems forced Klaus Bachler to pit. He managed to continue the race and finished in 17th place. René Rast took this season’s first Porsche Carrera Cup victory.

The second race on Sunday was dominated by yellow Porches. Sean defended his pole position throughout the race. His teammate René Rast took third place during the race and crossed the line in that position. Klaus Bachler finished his second race in a Porsche in 13th place. The start of the season in Hockenheim has therefore seen The `Deutsche Post by tolimit` Team celebrating two podium places and two race victories.

Paul Schlotmann concluded: “We set ourselves high targets and we’ve achieved a lot. The team has performed very well. The drivers are happy and we haven’t got any damage to the cars. We’re leading in both the Drivers’ and the Constructors’ Championships. All in all, a successful weekend.”

Sean Edwards is delighted with his win in the second race: “I started well today and was able to defend first place. It was a hard race. I had to fight for 18 laps because the pressure behind me was very strong. Thank you to the whole team. It was a successful weekend, with two pole positions, 2 wins and a lot of points.”

René Rast is happy with the first weekend: “It was a great result for the team, with positions 1 and 3. It was the maximum that I could achieve from position 4. The team did a great job and I had a great debut. I’m leading the Driviers‘ Championship and we’re leading the Constructors‘ Championship. It couldn’t really have gone any better.“

Klaus Bachler looked back at his first race in the Porsche Carrera Cup: “I started in position 12 today and lost a place because of a braking mistake. In terms of speed, it was worse today than yesterday. We need to analyse it and make sure that we do better. I’ve learnt a lot and gained a lot of experience.”

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:
6th May 2012 DTM EuroSpeedway Lausitz
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

On April 27th, the 22nd Porsche Carrera Cup will start with a new regulation at the legendary Hockenheimring. In the course of the DTM, the teams of the fastest one-make-championship will race twice this weekend. The first race takes place on Saturday afternoon, the second on Sunday morning.
tolimit motorsport has some changes in 2012 as well. Next to the runner up Sean Edwards, the Porsche-Junior Klaus Bachler will commence his first season in a Porsche. The third driver is René Rast, the twofold champion of the Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup.

René Rast is full of expectation for the new season: “I’m really happy to be in the Porsche Carrera Cup with tolimit motorsport this year. In my opinion, tolimit is one of the best and most professional teams of German motorsports. Even back in my time as a Speed Academy candidate, I felt taken care of and in good hands. I’m confidently looking at the first weekend, because at the test in Hockenheim I realized that everyone is truly motivated and they can’t wait to start the season. I’m glad to drive a “Deutsche Post car” for the first time this Friday.”

Sean Edwards affiliates: “It’s great to be back with ‘Team Deutsche Post by tolimit’ again this season. Our goal is clear, to win the teams championship again and to be one place higher in the drivers. We were very unlucky not to win it last year, but I am confident we can fight for it this year. It will be a tougher season, with more competition and two races a weekend, so I am looking forward to the challenge.”

Klaus Bachler is prepared: „I can’t wait for the weekend to begin. At the moment I have no idea where I’m standing and how far away I am from the top. But it’s obvious, that I got better from test to test with my ‘Team Deutsche Post by tolimit’. The performance density at the Porsche Carrera Cup Germany is really high, and for a young driver this is a unique chance to compete with such established drivers on a race track.”

Paul Schlotmann has clear goals: „We start with a high motivated team and three drivers this year. The goals are seeded: Defending the team-championship, achieving the drivers-championship and Klaus as the best Rookie. But let’s start with the first grid on Saturday and Sunday.”

There’s more information and photos on www.facebook.com/tolimit and on www.tolimit-motorsport.de.
There will be a live broadcast of the races on Saturday and Sunday on www.porsche.com as well. The news channel N24 televises a 30-minute Porsche Carrera Cup magazine at 6.30 pm every Monday after the races. It includes reports of the race series, the members, highlights and stories about the people of the Carrera Cup.

The race-dates:
06th May 2012: DTM Eurospeedway Lausitzring
18th May 2012: ADAC Zurich 24h Rennen Nürburgring
03rd June 2012: DTM Re-Bull-Ring Spielberg, Austria
01st July 2012: DTM Norisring
19th August 2012: DTM Nürburgring
26nd August 2012: DTM Circuit Park Zandvoort, Netherlands
16th September 2012: DTM Oschersleben
21st October 2012: DTM Hockenheimring

After the accolade as best team of the season in Porsche Carrera Cup Deutschland a few weeks ago, ‘Team Abu Dhabi by tolimit’ secures the vice-championship in Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup in front of its home crowd in Abu Dhabi.
‘Team Abu Dhabi by tolimit’ pilot Sean Edwards finishes the season on the 4th place of the driver standings with the same amount of points than the third ranked driver, but unfortunately with less race wins. Team mate Jeroen Bleekemolen secures 6th place equally tied to the 5th ranked driver. And local hero Khaled Al Qubaisi finished the season on 17th position with 15 points overall.

For Brit Sean Edwards, the weekend in Abu Dhabi didn’t run according to plan. After having started both races from 7th place, he was only able to make up one position in race one and finished the 2nd round on position 4. Jeroen Bleekemolen also lacked the ideal starting position, although the speed was good in both races. Having started from 6th and 5th place, he scored positions 7 and 5 respectively in the races. Khaled Al Qubaisi experienced some bad luck. The Emirati star finished the first race on position 17 and was not able to finish the second round due to a breaking failure.

Sean Edwards: “Being tied onto the 3rd ranked driver and missing the podiums finishing 4th in the end is obviously a bit disappointing. But we need to look forward to next year’s season. The year went well for the team. The vice championship is well deserved.”

Jeroen Bleekemolen: “After Engelhart hit me, the second race was almost over for me. I am pretty happy that I was able to finish it, however, was obviously lacking all competitiveness. Finishing on position 6 of the driver standings is not very satisfying for me, however, motivates for the coming season.”

Khaled Al Qubaisi: “That was obviously not the way how I wanted to finish the season. After breaking late on Sebastian Bleekemolen, the car locked up and I ended in the wall. But I had the right speed and I enjoyed the races in front of my home crowd a lot.”

tolimit head of motorsport and Supercup team manager Michael Seifert: “I look back on the season with mixed feelings, as we obviously would have preferred to win the title. We put in a lot of effort and passion into this season. That makes me proud. This year, we became best Porsche team at the 24 hours of Dubai, secured the team titles in Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge Middle East and Porsche Carrera Cup and now secured the vice championship in the Supercup. After my first year as head of motorsport, I am obviously very happy with these results.”

tolimit managing director Hans-Bernd Kamps: “We gave our best on and off the track this weekend and that’s what everyone is used to see from us. Being the runner-up obviously means that we are not champion, but nevertheless the vice championship is a great reward for the team as well as for our partners at Abu Dhabi Tourism Authority, Deutsche Post, aabar, SR Technics, Windreich and Etihad. I am using this opportunity to express my sincere thanks to them for their support. We look forward to next season.”

1, 2, 3 – that‘s the season result for ‘Team Deutsche Post by tolimit’ in Porsche Carrera Cup Deutschland 2011. The team achieved first place in the team standings with a gap of 36 points. The ‘Team Deutsche Post by tolimit’ drivers Sean Edwards and Jeroen Bleekemolen furthermore secured 2nd and 3rd place in the driver championship.

In 2011 ‘Team Deutsche Post by tolimit’ was the team to beat and again showed its dominance with Sean Edwards leading the season finale in Hockenheim right from the beginning. After having started from 2nd place, he took over the lead in the first curve, leaving his competitors behind for the remaining 17 laps. The driver title, however, was out of reach for him due to two races where tough luck and a damaged tyre left him behind Nick Tandy in the team standings. With this last victory of the season, however, he secured the vice-championship.

After having started from position 9, team mate Jeroen Bleekemolen caught up one place after the other. Celebrating his birthday today, he finished 5th and secured the 3rd place in the driver standings in the end, although he only competed in 7 out of 9 races, due to obligations in the American Le Mans Series.

Sean Edwards: “First of all, I would like to thank the whole team, mechanics, management and my team mate Jeroen for this great season. We won the team championship and are the team to beat in this series. Of course, I am also a bit disappointed that I missed the driver title. Above all after the tough luck in Oschersleben. But I guess that only means that we will come back next year to close unfinished business. Congratulations to Nick Tandy for winning the title.”

Jeroen Bleekemolen: “It was a great season for us with a great finish. I am obviously very happy to finish 3rd in the driver championship despite of having missed two out of the nine races. The team did a great job and we jointly achieved some great results. The races have been fun with a lot of fair duels. Hopefully we can continue in the same manner in 2012.”

Michael Seifert, tolimit head of motorsport: “In this season, we have been able to show our true potential. We invested a lot of hard work, tears and sweat and finally achieved our aim. We are very satisfied with the performance of the whole team. Thanks to everyone! We absolutely deserved it.”
Paul Schlotmann, tolimit Technical Director: “I am simply proud of our mechanics and the whole crew. They gave everything and showed that you can reach your target with hard work.”

tolimit managing director Hans-Bernd Kamps: “This perfect season finale again shows that we can be very proud on the performance of our whole team. Everyone worked together perfectly. With view to the driver championship, we will for sure be back next year. Thanks to the team and to our partners, above all from Deutsche Post, that contributed so much to our joint success.”

More information on the team is available on www.tolimit-motorsport.de and on www.facebook.com/tolimit.

‘Team Deutsche Post by tolimit’ successfully maintained the lead in the team standings of the Porsche Carrera Cup Deutschland at the second to last race of the season in Oschersleben. Having started from position 4, Sean Edwards experienced a short run off track and once again showed an impressive catch-up race to eventually finish 5th. Robert Renauer, who replaced Jeroen Bleekemolen at this round, achieved a solid 8th place.

Qualifying in Oschersleben didn’t turn out as expected. In the first part of the session, Sean Edwards was fastest, however, after the change of tyres for the second part, he finally scored 4th behind his direct competitor Nick Tandy. Robert Renauer didn’t have a perfect qualifying, too. In his last flying lap he braked too late into the last corner and eventually had to start from 8th instead of 4th.

In the race, Sean Edwards had a good start, maintained his 4th position and overtook Nicki Thiim in the first lap. However, a braking error caused a short run off track and took him back to 8th place. After a great catch-up race, the runner up in the driver standings eventually finished 5th with a gap of 12 points to championship leader Nick Tandy. Robert Renauer showed a solid performance and collected precious points for the team while finishing 8th.

Sean Edwards: “My start was ok. Unfortunately, I lost my front lip spoiler when driving over a kerb and that obviously affected the balance of the car. So I simply tried to collect as many pints as I could. Maybe we will have some more luck in the season finale in Hockenheim and be able to also win the driver championship aside of the team championship.”

Robert Renauer: “Those were some pretty awkward conditions for me. My last race in the cup car happened a while ago, so I don’t have the most of experience in the rain currently. Positions 5 and 8 respectively, obviously aren’t the result we wanted, but we continue to lead the team standings.”

tolimit managing Hans-Bernd Kamps: “I am not satisfied with the result of today. We want to win both the team and driver championship for our ‘Team Deutsche Post by tolimit’. We will fully concentrate on that in our preparation for the season finale in Hockenheim.”

More information on the team is available on www.tolimit-motorsport.de and on www.facebook.com/tolimit.
The race dates:
October 23, 2011 DTM Hockenheimring Baden-Württemberg, Germany