After the retirement of the German women’s national soccer team against Japan, also the Lohne-based ‘Team Abu Dhabi by tolimit’ suffered from challenging conditions. Mixed weather conditions and frequent rain resulted in the drivers Jeroen Bleekemolen, Sean Edwards and Khaled Al Qubaisi starting from positions 6, 10 and 23 respectively. Despite of cutting the losses in the race, the team had to settle for positions 6, 10 and 22 in the end.

Sean Edwards: “Unfortunately we pushed our luck in the qualifying. My lap on the first set of tyres was fast and we therefore wanted to save the second tyre set. But the times became faster and when I went out again, the rain was setting in and I wasn’t able to improve. The race was not good, too. We were simply lacking general pace. We will now need to sort out what was going wrong for the next race at the Nürburgring, and then come back fighting.”

Jeroen Bleekemolen: “I didn’t have a completely dry lap in qualifying and had to learn the new part of the track. Especially in the first corner it is hard to find the right line and lots of drivers cut the edges. But 6th on the grid was ok. The race, however, was simply bad. We didn’t have the pace. I had a great start, but was made running wide by a competitor and almost lost a few positions. After that the leading group just took off and the rest of the field wasn’t able to keep up.”

Khaled Al Qubaisi: “In the qualifying I concentrated on not losing too much time to the front. The track wasn’t completely dry, but the lap was ok for me. In the race, I ran wide in the first corner trying to avoid traffic, but unfortunately, I went off track and later had so much dirt on the tyres that I wasn’t able to push any more. It was a weekend to forget for the team, but I am happy that I finished the race.”

tolimit head of motorsport and Supercup team manager Michael Seifert: “Among others, the mixed English weather put a spoke in our wheel, but that sort of things happen. Now we unfortunately lost the lead in the driver and team standings, but we are running up close and will do everything to gain it back in the next race at the Nürburgring.”

tolimit general manager Hans-Bernd Kamps: „Our performance on the weekend was simply not good enough. We will look at what hasn’t worked out right away on Monday back in the office. We are definitely able to perform better than shown in Silverstone. For this weekend, my favourite saying fits once again: Only those show real greatness that are able to stand up after having fallen down. Different to the German women’s national soccer team, we will use our chance to win the title.”

The race dates:
July 24, Nürburgring, Germany
July 31, Budapest, Hungary
August 28, Spa-Francorchamps, Belgium
September 11, Monza, Italy

Despite of starting from position 5, ‘Team Deutsche Post by tolimit’ pilot Sean Edwards dominates the Porsche Carrera Cup race at the Norisring from lap 2. After four wins in Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup, he achieves his maiden victory in the German one-make-cup. Team mate Jeroen Bleekemolen starts from position 8 and finishes sixth. Edwards continues to lead the driver standings followed directly by Bleekemolen, whereas ‘Team Deutsche Post by tolimit’ leads the team standings with a gap of 50 points.

Untypically mixed weather conditions converted the race at the Norisring in Nuremberg into a glissade. Despite of his start from position 5, Sean Edwards was able to take the lead already in lap 2. The rain specialist managed to find the ideal line and overtook his competitors Tandy, Ragginger, Seyffarth and Rast before consequently winning the race.

Jeroen Bleekemolen managed to catch up to position 5 in the middle of the race, however fighting with dismantling tyres, had to settle for position 6 in the end.

Sean Edwards: “What a tough race. The first corners have been simply crazy, but I managed to find the ideal line and caught up to position 2. My former team mate Sascha Maassen showed me, how to get best through the first corners. Thanks for that. Afterwards, I was able to pass Ragginger, too. A great race. Thanks to the team for providing me with such a great car.”

Jeroen Bleekemolen: “It was a nice race with many duels. I was able to catch up to position 6. Although I would have expected a bit more, I am still satisfied as I rank 2nd in the driver championship. It was a great day for the team, so I am happy.”

Porsche Carrera Cup team manager Paul Schlotmann: “Although these mixed weather conditions haven’t been ideal for the spectators, they were perfect for our rain specialist. We are proud that we delivered a perfect set-up for Sean. Jeroen fought with dismantling tyres, however, also showed a solid performance. We further extended our lead in the championship and will continue to do so. In the driver standings, Sean is in the lead directly ahead of Jeroen. Greetings go to our race engineer Kosta Kotitsas who suffered from some injuries after an accident after the last race at the Nürburgring. We hope he recovers soon. Despite of all injuries he found the perfect set-up as always.”

tolimit managing Hans-Bernd Kamps: “The whole team showed a great performance. With the starting positions 5 and 8, things weren’t as clear as they now look like after the race. Nevertheless, I asked Sean who the driver is who is best able to cope with these weather conditions and he told me that it would be him. And he proved to be. Congratulations. Jeroen also showed a solid performance. We are happy that on this weekend, we not only represented Deutsche Post through the ‘DTM Business Lounge powered by Deutsche Post’ but also on top of the podium.”

All results and news about the race weekend can be found on www.facebook.com/tolimit. More information on the team is available on www.tolimit-motorsport.de

The race dates:
August 7, 2011 DTM Nürburgring, Germany
September 18, 2011 DTM Oschersleben, Germany
October 23, 2011 DTM Hockenheimring Baden-Württemberg, Germany

After the most important race of the year, the Porsche Carrera World Cup with more than 100 participating 911 GT3 cup cars from different one-make-cups at the Nürburgring Nordschleife, tolimit motorsport takes the lead in all championship with its drivers Sean Edwards, Jeroen Bleekemolen and Khaled Al Qubaisi finishing on places 4, 7 and 62 respectively. Changing weather conditions with a lot of rain and the high density of participants turned the race on the 25.378 track into a challenge for teams and drivers.

According to the regulations, the team started under the flags of ‘Team Abu Dhabi by tolimit’ and represented the partners from both one-make cups Abu Dhabi Tourism Authority, Deutsche Post, aabar, Windreich and SR Technics. Qualifying, however, did not run according to plan.

Sean Edwards: “It was a tough qualifying with so much traffic and so many yellow flags. It was not so much about speed, but about getting a clear lap, which I hardly managed.” In the end, the Brit started from position 7.

Jeroen Bleekemolen, who’s 911 GT3 Cup represented the colours of Deutsche Post, made the same experience: “I am very disappointed about the qualifying. I was not able to drive one clear lap. When you put so many drivers with different skill levels together onto the Nordschleife, a lot is to happen for sure. And that messed up all my fast laps.”

Khaled Al Qubaisi, who as always represented his home country of Abu Dhabi on his car, experienced some difficulties with the steering in qualifying: “Something was wrong, but we sorted it out for the race. Other than that I am of course suffering a bit from the changing weather. The Nordschleife is a really challenging track.” The business man from Abu Dhabi started from position 82.

On time for the race start on Saturday, the weather became typical for the Eifel region: it was raining heavily. Sean Edwards had a good start and managed to catch up to position 4. The rain specialist then benefited from the crash of his biggest competitor Nick Tandy, however, had to give way to a harsh manoeuvre from Nordschleife specialist Lance Arnold. While the track dried down again, he finished the race on position 4. For the championship, however, he will get the points for position 3, as Arnold is a guest starter. So Edwards takes over the lead in the driver standings in Carrera Cup as well as in Supercup.

Sean Edwards: “A great, but also a difficult race. I could hardly see anything in the first two laps and realised that one mistake here would end in a huge crash. Tandy took a lot of risk and finally crashed into the barriers. After that I just wanted to finish the race. I knew that I would take over the lead in both championships. A huge thanks to the team for a great job, as always.”

Team mate Jeroen Bleekemolen made his way up to the front, too. The Dutch racer faced a double challenge on this weekend due to his start in the 24 hour race. After his constant fight for positions, he benefited from the drop outs of Huisman and Giermaziak in the second lap as well as of Thiim in the third lap and finished the race on position 7. Due to the guest starters in front of him, he collects the points for position 5.

Jeroen Bleekemolen: “It was quite a good race. I was very careful at the beginning, because I couldn’t see anything. After two laps it cleared up, but I had already lost some time to the frontrunners. The speed was there, however and I would have needed one more Grand Prix track lap in order to catch two more competitors. 7th place is ok compared to where I started from on the grid.”

Khaled Al Qubaisi probably had to solve the most difficult issue in the race. The tight starting grid and the different skill level of the participants resulted in him constantly facing yellow flags and overtaking manoeuvres. Nevertheless, he competently took the challenge and moved from starting position 82 to a great 62nd place. For the driver championship in Supercup, he therefore collects his first two points of the season.

Khaled Al Qubaisi: “I managed to stay out of trouble in the race and kept on improving step after step. It’s great to collect my first two championship points in the Supercup here on the Nordschleife. After a mixed start into the weekend, this is a satisfying finish.”

tolimit head of motorsport Michael Seifert: “It was an extreme weekend that turned all legalities for one-make-cups upside down. It was more an endurance than a sprint race. Nevertheless, we took the challenge and finished as the best team of the championships. With the points collected, we take over the lead in both the Supercup and the Carrera Cup. For me personally, the result in this important race is a great relief. Team and drivers gave their best. Thanks for the performance. It makes me really proud.”

tolimit managing director Hans-Bernd Kamps: “Team and drivers did a great job this weekend. Despite of all adversities such as weather and traffic, we jointly showed a great performance. Sean now leads the driver standings of both championships and Jeroen is the runner-up in Carrera Cup. We can’t complain and keep on working to win the title.”

Photos and results will be posted on www.facebook.com/tolimit during the race weekend. For more news about the team, please visit www.tolimit-motorsport.de

The race dates in Porsche Carrera Cup:
July 3, DTM Norisring, Germany
August 7, DTM Nürburgring, Germany
September 18, DTM Oschersleben, Germany
October 23, DTM Hockenheimring Baden-Württemberg, Germany

The race dates in Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup:
July 10, Silverstone, Great Britain
July 24, Nürburgring, Germany
July 31, Budapest, Hungary
August 28, Spa-Francorchamps, Belgium
September 11, Monza, Italy

After a challenging qualifying at the Porsche Carrera Cup Deutschland race at the 3.478 km Lausitzring race track, the ‘Team Deutsche Post by tolimit’ with its drivers Sean Edwards and Jeroen Bleekemolen achieved the well-deserved positions 2 and 4. In an exciting race with a lot of fair overtaking and many spins, only 11 out of 21 drivers saw the chequered flag.

Having started from position 5, the Brit Sean Edwards pushed to 3rd place directly after the start, following the start winner Nick Tandy and pole setter Nicki Thiim. In lap 9, the experienced driver took advantage of a driving error from championship leader Tandy and conquered 2nd place. In the remaining laps, he pushed hard to overtake the lead driver Thiim, however, decided to play safe, as the Danish driver doesn’t play a big role in the championship.

Sean Edwards: “It was a close race for sure. Qualifying was not how we wanted it to be, as we didn’t manage to have the tyres working at the right time. But the race was good. It’s great to be in front of Tandy, even if though I missed the momentum to overtake Thiim. Now I am tied to Jeroen in terms of championship points and hot on Tandy’s heals and we will do everything to push forward in the championship.”

Team mate Jeroen Bleekemolen showed a constant performance in the race, too and took advantage of the spins from René Rast and Robert Renauer who touched each other in lap 3. In the end, he achieved a very good 4th place.

Jeroen Bleekemolen: “We didn’t have a perfect lap in qualifying. But all drivers that are playing a role in the championship were close together on the starting grid. So everything was still possible. My race was ok with a lot of good duels. The car was fast but I lost some ground during the duel from Rast and Renauer. But overall I am satisfied with 4th place.”

Porsche Carrera Cup team manager Paul Schlotmann: “In qualifying, our tyres showed their best performance at the end of the session, but we would have needed them to work properly at the beginning. For a quick lap at the Lausitzring, the tyre pressure needs to be perfect. However, we are pretty happy with the race. Our drivers managed the duels in a fair and clean way and a showed a solid performance with places 2 and 4.”

tolimit managing Hans-Bernd Kamps: “Our ‘Team Deutsche Post by tolimit’ once again showed the best team performance and is leading the team standings with 124 points and a big gap to the second best team. In the driver standings, Jeroen and Sean rank 2nd and 3rd. Step by step, we will continue to move forward and I am sure we will finish the season on the very top.”

All results and news about the race weekend can be found on www.facebook.com/tolimit.

The race dates:
June 25, 2011 Carrera World Cup 24h Nürburgring, Germany
July 3, 2011 DTM Norisring, Germany
August 7, 2011 DTM Nürburgring, Germany
September 18, 2011 DTM Oschersleben, Germany
October 23, 2011 DTM Hockenheimring Baden-Württemberg, Germany

At the recently re-opened ‘Red Bull Ring’ in Austrian Spielberg, ‘Team Deutsche Post by tolimit’ pilots Sean Edwards and Jeroen Bleekemolen finish the Porsche Carrera Cup race on positions 3 and 4. The team therefore leads the team standings with 92 points overall and a 23 point gap ahead of the runner-up. In the driver standings, Jeroen Bleekemolen ranks 2nd ahead of Sean Edwards on position 3.

It was a weekend with mixed weather conditions with rain, sun and even thunderstorms at the 4.326 km race track in Styria.

Sean Edwards qualified his yellow Porsche 911 GT3 Cup on 2nd place, only 15 thousands of a second behind the pole setter: “I haven’t achieved a pole position in Porsche Carrera Cup yet, although I do have some in Supercup. 15 thousands of a second are a very short gap behind the pole setter, but I am starting from front row and ahead of my championship competitors.”

Team mate Jeroen Bleekemolen experienced a satisfying qualifying, too: “I had some traffic in the second sector, but 4th position is ok. The car is good and we should be strong in the race.”

This preview should turn into reality. Although Sean Edwards lost one position at the start, both pilots drove a superior race and finished on positions 3 and 4.

Sean Edwards: “The start was a difficult one. I hadn’t anticipated that there was so much grip on the new tarmac. Nick Tandy had a better start and just got passed me into the first corner. After that I made a small error and went off track and got a lot of dirt on my tyres which prevented me from keeping the pace of the front. Nevertheless 3rd place is not too bad of a result and means good points for the championship.”

Jeroen Bleekemolen: “For me it was a nice race with a lot of duels. At the start I lost a bit of time due to a duel against Jan Seyffarth who pushed from the back. Later I had a nice battle with Sean and managed to be faster than him, but rather stood back than risking too much. 4th position isn’t bad, although I would have hoped for more.”

Porsche Carrera Cup team manager Paul Schlotmann: “A good result for the team. We extended the lead in the team standings and achieved the aim we set ourselves. It was well worth to completely check through both cars for Spielberg. Now we are looking ahead to the next race at the Lausitzring.”

tolimit managing director Hans-Bernd Kamps: “Team work worked out brilliantly throughout the weekend. The technical crew around Kosta Kotitsas did a great job and as always provided perfectly prepared race cars. However, I wasn’t satisfied with the duel of our drivers at the end of the race. Nevertheless, we already talked about it and agreed to behave more team-oriented in the future.”

All results and news about the race weekend can be found on www.facebook.com/tolimit.

The race dates:
June 19, 2011 DTM EuroSpeedway Lausitz, Germany
June 25, 2011 Carrera World Cup 24h Nürburgring, Germany
July 3, 2011 DTM Norisring, Germany
August 7, 2011 DTM Nürburgring, Germany
September 18, 2011 DTM Oschersleben, Germany
October 23, 2011 DTM Hockenheimring Baden-Württemberg, Germany