In the fourth race of the season at the Nürburgring in the Eifel, Team ‘Allyouneed by Project 1’ has cemented title favourite Sean Edwards’ lead in the championship, and has increased his lead over the driver in second place. In glorious sunshine, 25 drivers set out to drive the 13 laps of the Grand Prix circuit.
Project 1, the team from Lohne in Lower Saxony, was on the attack after the disappointment at Silverstone. The team wanted to recover, at home, the momentum of its two wins in the two opening races. Unfortunately, it wasn`t possible to achieve everything that had been planned. On Saturday in qualifying, bad luck struck favourite Sean Edwards’ team. On his quickest lap, which in the first two sectors pointed clearly to pole position, the speed limiter, which controls speeds in the pit lane, suddenly switched on. Edwards’ performance was obviously affected accordingly. “On my quickest lap I was clearly heading for pole position and then the limiter switched on. It’s really disappointing.” Every driver sets the foundation stone of a good result during qualifying. His starting position of 5th was not the end of the world in respect of his battle for the championship, but it makes it harder to win. In the race over the 5.148 km long Grand Prix circuit, there was to be no jump onto the podium.
After a turbulent race, the Project 1 driver was able to bring his racing car home in 4th place, just as at Silverstone. “Even though I always want to win, the result was ok. The car was really fast. Thanks to the team. Even after my fast spin due to Kuba Giermaziak, I was able to make up the 2 or 3 seconds and catch up with the front runners again. One more lap and I may have been able to overtake Kévin Estre. In the next race I’ll be giving it everything again.” In respect of the championship, everything is currently running to plan for Project 1 and Edwards. The only driver Edwards has lost points to, is Nicki Thiim who is now the runner-up of the championship with four points less.
Team mate Sean Johnston wanted to underline the upward trend which he has been on in the past few weeks with his best result of the season. He qualified on the ninth row of the starting grid, in 18th position, and hoped for a top 15 finish. Unfortunately, the German race was also not to be as hoped. Although the 22 year old American put in a great performance over 12 laps, he couldn`t manage a top 15 finish. “I’m really disappointed. After a crazy first lap, I was able to hold my position behind my team mate Jeffrey Schmidt in the top 15. In the second half of the race, after a collision with a tyre, I had to battle with heavy over steer. Up until the last lap it looked good, but after a braking error in turn 6, I had to let nearly the whole field past. It was really annoying, but motorsport is tough. I can just draw experience from it and learn from it.” Johnston finished the race in 19th place and hopes for a top 15 finish in the next race in Budapest.
The third Project 1 driver, Jeffrey Schmidt who, with his second Porsche Supercup guest start has got virtually no previous experience, put in a confident performance. Schmidt turned his strong result in qualifying, securing 13th position, into a 13th place finish. The 19 year old Swiss driver is satisfied with his performance at the Nürburgring: “Right at the start I had a collision; a competitor drove into the back of me, and after that the car was very difficult to drive. Ultimately, 13th place is ok, but with an undamaged car a top 10 finish would have been possible. Thanks to the team, who have supported me perfectly in my two Supercup guest starts. The car was consistently fast and, in Sean Edwards, we rookies have a top driver as a team mate, from whom we can learn and benefit a great deal.”
In the team championship, the team of team boss Paul Schlotmann is currently lying in fourth place, five points behind third place. Team boss Paul Schlotmann is content with the season so far. “Clearly, at the home Grand Prix we wanted to recapture our old form, and we had the pace for a win, but sadly luck wasn’t on our side on Saturday. That notwithstanding, I view us as working to plan, as long as Sean Edwards can continue building his championship lead. The learning curve of the two junior drivers is also pointing upwards, which underlines Project 1’s goal of training top drivers. We’re looking forward to the next race in Budapest and we’ll do everything to make sure we’re on the podium there.”
At the race in Hungary, in just under 2 weeks, the Porsche Supercup teams will again be hunting times and points.
News and background information about the race and about Project 1 can be found on the Project 1 website and on Facebook, or on the partner website, racecam.de.
Racing calendar – Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup:
Budapest 28.07.2013
Spa-Francorchamps 25.08.2013
Monza 08.09.2013
Abu Dhabi 03.11.2013
