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

At the highlight race of Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup in the principality of Monaco, ‘Team Abu Dhabi by tolimit’ drivers Sean Edwards and Jeroen Bleekemolen finished on positions 3 and 4. Khaled Al Qubaisi unluckily had to retire due to a broken drive shaft in the introduction lap.
As always on the tight streets of the principality, qualifying was crucial on that weekend. Sean Edwards achieved starting position 4: “The car was good in qualifying, but I had a lot of traffic and yellow flags in my fast laps. In the last one, I unfortunately hurt my mechanic on his hand when going out. Sorry Peppi. But meanwhile, he is better again.”

In the race, the 24-year-old Brit was able to catch up one position: “Obviously the start was crucial in Monaco. I had a good one, although I put in the second gear a bit too early. But my strategy was to stay on the outside and in doing this I got passed Kuba on position 3. Jeroen also got passed, so good start for both of us. Later I just tried to have a constant race. Finishing 3rd in Monaco is great. Thanks to everyone and especially to Peppi, my mechanic, who fortunately doesn’t have anything broken in his hand.”

Jeroen Bleekemolen was fighting with the traffic in qualifying, too: “On the new tyres, I had a lot of traffic and yellow flags, but a lot of drivers faced these problems. Congratulations to René Rast, who dealt with this situation best. I could have been maybe 3 or 4 tenth of a second faster without all these disturbances.” In the end, he achieved starting position 5.
In the race, he also caught up one position at the start: “I really had a great start and got passed Kuba, who blocked me a bit, but in a fair way. Otherwise, I could have maybe even achieved 3rd at the start. Later on, I just tried to stay out of trouble, so my race was quite boring. I spent a few laps watching the boats in the harbour, so nevertheless it was fun.”

Same as his team mates, Khaled Al Qubaisi fought with the interruptions in qualifying, too: “I tried to improve lap by lap. But on my second set of tyres, I wanted a bit too much and touched the barriers e at the exit of the tunnel.” In the end it was position 22 on the grid for him.

The race of the 35-year-old business man from Abu Dhabi, was over faster than expected. A broken drive shaft forced him to retire already in the introduction lap. “It is a good result for the team with position 3 and 4. Luckily my drive shaft broke in the introduction lap and not at the start. Now I guess I had enough bad luck and look forward to the next race and do it better.”

tolimit head of motorsport and Supercup team manager Michael Seifert is, however, satisfied with the result:“Sean had to give up his lead in the driver championship by two points, however, we caught up significantly in the team standings with his and Jeroen’s result. A great team effort. Khaled seems to have rented bad luck. First it was the barriers in qualifying and then the drive shaft in the race. We will need to sort that out and make sure that he can push again in the next race. “

The race dates:
June 25, Nürburgring-Nordschleife, Germany
July 10, Silverstone, Great Britain
July 24, Nürburgring, Germany
July 31, Budapest, Hungary
August 28, Spa-Francorchamps, Belgium
September 11, Monza, Italy