Flag-to-flag victory for Nicolas Armindo
Pole
position, fastest race lap
and flag-to-flag victory: Things couldn’t have gone better for Nicolas
Armindo on the EuroSpeedway Lausitz. Driving for the Hermes Attempto
Racing team, the Frenchman clinched the first victory of his third
season with a perfect display of skill. With this result, the
28-year-old catapulted up the drivers’ standings from fifth to now rank
second overall. Britain’s Nick Tandy (Konrad Motorsport) was able to
extend his points’ lead in Germany’s fastest brand trophy series with
second place. Tandy and Armindo have not only managed to establish themselves as the leading duo after three of nine rounds this season. In a repeat of the first two races, the Briton and the Frenchman also pulled away from the rest of the 21-strong field on the 3.478 kilometre circuit in the Lausitz region of Germany. Tandy matched Armindo’s pace for the first two-thirds of the race, before reducing his speed to bring home a safe second place.
Behind the two things became decidedly heated over the 24 race laps. With a track temperature of 39.9 degrees Celsius, the protagonists gave an action-packed show in their 450 hp 911 GT3 Cup cars – much to the delight of the spectators. In a repeat of the season-opener, third place went to former Porsche Junior Martin Ragginger after a clever race. Competing for Schnabl Engineering, the Austrian started from fourth on the grid and over many laps stuck to the bumper of fifth qualifier Christian Engelhart (Germany, MRS Team PZ Aschaffenburg). When Engelhart made a slight error, Ragginger grabbed his chance and overtook, with Engelhart defending his fourth position to the flag. Just half a second behind, Robert Lukas crossed the finish line in fifth. After his excellent third in Valencia, the Pole (Förch Racing) underlined his good form. Ragginger, Engelhart and Lukas profited from Robert Renauer’s fluffed start from second, with Renauer bringing his 911 home in sixth.
The three young drivers who receive support as “Porsche Motorsport Talents” also experienced a turbulent race. Tim Sandtler (MRS Team PZ Aschaffenburg) was sitting an excellent ninth until shortly before the finish only to be thrown back to 13th after a slight off. Latvia’s Harald Schlegelmilch was in eighth when he badly damaged his Konrad Motorsport 911 during a failed overtaking manoeuvre. Eighteen-year-old Ferdinand Stuck (Germany, Farnbacher Racing – PZN) finished in 17th after a tyre change.
Nicolas Armindo (winner): “I’m over the moon about this victory with our perfectly set-up car. I knew I could do it today. I’ve worked hard for this victory.”
Nick Tandy (second): “Nicolas was simply unstoppable today, but I’m totally happy because I still managed to extend my lead. Obviously, I’d love to win all my races, but the title is more important for me.”
Martin Ragginger (third): “At the start I had to let Christian Engelhart through, otherwise we would have touched. Initially I was quicker than Christian, but it just wasn’t possible to get past him. Then he made a mistake, I overtook him and proceeded to pull away. But I wonder about the huge gap to the front two. Tandy and Armindo were again incredibly quick.”
Race result
1. Nicolas Armindo (F), Hermes Attempto Racing, 34.52.164 minutes (143.631 km/h)
2. Nick Tandy (GB), Konrad Motorsport, + 4.465
3. Martin Ragginger (A), Schnabl Engineering, + 16.951
4. Christian Engelhart (D), MRS Team PZ Aschaffenburg, + 19.713
5. Robert Lukas (PL), Förch Racing, + 20.327
6. Robert Renauer (D), Herberth Motorsport PZ Olympiapark, + 20.872
7. Stefan Wendt (D), Schnabl Engineering, + 35.348
8. Hannes Plesse (D), Schnabl Engineering, + 36.310
9. Philipp Wlazik (D), Hermes Attempto Racing, + 38.618
10. Florian Scholze (D), Hermes Attempto Racing, + 39.509
Drivers’ classification after 3 of 9 races
1. Nick Tandy (GB), 58 points
2. Nicolas Armindo (F), 43 points
3. Robert Renauer (D), 36 points
4. Martin Ragginger (AT), 32 points
5. Niclas Kentenich (D), 30 points
Team classification after 3 of 9 races
1. Hermes Attempto Racing, 70 points
2. Herberth Motorsport PZ Olympiapark, 67 points
3. Konrad Motorsport, 66 points
4. Schnabl Engineering, 59 points
