Porsche Carrera Cup Deutschland, round 4 on the Norisring, race report Nicolas Armindo grabs points’ lead with victory For Nicolas Armindo it was a weekend made to measure. Taking up the race from pole position, the Frenchman put in his usual rocket start to head the field and gradually extended his lead to the flag. Pocketing 20 points for his win from round four of the Porsche Carrera Cup Deutschland on Nuremberg’s Norisring circuit, the Frenchman moved into first overall in the championship. Driving for Hermes Attempto Racing, the 28-year-old profited from the previous leader’s bad luck. For the first time, Nick Tandy from Great Britain yielded zero points when his Konrad Motorsport 911 GT3 Cup suffered tyre damage. Two other Norisring specialists celebrated their podium results alongside the ecstatic Frenchman, for whom this was his seventh race on the street track. For Uwe Alzen, two-time champion of Germany’s fastest brand trophy series, second position marked a breakthrough in his somewhat mixed start to the season. Competing for Herberth Motorsport PZ Olympiapark, the German is the only driver other than Armindo in the 20-strong field who already won on the Norisring – now 42-years-old, Alzen triumphed here in 1992 before going on to claim the championship title. Armindo’s last Norisring victory was just two years ago. Bringing home an unchallenged third, Martin Ragginger (Schnabl Engineering) from Austria celebrated his third podium result so far this year. For Sean Edwards from the Deutsche Post by tolimit squad, fourth position marked the 23-year-old’s best result by now. The Briton put in a spirited duel in the early phase of the race against front-runner Nick Tandy, which resulted in the two touching. Tandy’s left rear tyre was so badly damaged that he was forced to return to the pits with a puncture. Edwards gradually pulled away from his pursuers – including his 40-year-old teammate Sascha Maassen. The German had to put in his many years of racing experience over a good two-thirds of the 35-lap race to bring home fifth place, his best result so far this season. Trailing Maassen over the line, three young Carrera Cup drivers were thrilled to finish in the top ten: At the wheel of their 450 hp Porsche 911 GT3 Cup racers, 19-year-old David Mengesdorf (Germany, SMS Seyffarth Motorsport) came sixth, 22-year-old Latvian Harald Schlegelmilch (Konrad Motorsport) finished seventh and 21-year-old Russian David Sigacev (SMS Seyffarth Motorsport) ninth. For Harald Schlegelmilch, this marked his second top ten result this season. The amiable Latvian is one of the young pilots who receives support as a “Porsche Motorsport Talent’ to contest the Carrera Cup. His scholarship colleague Ferdinand Stuck (Munich, Farnbacher Racing – PZN) retired in the third lap. Stuck’s teammate, Niclas Kentenich (Germany), who claimed an excellent second at the season-opener, had to settle for eighth. The prize-giving ceremony at the season highlight on Nuremberg’s Norisring was also something special. Presenting the trophy was the former Porsche race engine designer Hans Mezger, as well as the two Porsche works drivers Timo Bernhard (Germany) and Romain Dumas (France). Both Bernhard and Dumas learned their trade in the Carrera Cup. Mid-June, the pair celebrated their overall victory at the Le Mans 24 hour race. For Bernhard, this success was the final piece of the mosaic in the motorsport Grand Slam: He is the only race driver to have won every major long distance classic – in Daytona and Sebring, on the Nürburgring and now in Le Mans. Nicolas Armindo (winner): “That was great work from all our team members – and luckily from me as well. Early on in the race I was fast, but Uwe Alzen kept up initially. From halfway I pulled away slightly and that was great fun. The best thing is that I’m now at the head of the points. I very much hope we can secure the title. But we’re far away from this, the competition is strong.” Uwe Alzen (second): “That was a great race, but I didn’t have a chance against Nicolas. I tried at the start to catch up but I quickly realised that this wasn’t particularly good for my car, so I concentrated on bringing home second place. Today’s result has shuffled me up the points’ table and that’s fantastic.” Martin Ragginger (third): “I’m happy with third, particularly since we’ve finally shown some improvement in qualifying. I got away well and kept up with the front-runners at first, but then I had problems with the gearbox. I had enough space behind me so I reduced the pace a little. My goal is that, at some stage this season, I climb to the top of the podium.” Race result 1. Nicolas Armindo (F), Hermes Attempto Racing, 30.47.134 minutes (156.892 km/h) 2. Uwe Alzen (D), Herberth Motorsport PZ Olympiapark, + 5.006 seconds 3. Martin Ragginger (A), Schnabl Engineering, + 8.129 4. Sean Edwards (GB), Deutsche Post by tolimit, 16.451 5. Sascha Maassen (D), Deutsche Post by tolimit, + 25.330 6. David Mengesdorf (D), SMS Seyffarth Motorsport, + 27.540 7. Harald Schlegelmilch (LAT), Konrad Motorsport, + 27.746 Drivers’ classification after 4 of 9 races 1. Nicolas Armindo (F), 63 points 2. Nick Tandy (GB), 58 points 3. Martin Ragginger (A), 48 pionts 4. Uwe Alzen (D), 47 points 5. Robert Renauer (D), 42 points 6. Niclas Kentenich (D), 38 points Team classification after 4 of 9 races 1. Hermes Attempto Racing, 96 points 2. Herberth Motorsport PZ Olympiapark, 93 points 3. Konrad Motorsport, 82 points Round 5 of the Porsche Carrera Cup Deutschland takes place on 8 August on the Nürburgring.