Pole position for season-opening winner Nicolas Tandy
Second race, second
pole position: Britain’s Nicholas Tandy (Konrad
Motorsport) had no peers at the Valencia premiere of the Porsche
Carrera Cup Deutschland. In the new, 450 hp Porsche 911 GT3 Cup, he set
a qualifying time of 1.37.535 minutes on the 4.005 kilometre Circuit
Ricardo Tormo – and, in a repeat of the season-opening round in
Hockenheim, relegated Nicolas Armindo (France, Hermes Attempto Racing)
to second on the grid. Tandy and Armindo put their stamp on the qualifying session for the second race of the season: Whilst the Frenchman was just 0.107 seconds shy of the Briton, a mere 0.556 seconds separated the third quickest driver from the pole-sitter. Tandy, however, looked to be out of contention for pole position when he took a trip into the gravel shortly before the end of the qualifying. The usual consequence would have been ruined tyres. Instead, in the following lap, he managed to secure the top time. This result is even more remarkable by the fact that this is the 25-year-old’s first Carrera Cup season and he has never driven on the track near Valencia.
The third grid position – also like in Hockenheim – went to Christian Engelhart from MRS Team PZ Aschaffenburg. For the 23-year-old German, Spain is his second home: He went to school in Bilbao and has lived in the country for four years with his parents. Robert Renauer (Herberth Motorsport PZ Olympiapark) posted the fourth quickest time.
For the 25-year-old from Germany, 2010 marks his seventh season in Germany’s fastest brand trophy series. Porsche’s former junior, Martin Ragginger (Schnabl Engineering), had expected more than fifth position in qualifying after leading the time sheets during the first qualifying heat. However, the Austrian is a force to be reckoned with in the race. In Hockenheim he started from ninth to charge through the field to claim third.
With 20-year-old
Stefan Wendt (Germany, Schnabl
Engineering) on sixth, another young hopeful takes up Sunday’s sprint
from near the front of the grid. Taking up the 20-lap race from behind
Wendt is two-time Cup champion Uwe Alzen (Germany, Herberth Motorsport
PZ Olympiapark). Harald Schlegelmilch (Konrad Motorsport) was once again the swiftest of the three youngsters receiving support as “Porsche Motorsport Talents”. The Latvian, who saw the flag in ninth at Hockenheim, starts from tenth in Valencia. His colleagues, Tim Sandtler (Germany, MRS Team PZ Aschaffenburg) and Ferdinand Stuck (Germany, Farnbacher Racing – PZN) take up the race from 14th and 17th on the grid.
Nicolas Tandy (pole-sitter): “I could get used to pole position in the Carrera Cup. Again, the car ran perfectly. My first fast lap was not so good and I left the track in the second. But I took particular care not to make any mistakes during the third. It was pure luck that my tyres didn’t suffer! Now we’re hoping for another victory tomorrow.”
Nicolas Armindo (second in qualifying): “We’d set-up the car very well for qualifying, but it still wasn’t enough for pole position. It’s a bit annoying actually. I turned my fastest time in the first flying lap - perhaps I should have stayed out and attempted two or three more. Mr Tandy was simply a little faster – what can I say?
Christian Engelhart (third in qualifying): “My goal for qualifying was to secure a position on the first two grid rows, and I did it. But the gap to the pole-sitter is too large. I love this circuit, but the asphalt is aggressive on the tyres and this will pose a problem in the race.”
Result Qualifying:
1. Nicolas Tandy (GB), Konrad Motorsport, 1.37.535 minutes
2. Nicolas Armindo (F), Hermes Attempto Racing, + 0.107 seconds
3. Christian Engelhart (D), MRS Team PZ Aschaffenburg, + 0.556
4. Robert Renauer (D), Herberth Motorsport PZ Olympiapark, + 0.684
5. Martin Ragginger (A), Schnabl Engineering, + 0.817
6. Stefan Wendt (D), Schnabl Engineering, + 0.955
7. Uwe Alzen (D), Herberth Motorsport PZ Olympiapark, + 1.059
8. Robert Lukas (PL), Förch Racing, + 1.227
9. Niclas Kentenich (D), Farnbacher Racing - PZN, + 1.535
10. Harald Schlegelmilch (LV), Konrad Motorsport, + 1.784
