Tandy emerges victorious from turbulent race
Round
two of the Carrera Cup
Deutschland provided more thrills and spills than seen in a long time –
with spirited overtaking manoeuvres and gripping two-way fights. But at
the head of the pack is a driver who has quickly moved into the role as
title favourite: After winning the season-opening round, 25-year-old
Nick Tandy (Konrad Motorsport) has now conquered the brand trophy’s
debut race in Valencia with the new, 450 hp Porsche 911 GT3 Cup. The
Briton saw the flag 11.054 seconds ahead his second-placed rival – a
huge gap in the close competition of Germany’s fastest one-make cup. Once again, second qualifier Nicolas Armindo (Hermes Attempto Racing) beat pole-sitter Tandy at the start and snatched the lead. But the Frenchman, Tandy’s closest rival by now, returned from the first lap sitting second again. Until halfway into the race, Armindo put the leading Tandy under immense pressure, until the Frenchman had to pull back with deteriorating tyres.
Behind the leading pair a battle raged with constantly changing positions on the tight and twisty circuit. Having taken up the race from ninth, 22-year-old Robert Lukas (Förch Racing) kept out of any scuffles and was rewarded with third place: Never before in the history of the Carrera Cup has a Pole climbed the podium.
At the same time it marks Lukas’s best result in his fourth season with the Cup-911 – as it also was for Germany’s Robert Renauer (Herberth Motorsport PZ Olympiapark), who turned his fourth grid position into fourth at the flag. Behind them, two men gave a cliff-hanger fight over the entire second half of the 20-lap race. With ultra rapid and smooth manoeuvres all eyes were trained on 21-year-old Niclas Kentenich (Germany, Farnbacher Racing – PZN) and a driver twice his age, Uwe Alzen (Germany, Herberth Motorsport PZ Olympiapark). Kentenich finally pocketed fifth with Alzen taking the flag in sixth.
Three
Germans, Philipp Wlazik
(Hermes Attempto Racing), Stefan Wendt (Schnabl Engineering) and
Florian Scholze (Hermes Attempto Racing) crossed the finish line in
seventh, eighth and ninth respectively. At only 20-years-old, Wendt
narrowly missed his chance to claim fourth when he took a trip into the
gravel shortly before the finish. Double delight, once frustration: That was the case with the three youngsters from the “Porsche Motorsport Talent” supported group. With conditions on the 4.005 kilometre circuit being extremely slippery each side of the ideal line, Tim Sandtler and Ferdinand Stuck brought home excellent results with eleventh and twelfth. Twenty-three-year-old Sandtler from Germany (MRS Team Aschaffenburg) had taken up the race from 14th on the grid, with 18-year-old Stuck (Germany, Farnbacher Racing – PZN) on 17th. Latvia’s Harald Schlegelmilch (Konrad Motorsport), who set a stunning tenth in qualifying, retired from the race just after the start with clutch problems.
Nick Tandy (winner): “It’s fantastic to stand on the podium again. My start was poor. In the first lap Nicolas put me under incredible pressure and I thought: Whoa, this is going to be a tough race. But afterwards I could pull away. Towards the end, the engineers told me to ease up a little so that my tyres weren’t ruined.”
Nicolas Armindo (second): “My race wasn’t bad, but Tandy’s was much better. I think I need to do a little more work and go testing. Unlike Nick I’m not contesting the Supercup as well and therefore I’m not sitting in a Cup-911 most weekends.”
Robert Lukas (third): “With a little luck, I profited from a few others’ fights. That’s how I moved into third. Afterwards I simply maintained my speed and finally climbed the podium.”
Race result:
1. Nick Tandy (GB), Konrad Motorsport, 33:16.568 minutes (144.428 km/h)
2. Nicolas Armindo (F), Hermes Attempto Racing, + 11.054 seconds
3. Robert Lukas (PL), Förch Racing, + 20.644
4. Robert Renauer (D), Herberth Motorsport PZ Olympiapark, + 24.085
5. Niclas Kentenich (D), Farnbacher Racing - PZN, + 31.329
6. Uwe Alzen (D), Herberth Motorsport PZ Olympiapark, + 34.450
7. Philip Wlazik (D), Hermes Attempto Racing, + 36.304
8. Stefan Wendt (D), Schnabl Engineering, + 37.484
Drivers’ standings after the second of nine rounds:
1. Nick Tandy (GB), 40 points
2. Niclas Kentenich (D), 30 points
3. Robert Renauer (D), 26 points
4. Uwe Alzen (D), 24 points
5. Nicolas Armindo (F), 23 points
Team standings after 2 of 9 races:
1. Herberth Motorsport PZ Olympiapark, 50 points
2. Konrad Motorsport, 47 points
3. Hermes Attempto Racing, 42 points
