Proton Huber Competition halfway champion in the Porsche Sixt Carrera Cup Deutschland
Robert de Haan won the second race of the Porsche Sixt Carrera Cup Deutschland at the Norisring, making the Proton Huber Competition driver the halfway champion in the one-make series. The Bavarian team also dominates the rookie classification.
The participants in the Porsche Sixt Carrera Cup Deutschland have had a special race weekend: for the first time since 2019, the traditional one-make series took place at the legendary Norisring. In addition to regular drivers Robert de Haan, Marvin Klein, Sacha Norden, Colin Jamie Bönighausen and Joe Warhurst, Kai Pfister once again lined up for the Bavarian team as a guest starter. Britain's Warhurst was one of the few drivers in the field who already had racing experience on the traditional city circuit in Nuremberg, having competed on the track last year in the ADAC GT4 Germany. In the past, the longest-serving team in the series had been unlucky in the Carrera Cup races at the Norisring and gave everything to break the curse in 2025.
The fast Dutchman Robert de Haan started Saturday's first race from third on the grid and initially put a lot of pressure on the Porsche in front of him, but he couldn't find a way past and concentrated on securing third place and scoring important points for the championship. Even a minor collision with the wall had no major consequences. In the hard-fought midfield, Colin Jamie Bönighausen finished tenth. In the rookie classification, the team from Hofkirchen in Bavaria scored a much-celebrated double victory: Sacha Norden and Joseph Warhurst took the top two places in the classification for talented newcomers.
On Sunday, Robert de Haan started from second place on the grid and took the lead in the Grundig hairpin on the first lap. With a comfortable lead, de Haan then managed to hold on to the lead and cruised to an unchallenged third victory of the season. "I took the risk and chose the outside line – that gave me the gripier side of the track when accelerating out of the corner. After that, I had to be careful not to ruin my tyres," explained de Haan after the race.
After a difficult race on Saturday, which he could only finish in twelfth place, Marvin Klein drove to fifth place in the second race and was able to score important points. Colin Jamie Bönighausen achieved his best result of the season so far in the Porsche Sixt Carrera Cup Germany on Sunday with seventh place, impressively demonstrating his talent. Sacha Norden finished the race in a strong eighth place, securing his sixth class victory in the rookie classification, while Joseph Warhurst followed with third place in the sub-classification, collecting more important points.
With his third victory of the season, Robert de Haan regained the lead in the standings after Sunday's race. As the race weekend on the streets of Nuremberg marked the halfway point of the season, de Haan was even able to celebrate the half-time championship title. Proton Huber Competition also has the edge in the rookie standings: Sacha Norden leads the way after his sixth class victory.
‘We are delighted to have broken our Norisring curse!’ said Ajla Vukovic, who heads Proton Huber Competition's Porsche Sixt Carrera Cup Deutschland programme alongside Michael Dirsch. ‘Robert had a strong weekend with the win on Sunday and the podium in the first race. This puts us at the top of the championship at the halfway point of the season, which makes us proud. Sacha won the rookie classification in both races, extending his lead in the standings! We will work hard in the coming weeks to hopefully defend our championship leads in the second half of the season.’
The Porsche Sixt Carrera Cup Deutschland will continue from 8 to 10 August. The second half of the season will kick off at the Nürburgring. After races at the Sachsenring and the Red Bull Ring, the grand finale will take place at Hockenheim in early October.