STUTTGART, Germany — “Admittedly, I had a bit of luck,” acknowledged Larry ten Voorde after adding to his record with his 25th victory in the Porsche Carrera Cup Deutschland.
Taking up the race from pole position, the Dutchman actually lost the lead to Porsche Junior Bastian Buus after just a few corners. However, the race was red-flagged seconds later to allow several vehicles to be salvaged after a collision.
After the race restarted, according to the rules, the 20-year-old Dane had to line up right behind ten Voorde again. And this time, the two-time champion of the Porsche Carrera Cup Germany was not going to be taken by surprise.
“Bastian made another attempt but this time I was ready for it,” said ten Voorde after the race on the Formula 1 circuit on the North Sea coast. “It’s a great feeling to win my home race in front of so many Dutch fans – and for GP Elite too.”
With his victory, ten Voorde takes the series lead from his teammate Loek Hartog, who finished fifth.
“The interruption of the race was understandable but obviously unfortunate for me – but that’s how it goes in motor racing and I can live with that. I start tomorrow’s race on the front grid row next to Larry again so I get another chance,” states Buus as he focuses on the second race of the weekend which gets underway on Sunday.
“Because of the fight with Robert, I initially lost contact with Larry and Bastian. By the time I managed to shake him off, the two were already out of reach. But I’m okay with third place, it’s at least one position better than my grid position,” commented Harry King. The U.K. driver competes for the German team Allied-Racing.
Despite finishing behind King, Robert de Haan was the hero of the day. At barely 16 years old, this is the first race in the Porsche Carrera Cup Deutschland for the Dutchman, who usually contests the Porsche Carrera Cup Benelux.
Stepping in for the German Kai Pfister in the 911 fielded by the HRT Performance squad, de Haan was already the fastest rookie in qualifying.
Clinching fourth place in the race, he won the category for cup newcomers ahead of Belgium’s Ghislain Cordeel (GP Elite) and Janne Stiak (ID Racing) from Germany.
Crossing the finish line in sixth place overall, Alexander Fach (FACH AUTO TECH) from Switzerland was the best-placed driver from the Porsche Carrera Cup Deutschland Talent Pool.
Victory in the ProAm category went to Sören Spreng, who also competes for GP Elite. The German finished just ahead of Ahmad Alshehab from Kuwait (CarTech Motorsport Bonk). His German teammate Michael Essmann occupied the third step of the ProAm podium.