Race in the PCHC in Hockenheim.
Season opener, a report by Patrick Holzer for the PCHC
Report
#PCHC start in perfect weather at the #Hockenheimring
Klaus Horn starts the season with a double win.
Klaus Horn (991 GT3 R) got off to a brilliant start to the #Porsche #Club #Historic #Challenge season. The man from Landau won both races at the Hockenheimring ahead of Maximilian Ertl and Christian Kindsmüller (991 GT3 Cup). However, the second win was a piece of hard work for Horn.
Klaus Horn started the new season of the Porsche Club Historic Challenge with a double victory. From the pole, the man from Landau controlled the first race on Sunday morning until the black and white checkered cloth fell. Horn, on the other hand, had more to do in the second round. Although he won the start, he only found himself in fifth place in the second lap. It took a few laps for Horn to catch up with second place again. Thomas Lindemann in the 997 GT3 R proved to be a tough nut to crack. After this was cracked, Horn started the race to catch up in first place. Christian Kindsmüller, who had already hurried, held the lead until the eleventh lap before Horn passed. The winner then continuously increased the gap. After 17 laps, this had increased to over 13 seconds. “Slowly, I'm getting better and better at driving the car. It paid off that we practiced a lot at the Endless Summer. I was able to improve a few things and learned a lot with Michi Joos. In the race, I got away very quickly at the start and was able to continuously increase my lead. When I couldn't see anyone in the rear-view mirror, I slowed down a bit," said Horn. The reason for the initial loss of position in the first race was a bit strange: “In the second lap the entire display was red. I slowed down and wanted to pit before everything broke. I pushed it away but it came back. I didn't notice anything on the car and then pushed it away again. After that I just drove on at risk and everything went well.”
Ertl and Kindsmüller ride on the two
Second place went to Maximilian Ertl in the morning, who was also able to win class 9 with it. The man from Burghausen kept Christian Kindsmüller at a distance, who made a strong debut performance in the 991 GT3 Cup. Towards the end, Kindsmüller was suddenly close, but Ertl didn't let second place be taken away. “I was actually in second place the whole time. Klaus Horn had already built up a clean lead after the first lap. Then there was nothing more I could do. But I didn't have to worry much about the rear, because the two of them were dealing with themselves," said Ertl. Things went even better for Kindsmüller in the second heat. Initially in second place behind Thomas Lindemann, he took the lead after the fifth lap. Although Kindsmüller gained a small lead, in the end he had to bow to the oncoming Horn in the more powerful GT3 R. But there was the sovereign victory in class 9 to celebrate in front of the returnees Joachim Bleyer and Werner Salmen. "I'm very happy with the start. I was surprised to be P2. But I couldn't hold the Maxi Ertl. He was significantly faster again. The second race was a lot of fun. I benefited from Stefan Ertl's retirement and would have much preferred to overtake him on the track. Klaus Horn had technical problems at the beginning. But once it's there, of course you can't keep it," said Kindsmüller, satisfied with his 991 premiere.
The start in the PCHC had also paid off for Thomas Lindemann. After his fourth place in the first heat, the newcomer immediately collected the first kilometers in the lead. Lindemann stayed in first place for five laps before Kindsmüller and shortly afterwards Klaus Horn passed. However, there was no mistaking his first podium finish. He grabbed it in front of an approaching Georg Vetter, whose Porsche 993 GT2 was paralyzed in the first heat with a cracked drive shaft. As in the morning, this meant second place in class 10 for Lindemann. “It was my first time driving and I am very satisfied with the race and the result. I drove on old tires, which cost me some steam at the end. But I think I did pretty well with the old car. I got Klaus Horn in the second turn and the other one with the cup in the third turn. With the old tires I was able to tackle the problem straight away. In the end, the tires then lost a lot,” said Lindemann.
Double victory for Marvin Meister in class 7
Marvin Meister (997 GT3 Cup) had Class 7 under control throughout the weekend. The Berliner also kept the upper hand in the family duel. Marvin Meister finished the first race in fifth place ahead of Mario Meister (991 GT3 Cup MR). The second heat crossed the finish line in the same constellation. Again in fifth place ahead of Mario Meister the two-time class winner was waved off. In the battle for second place in the class, Heiner Immig prevailed over Jürgen Lauscher in both races.
The closest finish of the day was in class 8 of the first generation 991 Cup Porsche. Here Florian Zumsteg left Eduard Heinz's Porsche just behind. Only 0.2 seconds separated the two Cup 911s. The result is all the more remarkable as Zumsteg drove his first car race ever. At times in fifth place, it ended up being sixth overall ahead of Heinz. He took his revenge in the second race and celebrated a commanding class win ahead of Udo Schwarz and Sebastiaan D'Anjou in seventh place. “Up to now I've only been karting. I knew that I had a good team behind me and they prepared me perfectly. It was a good start. It was difficult to classify the tires over the distance. The second behind me put so much pressure on me that I really had to fight not to lose the car. It was difficult at the beginning until the tires warmed up,” said the newcomer.
Voigtländer with victory and bad luck
Christian Voigtländer and Bernhard Wagner (both 997 GT3 Cup) shared the victories in class 6. In ninth place, the three-time PCHC champion couldn't be denied the win. At the finish, Wagner was more than a minute short of first place. Wagner turned the tables in the afternoon, but also benefited from the fact that Voigtländer was involved in a collision right at the start. The Berliner fought his way forward with the wounded Porsche, but he was no longer able to catch Wagner. After all, Voigtländer was doing damage limitation with second place. Wolfgang Bensch and Christian Wohlrab shared third place. "I had a crash with another vehicle. That's when it turned me out. After that, the steering and some things on the axle were no longer ok. I only drove on to get the points,” reported the defending champion.
In class 5, Boris Hartl (997 GT3) saw the finish line twice in first place. There were two winners in class 4, where Lutz Obermann (Cayman GT4 CS) won the first race. With a lead of more than 30 seconds on Werner Mößner (Cayman GT4), it was a sovereign success. The second round was different, however, where this time Mößner had the upper hand. Although Obermann came even closer in the last lap, Mößner finally won in second place, just over a second behind. As in the first race, Olaf Busse finished third in another Cayman GT4 CS. There were also two winners in class 3, where Mladen Pavlovic took the first win in the beautiful 964 RSR. After the orange 911 had to give up early in the second heat, Daniel Kerbach (964 Carrera 2) won the class classification. Sander Pielkenrood (968) was the soloist in class 2, while class 1 had the best entries with ten starters. Robert Sulma and Nick Drogtrop were the winners here. Third place went to Lennart Hiemstra in the first round and Angelino van den Brink (all Cayman S) in the second.
From 22nd to 24th April the Porsche Club Historic Challenge continues.
Then the second race of the season on the former Grand Prix circuit of Zolder is on the agenda.
Office Patrick Holzer:
http://www.auto-rennsport.de