Two points again
As on Saturday, so on Sunday: The KÜS Team Bernhard from Landstuhl in the Palatinate also scored championship points in the top ten with both cars in Sunday’s DTM race at the Nuremberg Norisring: Laurin Heinrich (21, Kürnach) finished in the Porsche 911 GT3 R seventh place in the #75 car and was one position ahead of team-mate Ayhancan Güven (25, Germany) in the #24 sister car.
The morning qualifying, which was again divided into two groups specific to the Norisring, went well for both Team75 drivers. Ayhancan was third fastest in his group and best Porsche driver, Laurin was even second in his group. This resulted in fourth place on the grid for Laurin and fifth place for Can.
Immediately after the start, Ayhancan fought his way up to third, while Laurin got stuck in turn one, lost ground and dropped back to eighth. Nothing changed until the mandatory pit stop phase. Ayhancan lost his good position when changing tires and had to complete a penalty lap because of a rule violation at the stop (wheels spinning), which cost more time. After all, he was still able to score valuable championship points in eighth place. Laurin's stop went smoothly, although he had no radio contact with the team beforehand. Nevertheless, he was able to make up one position in the second half of the race and crossed the finish line in seventh place.
#24 Ayhancan Güven: “We fought for the podium for a long time. Unfortunately, we lost a lot of time during the pit stop and we had to complete a penalty lap because of a rule violation. With that, the podium was out of reach and eighth place remained. We'll be back stronger!”
#75 Laurin Heinrich: “The start wasn't what I had imagined. I was a little too cautious and lost a few places on the first lap. It's a shame because I had the pace, but overtaking was extremely difficult and the field was very close together. I also lost radio contact with the team before the pit stop. So it was difficult to get the timing right and we had to make tactical compromises. Nevertheless, I was able to catch up a bit and save seventh place. I can actually be satisfied with the race itself, but of course I was hoping for a little more.”
Team Principal Timo Bernhard: “Today was our best qualifying result of the season so far: both cars in the top five. The pace in the race was great too and both cars ended up in the top eight, so that's a little bit better than yesterday. We're working our way forward. Of course, we could do even more today, but we have to accept that, stand up and keep working.”
Text: Peter Schäffner
Photos: Group C Photography (high-resolution images are listed in the Team75 Motorsport press portal. Access data available from presse@team75motorsport.de)