No reward in heat battle
The KÜS Team Bernhard from Landstuhl was not able to reap any reward in the form of championship points in the Saturday DTM race at the Lausitzring. The bottom line in the heat battle was the thankless 16th place for Ayhancan Güven in the Porsche 911 GT3 R with starting number 24. In the sister car with starting number 75, Laurin Heinrich had to retire early after a collision through no fault of his own.
In the morning's qualifying, the assembled Porsche armada was far behind. Not in terms of times - 23 cars jostled in a single second - but in terms of positions. As the second-best Porsche driver, Laurin finished 17th, Ayhancan 20th.
In the race, Can was able to make up a few positions right at the start and was also in the points for a short time. As the race progressed, the 25-year-old Porsche contract driver from Turkey was always within reach of scoring points, despite numerous fierce battles for position, but in the end just missed the last point in 16th place.
Laurin had lost ground on the dirty side at the start, but the 21-year-old Carrera Cup champion from Kürnach fought his way back up to 16th place. However, he was denied a further advance and had to give up after a collision through no fault of his own.
Sunday's race will start at 1:30 p.m. and will be broadcast live in full length on ProSieben and ran.de.
#24 Ayhancan Güven: “In the first race after the serious accident at the Nürburgring, it was important for me to keep the car out of the chaos at the start. We then survived this phase and were in 15th place and therefore in the points. After the safety car, we decided to do an early pit stop. Unfortunately there was a problem on the right front and we lost a bit of time. After the stop, we simply didn't have the necessary pace, finished in 16th place and missed the points by just one position. All in all, I'm happy that I made it to the finish and collected kilometers. The car feels good, but of course we still have to work tonight to improve it further for tomorrow. Tomorrow we will then try to score points again.”
#75 Laurin Heinrich: “I knew that starting from 17th place it wouldn't be an easy race. On the left row, where I had to start, everyone got off a bit worse, so I lost a few positions at the start. That was a shame, but I was able to fight my way up a bit afterwards. With the ten kilos of success ballast from the Nürburgring, the pace wasn't bad either. We then planned an early pit stop, but unfortunately I was hit at the rear shortly beforehand by a competitor who had a brake problem. This damage was then too great, I had to give up the race.”
Team boss Timo Bernhard: “The qualifying was actually quite okay considering the conditions here. In terms of overall Porsche pace, we couldn't keep up with the front runners. Nevertheless, we started the race hoping to score points. Unfortunately, Laurin was cleared later and had to give up. Can was involved in many close fights, had to take a hit a couple of times and just missed out on the points with 16th place. Now it's time to work through and prepare for tomorrow."
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)