Twice points in the final
With Laurin Heinrich's sixth place and Ayhancan Güven's eleventh place, KÜS Team Bernhard was able to add another 15 points to its own points account on the last race day of the 2023 DTM season at the Hockenheimring. Both cars in the points – a conciliatory conclusion for the team from Landstuhl in the Palatinate.
In qualifying, Laurin drove the fifth fastest time in the Porsche 911 GT3 R with starting number 75, while “Can” also made it into the top ten in ninth place in the sister car with starting number 24.
Laurin was in fourth place for a long time in the race, but later the 22-year-old from Kürnach had to give in to two competitors after the mandatory pit stop with his tires still cold. However, his sixth place and the ten points for the championship that came with it were completely safe.
Ayhancan also got through the starting phase well. The 25-year-old Turk was also in the top ten for a time, but ultimately crossed the finish line in eleventh place, which earned him six more championship points.
#24 Ayhancan Güven: “My first DTM season is over. There were a lot of ups and downs, there were good moments and there were bad moments, but that's just how the DTM is, that's normal. Unfortunately, the last race weekend didn't go quite as we had hoped. Yesterday we had technical problems, today we weren't fast enough to be at the front. At least we were able to get a few points with eleventh place. I would like to thank the entire Bernhard team for making this great first DTM season possible for me. I’m taking a lot of positive things from this season and hope to come back even stronger next year.”
#75 Laurin Heinrich: “I was very happy with fifth place in qualifying, that was a good starting position and a decent improvement on yesterday. The car felt good and I was very motivated to finish the season well. At the start I was able to maintain my fifth place and fight for the podium for a long time. Maybe I stayed out a little too long before the stop, but I was able to get back to where I was before. In the end we finished sixth after a hard battle with Luca Stolz in the Mercedes, which was cool and very fair. All in all, with two top ten finishes, it was a really well-rounded end to the season. I think that as a newcomer to the DTM I can be very satisfied with my season.”
Team boss Timo Bernhard: “The 2023 DTM season was a season with ups and downs for us. But I think the highs outweigh the negatives. We put on a great show and were a bit popular in the paddock. We performed well with our two young drivers. A pole position and three podium finishes - two second and one third place - are worthy of all honor. I would like to thank the entire team and our partners for their work and support. Now the season is over, which always brings with it a bit of sadness. All in all, we did a good job with our resources and we can be satisfied overall.”
Text: Peter Schäffner
Photos: Group C Photography (high-resolution images are listed in the Team75 Motorsport press portal. Access data available at presse@team75motorsport.de)