Race nine of this season’s Prototype Cup Germany, which took place at the Nürburgring, was dominated by Ralf (49/Salzburg) and David Schumacher (22/Salzburg, both US Racing). Six-time Grand Prix winner Ralf Schumacher took the lead at the start, before consistently extending his lead on a track that was still wet in places. “My father has always been good in the rain,” said David, knowingly. Ralf, who found himself five seconds clear of the second-placed car after just two laps, was full of praise for his team’s performance. “The car was top and the tyres were fast in the working window, which meant it was not so difficult to pull clear.” David completed the job with an equally impressive second stint, bringing the US Racing Ligier home with a lead of almost 17 seconds over Keanu Al Azhari (16/UAE, Mühlner Motorsport). Julien Apothéloz (23/CHE) and Riccardo Leone Cirelli (16/ITA, both BWT Mücke Motorsport) finished third.
Right from the first metre, Ralf Schumacher showed that he is as motivated as ever on his return to motorsport after a twelve-year break. He took the lead at the start and then moved away from the rest of the field – seemingly effortlessly. He saw the pit stop as more of a potential problem. “Mistakes can happen there, and they can really hurt you. However, we also did a very good job of the pit stop.” David Schumacher took over at the wheel of the #27 LMP3 car for the second half of the race. “The track was drier for me than it was for my dad, so that was not a problem. My father gave me a good lead, I just had to bring it home.”
16-year-old Al Azhari had to work hard for his second place. One lap into the race, he was down in fifth place. However, he then benefitted from a penalty handed to Danny Soufi (21/USA, Konrad Motorsport). Race control found the American guilty of causing a crash with Antti Rammo (41/EST, MRS GT-Racing) and punished him with a drive-through penalty. Al Azhari overtook Valentino Catalano (18/Westheim, Gebhardt Motorsport) and Apothéloz shortly thereafter to move into second place. While Al Azhari had to work particularly hard in the first half of the race, Cirelli had to pull out all the stops in the second half. He took over the Mücke Duqueine from Apothéloz and came under permanent pressure from Markus Pommer (33/Untereisesheim, Gebhardt Motorsport). However, the 16-year-old Italian produced a flawless drive to deny the reigning champion, who had to settle for fourth place together with team-mate Catalano.
Fifth across the finish line were Klaus Abbelen (63/Barweiler) and Felipe Laser (36/Leipzig, both Frikadelli Racing Team). Laser produced a thrilling fightback to ensure that Abbelen was the best-placed Trophy driver. Soufi and Torsten Kratz (53/Mönchengladbach, Konrad Motorsport) came home sixth, ahead of Stefan Aust (52/Münster, Rinaldi Racing), Maxim Dirickx (20/BEL) / Jacob Erlbacher (23/Böblingen, both Gebhardt Motorsport) and Luca Link (20/Günzberg) / Suellio Almeida (30/BRA, both DataLab Sports with Rinaldi). Soufi and Kratz remain championship leaders in the Prototype Cup Germany and now lead Apothéloz and Cirelli by 18 points. In the Junior competition, Soufi is now 118 points clear of Catalano; this means the Konrad Motorsport protégé can no longer be denied the title of top Junior. In the Trophy competition, leader Rammo still holds a slender lead over Kratz, despite failing to finish at the Nürburgring.
Keanu Al Azhari (second): “My start was not good, as the track was still very wet in places. I did not find the ideal racing line, nor did I want to take too many risks. As a result, I lost a few places. However, I stayed calm, as I knew there was still a long way to go and that my car was really fast.”
Julien Apothéloz (third): “The positive thing is that we scored valuable points and, above all, finished ahead of our main rivals in the title race. In contrast, I was not entirely happy with my own performance. I was simply too slow.”
Riccardo Leone Cirelli (third): “I am pleased with our third place, which did not come easily. I had Markus Pommer in my mirror the entire time and had to make sure that he did not overtake me – which I managed, fortunately. I am driving at the Nürburgring for the first time this weekend, and I believe I have improved over the course of the first two days. I also find it cool to be stood on the podium with a well-known racing driver like Ralf Schumacher.”
Broadcast times for the 2024 Prototype Cup Germany at the Nürburgring: Sunday, 18th August 2024 - 10:00 - Race 2, youtube.com/adacmotorsports