Race reports 2019
Race number 7 at the EVMC Velp
And the winner is...
FINAL...
The battle for the title of "First GT Series Champion" is entering its final round.
Over the weekend of October 19th and 20th, the GT family were guests at the beautiful EVMC Velp facility. Unfortunately, checking the weather app (almost any app) throughout the week had been rather frustrating. The reality of the weekend wasn't much better. We simply had "weather." There was a bit of everything, with autumnal drizzle being the most prevalent.
But the GT family deserves praise. No one let the situation spoil their mood, and we definitely had a great time that weekend.
The route :
EVMC Velp has a beautiful track. It's definitely worth a visit. The 70m long Mini Z track is also a highlight. Due to the unpredictable weather, the grip level wasn't as high as during the first run. The advantage of this was that the infamous "turtle" (the curb at the beginning of the straight) was less critical. Nevertheless, one or two drivers still managed to cuddle up with it ;-)
The drivers:
Despite the truly dire weather forecast, 19 GT cars lined up at the starting line with their highly motivated drivers. New to the field was Jörg Leopold, who will definitely be participating in the series again next year.
The race:
The track conditions were quite demanding for the drivers. On Saturday afternoon, the track was at least dry enough to allow for testing and finding a decent setup. This was also possible on Sunday morning, at least for the first two heats. Since the two results counted towards the final score, this meant that everyone had to nail the first two runs and not leave the black zone (the track) within the 8-minute heat time. From the third heat onwards, the fog became so damp that the track felt as if someone had spread soap on it. Fast laps were now out of the question. The heat standings were therefore as follows...
Final:
The semi-finals were now set. It had stopped raining in the meantime. But due to the lack of sunshine and the moderate temperatures, the track didn't dry out.
The semi-finals took place in truly awful conditions for the model racers. Not really wet, just damp. Too wet for dry tires and too dry for rain tires. In these conditions, 20 minutes felt like driving a two-hour race straight through. Each lap, you cautiously try to push a little harder... Then comes the realization that "no" isn't possible when you park in the grass and wait for the helper. So, after what felt like two hours :-) 20 minutes, these results were in...
Here are the results of the semi-finals:
The B-Final:
Silvio's engine stalled in the semi-final, forcing him to retire. In the B-final, with the rain intensifying again, he demonstrated why he deserved his German Championship title in Braunschweig, where the race was held in the rain. Tobi Bosse certainly tried to make things difficult for him at that point. The remaining four competitors delivered some excellent duels under the challenging conditions.
Now the last final of the season was on the agenda.
The main final
Main Final
Consider this: the German Modified and Standard champions were both competing in this rain-soaked final. Add to that a few other drivers who are generally very fast in the rain and have a good chance of reaching the podium. So, despite these conditions, or perhaps because of them, the excitement was unbeatable. The start was a bit chaotic. Robert and Jörg collided slightly right at the start, forcing Robert (the Standard champion) to take a short break in the grass. A few other drivers seemed to be taking a breather at the beginning. Oppi had the advantage of being able to pull away slightly. He also made the fewest mistakes of anyone in the race. He was the first to cross the finish line after 30 minutes. Günter struggled with a malfunctioning brake towards the end and could only manage to hold onto second place. Our Robert was remarkable, having started last but still managing to finish in third. The unluckiest driver of the final was Jörg Fehling, who is also a sensationally fast driver in the rain. His clutch bell bearing failed prematurely, forcing him to park his car early. As my Torsten always says, "That's it."
But for a final in that weather, it was still extremely exciting.
Here are the results of the A final:
The GT family is now heading into a well-deserved winter break. New GT cars are being prepared for the 2020 season. We'll be making a few changes and refining things we learned from our debut year. The SCS M2 GT Series team thanks all participants for being there! And we look forward to seeing you again in 2020.
See you at the white line...
6th race in Rucphen
The winners
"Now it gets exciting..."
From this race onward, the poor results from previous races are no longer relevant. There are two dropped results in the 2019 season. This means the standings could be reshuffled from now on. It remains exciting to see who will be the first champion of the SCS M2 GT Series.
The 6th round of the championship was upon us and the league of super sports cars once again made a stop at the beautiful MAC de Baanbrekers race track in Rucphen.
As far as the weather was concerned, we were compensated for the rainy German Championship this time with two glorious days. Indian summer, or whatever it's called. The mornings and nights were quite cool, but over 20 degrees Celsius from midday onwards. Perfect RC car weather.
The route :
For me personally, this is definitely among the top 5 most beautiful tracks I've ever driven on, with a wonderfully flowing layout. Since Rucphen hosts many events and the track is constantly maintained, there's an incredibly high level of grip, even off the racing line. RC gods, what more could you want! Okay, there is a small catch with such conditions. High grip and fast corners can sometimes lead to an RC car lifting a leg and showing its chassis plate. Perhaps some of these cars have some advertising space available :-)
Just kidding...
The drivers:
Due to the tight schedule and the German Championships taking place the week before, we only had 19 starters this time. Of those, only 17 remained on Sunday. I think we still need to work on reducing the dropout rate before the races.
The race:
This weekend, I have to repeat myself on one point. As far as top lap times are concerned, no other racing series has been as close as this one. The gap between 1st and 17th place was only eight-tenths of a second at the top. However, in the GT series, the best two qualifying heats always count. This means that every lap had to be perfect for two five-minute heats. With the high grip levels, this was a real challenge. After the four qualifying heats, the standings looked like this:
P.S. Just a reminder that it would be great if everyone could enter their permanent starting number. You can see now who's missing it.
Final:
Since we only had 17 starters, the preliminary heats were solely about determining the starting positions for the semi-finals. Here are the results: It's also worth mentioning that Stephan Schroeder had a fantastic weekend.
Semifinal B started immediately after the lunch break. Stephan Schroeder, mentioned earlier, was once again incredibly fast and secured a commanding start-to-finish victory. Behind him, the battle for position and a possible spot in the final was fierce. Despite good performances, the race unfortunately ended for Daniel, Tobi K., and Thomas B. For reasons I can't explain, there was no B-final. I expect we'll have one next year in Rucphen.
Next up was the A-final. This was definitely no less exciting. In this final, Uwe was the big winner, having started from 9th place and won after 15 minutes. Hats off to him! Despite strong performances in this final as well, Tobi B., Sven, Rene, and Jörg unfortunately had to miss out on the main final. What a shame, guys.
Here are the results of the semi-finals:
The highlight of the day was on the agenda.
The main final
Main Final
Uwe Pauly (I note that he also won the first race in Rucphen) has become Mr. Rucphen here. He secured a relatively clear start-to-finish victory. Marcus tried hard, but couldn't prevent it. Behind the two of them, there was plenty of action. Günter was able to keep up the pace at the beginning, but was then abruptly slowed down by a loose wheel. Miles and Stephan had to drop back a bit, but still drove a solid race. Miles rewarded himself with third place. Marcel, Bernd, and Torsten engaged in fantastic battles for the positions behind them. That was also extremely entertaining. Unfortunately, Silvio had to end the final prematurely due to a technical defect. Now to me, I'd like to give myself a little pat on the back :-). Starting from 10th place, I had a very heavy collision with Silvio right at the beginning of the first lap. This happened at the start of the straight, which resulted in the nose of my Stone losing its shape and leading to an unplanned pit stop. Recharged with a bit of energy, I started my comeback and finished in 5th place after 30 minutes. I enjoyed it.
Here are the results of the A-final:
Now everyone can take a deep breath, get their cars ready for the grand season finale on October 19th and 20th, 2019 in Velp. Then we'll see who takes home the title!
See you at the white line...
5th race in Bad Breisig
The winners
"Back home"
This sentence is not mine, but from participants, and therefore I think it's allowed to be here.
Round number 5 of the SCS M2 GT Series and the fact that the dropped scores will now come into effect from the next round onwards. The MCC Rhein Ahr track certainly isn't the most visually appealing. There are many reasons for this. But what truly matters here is the club's motto, "Home of Model Car Racing and Friends." And on top of that, the kitchen is second to none. Thank you for that!!!
Twenty-five starters were expected. Unfortunately, on Saturday, one or two of them were also sidelined.
The weather on Saturday morning, due to the rain overnight, wasn't exactly ideal. However, this changed throughout the day, and from then on we had fantastic weather. So, we set off to chase down lap times and maybe find a good setup. Or perhaps even show one or two opponents who's boss.
The route :
As already mentioned, it's certainly not the most visually appealing track, but it's a challenging yet easy-on-equipment route in the west. It also offers a high level of grip.
The drivers:
25 drivers on Saturday and 21 drivers on Sunday went in pursuit of the most laps in 8 minutes.
The race:
Even at the risk of repeating myself, it's always astonishing to see how close the competition is from 1st to 21st place when you look at the rankings. You really can't make any mistakes here! Incredible! Three preliminary heats were run, of which the two best times were combined, as always. It was incredibly exciting, and when the lunch break arrived, the rankings looked like this:
Final:
After the lunch break, the quarter-finals began. Six drivers qualified for the semi-finals. The semi-finalists were therefore as follows:
The semifinals were incredibly exciting and of a very high standard. Once again, the motto was: no mistakes, as all the drivers were incredibly fast. This resulted in a few unexpected contenders in the B-final. The high temperatures also played a role for some, but this is absolutely nothing to be ashamed of in this series and demonstrates the balance of performance is excellent. Here are the results of both semifinals. A special mention goes to our "Fast Child," Miles Treutler, who had a fantastic run. There were also some pleasant surprises from other drivers, who demonstrated just how fast they were.
Here are the results of the semi-finals:
And so began the two main finals.
The B final lasted 20 minutes. The 30-degree heat took its toll on some of the players. After 20 minutes and a tremendous comeback attempt on my part, Torsten secured first place. Here are the results of the B final:
A-Main Final
Another very exciting final. The action was thrilling for all positions over the 30 minutes. At the start, there was a fantastic three-way battle for second place between Günter Honert, Uwe Pauly, and Miles Treutler. Lurking behind them were Michael Schwarz, Rene Akangbou, and Klaus Schumm. Each lap saw an attempted attack, generally always fair. When there was some bumping, the race director didn't have to intervene; everyone waited patiently. Towards the end, Günter pulled away slightly from Miles and Uwe. The entertaining duel between the two continued until just before the finish. Unfortunately, it didn't end as either of them deserved. Uwe had to retire due to fuel shortage, and Miles made a mistake that dropped him back to fifth place. This allowed Klaus and Rene to move up the standings. One driver hasn't been mentioned yet. Marcus, thanks to the aforementioned battle for second place, had the advantage of being able to create a great gap. This, combined with two factors (1. excellent setup / 2. no mistakes), secured him first place after 30 minutes. But he too started saving fuel.
Here are the results of the A final:
There's a break now. The next round of the SCS M2 GT Series is on September 14th and 15th at the beautiful MAC de Baanbrekers track in Rucphen.
See you at the white line...
4th race in Dormagen
The winners
"Back home"
This sentence is not mine, but from participants, and therefore I think it's allowed to be here.
Race number 4 was the SCS M2 GT Series, and the fact that the dropped scores would come into effect from the next race onwards. MCK Dormagen invited us to their wonderful track, complete with perfect catering.
Twenty-four drivers accepted this invitation.
The weather was somewhat mixed, and the heavens even opened up a bit on Saturday. But Sunday more than made up for it. Good weather, plenty of grip on the track – what more could you ask for?
The route :
Why "Little Monaco"? It's quite simple, really: the track layout is fantastic and incredibly fun. However, Dormagen offers virtually no run-off areas, but rather quite a few very sturdy barriers. Mistakes are punished severely here. Some participants have already learned this the hard way. Only those who drive with Swiss-watch precision and possess a bit more "cojones" will be fast here.
The drivers:
Twenty-four participants had registered. Unfortunately, by Sunday morning only 21 remained.
Unfortunately, three drivers slightly damaged their vehicles during practice. What a shame!
The training session was temporarily interrupted by rain. Nevertheless, there was plenty of time to practice. The grip was fantastic. Michael Donovan set a benchmark right from his first run. He clocked a 19.2 in his Mecatech (Porsche GT3 R). Impressive!
The race:
On Sunday morning, the preliminary heats began. It became clear who had their fear or respect under control. And then there were the aforementioned "Swiss watchmakers." This is how things looked after the three preliminary heats, of which the top two counted towards the final score.
1 26 Michael Donovan 44 14:29.412 2, Mecaetch FW01 2019 Porsche 911 GT3R
2 22 Marcus Oppenhorst 44 14:30.150 RS 5 XT Audi R8 LMS
3 12 Michael Schwarz 42 14:09.266 Mecatech FW01 2019 Audi R8 LMS
4 15 Uwe Pauly 42 14:14.594 Mecatech FW01 BMW GT3 ALMS
5 28 Günter Honert 42 14:16.223 FG 2020.2 Porsche GT3 RSR
6 7 Thomas Staab 42 14:20.834 3, 2 [1] DEU Genius XR4 SCS M2 Shorty STone
7 21 Silvio Böhmichen 42 14:24.643 HK Mecatech FW01 Audi R8 LMS
8 27 Treutler Miles 42 14:30.328 Genius XR4 Pro Aston Martin
9 3 Stephan Schroeder 41 14:08.577 Mecatech 2019 Audi R8 LMS
10 32 Klaus Schumm 41 14:20.885 Mecatech FW01 Audi R8 LMS
11 36 Marcel Schildwächter 40 14:13.249 Genius XR4 Pro Aston Martin
12 25 Robert Franicevic 40 14:19.465 FG 2020.2 Audi R8 LMS
13 24 Paul Beetz 40 14:20.638 Mecatech FW01 BMW GT3 ALMS
14 2 Daniel Stein 40 14:22.784 Mecatech FW01 Audi R8 LMS
15 33 Sven Hollmann 40 14:23.311 FBX GT Audi R8 LMS
16 37 Michael Günther 40 14:29.140 Mecatech FW01 Porsche GT3 RSR
17 19 Thomas Ball 40 14:32.648 Genius XR-3S STOne-GT3
18 34 Christian Langer 39 14:23.988 Mecatech FW01 BMW ALMS
19 29 Jörg Mayers 37 14:19.259 HARM SX4 Porsche GT 3 RSR
20 10 Tobias Bosse 28 13:30.325 FG 2020.2 BMW GT3 ALMS
21 23 Jörg Fehling 1 0:25.005 FG 2020.2 BMW GT3 ALMS
22 8 Torsten Förster 0 0:00.000 Genius Porsche GT 3 RSR
23 9 Olaf Krohm 0 0:00.000 HARM SX5 BMW GT3 ALMS
Final:
As I mentioned before, a few drivers fell victim to "Little Monaco." Normally, we would have had two quarter-finals. We were able to skip those and go straight to the semi-finals. Each race lasted 20 minutes, and the motto here was: don't make a single mistake. The field of drivers was so closely matched in terms of performance that the slightest error meant relegation to the B-final. So, there was definitely no shame in starting there. After two 20-minute heats, the groups were divided as follows:
B Final:
Robert Francevic
Daniel Stein
Paul Beetz
Jörg Mayers
Thomas Ball
Christian Langer
These drivers were unfortunately unable to start:
Stephan Schroeder
Sven Hollmann
Uwe Pauly
Michael Günther
I must reiterate that we witnessed another incredibly exciting and fair B final. The sportsmanship was outstanding, despite the intense battles. The competition for first through third place was extremely close. In the end, the winners were:
1. Robert Francisevic
2. Daniel Stein
3. Paul Beetz
4. Jörg Mayers
5. Thomas Ball
6. Christian Langer
A Final:
This final was also incredibly exciting. Absolutely gripping with numerous battles for position from 1st to 10th place. After 30 minutes, the positions were as follows:
1. Michael Donovan
2. Günter Honert
3. Marcus Oppenhorst
4. Miles Treutler
5. Klaus Schumm
6. Tobias Bosse
7. Silvio Böhmichen
8. Thomas Staab
9. Michael Schwarz
10. Marcel Schildwächter
Race number 4 is now complete. We're looking ahead to race number 5. Bad Breisig, here we come...
The third round of the SCS M2 GT Series took place at the EVMC Velp in the neighboring area.
Netherlands.
The weather was absolutely glorious, with temperatures around 30°C. The club deserves high praise for their efforts in the heat.
Free cold drinks and ice cream were given out. Great!!!
The route :
An early morning walk around the track revealed that it has nasty curbs.
Only in a few places do they belong to the ideal line; otherwise, the rule is, “...away from the curbs.” However, while searching for the ideal line, it could happen that a nasty curb suddenly jumps in front of the car.
The drivers:
Twenty-two starters with their GTs had found their way to the "white line".
During a relaxed Saturday training session, the track was open until 10 pm.
open. Some who had arrived with caravans stayed on site; they sat around the grill, with
together with cool drinks.
The race:
The allocation of places for the sub-finals and finals was then determined on Sunday in three qualifying groups. This once again demonstrated that it's not just the fastest lap that counts, but...
especially consistency and flawless runs.
Speaking of fast laps, Markus Oppenhorst showed us all what's possible, and managed to
Flawless laps under the 17-second mark. Almost the entire rest of the field managed lap times in the 17s, meaning everyone was within one second of each other in terms of speed on the track. That's remarkable, a lot of fun, and also in the quarterfinals, semifinals, and B final.
Drivers of equal strength are always grouped together. That means it never gets boring on the track.
However, one point of criticism simply has to be addressed. The starts of the sub-finals.
It was quite rough at times. A bit more fairness would be desirable. It will be a race.
Not won in the first corner. When 10 cars of roughly equal speed enter the first few corners, it's simply a fact that the braking points of the rear drivers aren't there.
They're located where they are during free driving.
Enemy contact occurred. This should be improved in the future.
As the race progressed, the participants fought fairly for position.
At the end of the day, the three fastest stood on the podium.
1. Markus Oppenhorst with RS5 Audi R8
2. Michael Schwarz with Mecatech Audi R8
3. Günter Honert with FG Porsche GT3
Congratulations to the three winners and of course to Robert Franicevic, who received the Fairness Trophy for fair driving in the A Final. This was awarded by the race management and timing team.
selected.
And after the race is before the race; race 4 will follow shortly at the 3rd NRW Cup.
in Dormagen.
See you on July 20th/21st at the white line.
Balance of performance perfect...
Twenty-four participants took part in the MAC de Baanbrekers race in Rucphen from June 8th to 9th. Unfortunately, the weather on Saturday was mixed again. However, the Rucphen track has the fantastic advantage of drying incredibly quickly. This allowed for decent training almost all day. The title of this report was already becoming apparent at this point.
On Sunday morning, God (who is apparently also a racing driver) took pity on us and rewarded us with sunshine as soon as we got up.
Thus began the race to see who could complete the most laps in 5 minutes. After the preliminary heats, the rankings were as follows:
1 Uwe Pauly BMW ALMS 10:29.347 3, 2 [1] DEU Mecatech
2 Klaus Schumm Audi R8 10:18.845 3, 1 [2] DEU Mecatech
3 Marcus Oppenhorst Audi R8 10:02.873 1, 2 [3] DEU RS5 XT2019
4 Thomas Staab STone 10:04.291 3, 2 [1] DEU Genius XR4
5 Günter Honert Porsche GT3 R 10:04.485 3, 2 [1] DEU FG 2020.2
6 Tobias Bosse BMW ALMS 10:09.007 3, 1 [2] DEU FG 2020.2
7 Michael Schwarz Audi R8 10:10.064 3, 2 [1] DEU Mecatech
8 Stephan Schroeder Audi R8 10:15.006 3, 2 [1] DEU Mecatech
9 Miles Treutler Aston 10:19.419 3, 2 [1] DEU Genius XR4
10 Paul Beetz BMW ALMS 10:27.667 3, 1 [2] DEU Mecatech
11 Torsten Förster Porsche RSR 10:28.577 2, 1 [3] DEU Genius XR3s
12 Sven Hollmann Audi R8 10:13.824 3, 2 [1] DEU FBX GT
13 Christian Langer BMW ALMS 10:17.518 3, 2 [1] DEU Mecatech
14 Silvio Böhmichen Audi R8 10:19.528 3, 2 [1] DEU HK Mecatech
15 Bernd Cronert Audi R8 10:04.024 1, 3 [2] DEU FG 2020
16 Thomas Ball STone 10:07.525 1, 3 [2] DEU Genius XR3s
17 Robert Franicevic Audi R8 10:13.189 3, 1 [2] DEU FG 2020.2
18 Jörg Mayers Porsche RSR 10:14.544 2, 3 [1] DEU HARM SX3
19 Marcel Schildwächter Porsche RSR 10:15.230 3, 2 [1] DEU Genius XR4s
20 David Martin Porsche RSR 10:15.189 2, 1 [3] DEU Genius XR3S
21 Tobias Keller Porsche RSR 10:24.257 1, 2 [3] DEU Genius XR3s
22 Daniel Stein Audi R8 10:26.914 2, 3 [1] DEU Mecatech
23 Stefan Burbach Porsche RSR 10:08.401 3, 2 [1] DEU FG Evo
24 Jörg Fehling BMW ALMS 5:14.845 3, 1 [2] DEU FG 2020.2
It was already evident in the preliminary heats that the competition was very close. The quarter-finals started immediately after the lunch break. After the 10-minute races, the final standings were as follows:
Quarter-final B
1 Silvio Böhmichen 33 10:06.602 17.882 18.648
2 Sven Hollmann 32 10:01.813 17.844 19.103
3 Daniel Stein 32 10:08.102 18.218 19.233
4 Jörg Mayers 31 10:00.907 18.308 19.625
5 Jörg Fehling 31 10:09,985 17,876 19,914
6 David Martin 29 10:05,853 19,093 21,135
7 Thomas Ball 26 10:14,110 18,227 24,142
Quarter-final A
1 Torsten Förster 34 10:04,308 17,594 18,012
2 Marcel Schildwächter 34 10:16.141 17.800 18.316
3 Robert Franicevic 33 10:02,132 17,944 18,457
4 Bernd Cronert 33 10:03,511 17,899 18,523
5 Tobias Keller 32 10:17.898 18.166 19.499
6 Stefan Burbach 21 10:16,604 20,403 29,057
7 Christian Langer 9 2:43,254 17,713 19,114
Here too, the duels were thrilling, but conducted in a very fair manner. In the end, the lucky winners who advanced to the semifinals were determined. The semifinals were also characterized by exciting battles. Once again, it was clear that even the slightest mistake would be punished with the loss of position and a potential place in the final. The field of drivers was simply too closely matched in terms of lap times. The final standings of the semifinals were as follows:
Semi-final B
1 Klaus Schumm 52 15:14,759 17,254 17,744
2 Thomas Staab 52 15:16.547 17.310 17.770
3 Stephan Schroeder 51 15:02,427 17,323 17,834
4 Tobias Bosse 51 15:13.121 17.406 18.067
5 Silvio Böhmichen 50 15:12.596 17.703 18.384
6 Sven Hollmann 50 15:17.698 17.839 18.532
7 Paul Beetz 48 15:07,315 17,918 18,831
8 Daniel Stein 46 15:19,385 18,085 20,319
9 Tobias Keller 45 15:05.869 18.532 20.454
10 David Martin 38 13:23,075 18,460 21,588
Semi-final A
1 Günter Honert 53 15:13.815 16.894 17.443
2 Uwe Pauly 53 15:15,969 16,966 17,499
3 Marcus Oppenhorst 52 15:09,668 17,234 17,705
4 Torsten Förster 52 15:17,817 17,315 17,836
5 Miles Treutler 51 15:00.803 17.335 17.860
6 Michael Schwarz 50 15:02.025 17.334 18.256
7 Bernd Cronert 50 15:13,095 17,865 18,449
8 Marcel Schildwächter 49 15:08.102 17.708 18.738
9 Robert Franicevic 47 14:45,453 17,920 19,038
10 Jörg Fehling 27 9:20,800 17,714 21,180
I had the chance to watch Semi-Final A. I was absolutely fascinated by the entire race. There were so many battles to admire, whether between 1st and 2nd, 3rd and 4th, 5th and 6th, or 7th to 10th place. Everywhere, the racing was fair and of a high standard. In the end, 10 drivers from both semi-finals advanced to the main final.
In the main final, two groups formed after the start. Places 1-4 drove bumper to bumper, as did places 5-10. The convoy remained almost unchanged until the end of the 30 minutes. It once again proved true that catching up or staying with someone is one thing, but overtaking is quite another when the driver in front makes no mistakes. They were in a tight formation for 30 minutes. Only the leader managed to pull away slightly towards the end. The high level of competition was also evident in the fact that there were hardly any lapped cars. Unfortunately, there were a few retirements. In the end, the final standings were as follows:
1 Uwe Pauly 104 30:09,596 16,898 17,471
2 Marcus Oppenhorst 103 30:11,246 17,153 17,654
3 Klaus Schumm 103 30:12,229 16,882 17,633
4 Silvio Böhmichen 101 30:00.333 17.311 17.877
5 Thomas Staab 86 25:18.919 17.175 17.693
6 Günter Honert 71 20:23.581 16.878 17.345
7 Torsten Förster 26 8:02,005 17,373 18,761
8 Tobias Bosse 24 9:00,188 17,252 22,972
9 Stephan Schroeder 23 7:40,814 17,310 20,345
10 Miles Treutler 9 2:35.760 17.495 18.050
I had a fuel problem, Günter unfortunately suffered a technical defect due to an accident, Torsten had the same problem, Tobi also had a technical defect, Stephan had a defective steering servo, and Miles also bent both servo horns due to a crash. Apart from the ERFRA races, I've rarely seen such great finals. It makes me look forward to the next race...
See you in Velp
Gentleman start your engines...
That was the plan on May 4th, 2019 at the Rhein-Ahr Motordrome. Unfortunately, the weather wasn't entirely on our side that weekend. The forecast and various weather apps were just as unpredictable as the rain itself. Late Saturday afternoon, there was finally a slightly longer dry spell, allowing us at least to do some testing and find a setup suitable for those conditions.
On Sunday morning, the preliminary heats began for the 22 starters. Unfortunately, the weather wasn't much better. On the contrary, the track was watered every hour, making a decent preliminary heat a matter of pure luck. After the preliminary heats, the rankings were as follows:
1. 7 Thomas Staab 18 7:06.328 Genius XR4 Shorty Stone
2. 8 Torsten Förster 18 7:14.281 Genius XR3s Porsche GT3 RSR
3. 22 Marcus Oppenhorst 18 7:14.946 RS5 XT 2019 Audi R8 LMS
4. 15 Uwe Pauly 18 7:17.153 HARM SX 5 BMW GT 3 ALMS
5. 32 Klaus Schumm 17 7:07.430 Mecatech FW 01 BMW GT3 ALMS
6. 27 Miles Treutler 17 7:09.497 Genius XR4 Plus Aston Martin
7. 21 Silvio Böhmichen 17 7:14.120 Mecatech FW 01 Audi R8 LMS
8. 3 Stephan Schroeder 17 7:16.368 Mecatech FW 01 Audi R8 LMS
9. 10 Tobias Bosse 17 7:17.967 FG 2020.2 BMW GT3 ALMS
10. 25 Robert Franicevic 17 7:18.728 FG Evo 2020.2 Audi R8 LMS
11. 5 Andreas Boehm 16 7:19.163 GENIUS XR3s Porsche GT3 RSR
12. 9 Olaf Krohm 16 7:20.549 HARM SX 5 ROWE BMW GT3 ALMS
13. 34 Christian Langer 15 7:01.324 Mecatech FW01 BMW GT2 ALMS
14. 30 Tobias Keller 15 7:05.718 RS5 Porsche GT3 RSR
15. 19 Thomas Ball 15 7:28.738 Genius XR3-S ST One GT3
16. 2 Daniel Stein 14 7:08.539 Mecatech FW 01 Audi R8 LMS
17. 13 Julian Fastenroth 14 7:21.304 RS5 Ferrari GT3
18. 11 Bernd Cronert 13 7:19.207 FG 2020 Audi R8 LMS
19. 4 Stefan Burbach 12 7:13.187 FG EVO Porsche GT3 RSR
20. 29 Jörg Mayers 11 5:46.433 HARM Porsche GT3 RSR
21. 36 M. Schildwächter 10 7:02.635 3 Genius Posche GT3 RSR
22 14 M. Michelberger 2 0:48.755 GENIUS AUDI R8 LMS
Then it was time for lunch and the finals.
The following teams started in the quarter-finals:
Markus Michelberger
Bernd Cronert
Marcel Schildwächter
Jörg Mayers
Thomas Ball
Julian Fastenroth
Daniel Stein
Stefan Burbach
Unfortunately, parts of this final were also damp, so some drivers were unable to finish due to the track conditions. The top six on the list advanced to the semi-finals.
Unfortunately, the B semi-final was also affected by the track not being completely dry. It only dried out halfway through the race. Here are the winners:
1 Bernd Cronert
2 Uwe Pauly
3 Robert Francisevic
4 Miles Treutler
5 Stephan Schroeder
Semi-final A was a very enjoyable race on a dry track. It was finally possible to really fight for the race again, and the participants did so very fairly. Here are the winners:
1 Marcus Oppenhorst
2 Thomas Staab
3 Markus Michelberger
4 Silvio Böhmichen
5 Klaus Schumm
And so the finalists were determined. In the final, Marcus Oppenhorst got off to a very good start and immediately pulled ahead. Behind him, many battles raged for position. Almost anything was still possible for everyone except first place (which Marcus wasn't about to relinquish). After 30 minutes, the final standings were determined:
1. 22 Marcus Oppenhorst
2. 14 Markus Michelberger
3. 27 Miles Treutler
4.7 Thomas Staab
5. 21 Silvio Böhmichen
6.32 Klaus Schumm
7. 11 Bernd Cronert
8.3 Stephan Schroeder
9.25 Robert Franicevic
10. 15 Uwe Pauly
Apart from a few minor mishaps and one or two technical failures, the races were clean. The first points have been awarded, and the GT racing circus moves on to the next venue...
See you in Ruchpen