Vice champion Faulkner repeats season-opener win – Bad luck for Rast
Stuttgart. Damien Faulkner won the first round of the Porsche Mobil1 Supercup on the Bahrain International Circuit. The 30-year-old reigning vice champion repeated his success from last year and crossed the finish line first at the season-opening round. Faulkner, who took up the race from second on the grid, won in a time of 25:22.952 minutes, eight seconds ahead of his closest rival.Taking the flag in second and third respectively behind the Irishman were Jeroen Bleekemolen (Netherlands) and Jan Seyffarth (Germany). Already at the start, the 21-year-old Seyffarth catapulted his Porsche 911 GT3 Cup car from sixth to third position and sat in the slipstream of the Dutchman through the first corner. The former UPS-Porsche junior then attacked 26-year-old Bleekemolen and kept up the pressure over the entire 12-lap race. In the end the experience of the ex-DTM pilot paid off and he saw the chequered flag second ahead of the Seyffarth in third.
Twenty-three-year-old Chris Mamerow (Germany) put in a strong drive at his first race in the Porsche Mobil1 Supercup, finishing in fourth, just four-tenths of a second behind Jan Seyffarth. David Saelens (Belgium), who had started from 14th and gave a superb chase through the field, secured fifth. Danny Watts from Great Britain claimed sixth.
There were gripping fights for positions and many changes at the lead of positions seven to ten. The final sequence was only decided in the last hundred metres: Four racing sports cars turned onto the finish line side by side, with four-time Supercup champion Patrick Huisman (Netherlands) putting the nose of his 911 GT3 Cup first over the finish line followed by Uwe Alzen (Germany), Jiri Janak (Czech Republic) and Jaap van Lagen (Netherlands).
Bad luck hit René Rast (Germany). The 20-year-old had to return to the pits after the formation lap and was unable to take part in the race due to problems with the power train. The new-comer had posted pole position for both qualifying sessions early in the day and will take up the second race on the Grand Prix circuit of Bahrain from first on the grid.
On Sunday (6 April) the next championship round of the Porsche Mobil1 Supercup takes place here. Television stations “Premiere” and “Eurosport 2” broadcast the second round live from 11.10 hrs (CEST).
Damien Faulkner (winner): “Everything looked good after the green lights went off. I was surprised when René Rast returned to the pits. I’m sorry he experienced technical problems. I was able to profit from his bad luck. My start was great and after getting through the first corner in the lead I only had to turn the 12 laps without mistakes. And that’s just what I did. My team gave me a super car. That’s the only reason I could win the season opening race again.”
Jeroen Bleekemolen (second): “I’ve rarely had such a fun race. Jan was pushing me hard but was fair to the end. It was really tough against him. He never let up and tried to get me in every corner – he even attacked in the last corner. Jan is a great opponent. I’m very happy with second position. I’m sorry for René. That was really bad luck. But he has another chance tomorrow. I hope everything runs better for him then.”
Jan Seyffarth (third): “Third place is fantastic. It was wonderful to shoot from sixth to third right at the start. I could have done more, I was faster than Jeroen. Our fight was hard but fair, but I just couldn’t get past him.”
Race result:
1. Damien Faulkner (IR), SAS Lechner Racing, 25:22.952 minutes (152.953 km/h)
2. Jeroen Bleekemolen (NL), Jetstream Motorsport PZ Essen, 8.083 seconds behind
3. Jan Seyffarth (D), Konrad Motorsport, 8.242
4. Chris Mamerow (D), Damac Kadach Racing Team, 8.657
5. David Saelens (D), Irwin Racing, 14.034
6. Danny Watts (GB), SAS Lechner Racing, 16.126
7. Patrick Huisman (NL), Irwin Racing, 20.364
8. Uwe Alzen (D), SPS Performance – PZ Aschaffenburg, 20.399
9. Jiri Janak (CZ), Schnabl Engineering-LKM-KplusK Motorsport, 20.507
10. Jaap van Lagen (NL), Damac Kadach Racing Team, 20.855
Note: The full race result (PDF), points’ standings and latest photos are available for accredited journalists to download on the Porsche press database http://presse.porsche.de
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文本
英語 (Porsche AG)
已归档
M08_0382
M 30/08
2008-04-05
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- 赛车运动
- 2008赛季
- Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup
- 最新消息
Porsche Mobil1 Supercup, round 1 at the Bahrain Grand Prix, Race report: Vice champion Faulkner repeats season-opener win – Bad luck for Rast