Bleekemolen closes gap to Jäger with flag-to-flag win
Stuttgart. At arguably the most gripping race of the year, Jeroen Bleekemolen (Netherlands) celebrated his third win of the season in the Porsche Carrera Cup Deutschland. The reigning champion and current leader of the Porsche Mobil1 Supercup laid the foundation for his success right at the start of the race, defending his top grid position and winning the sprint to the first corner. After a fierce but fair fight over 22 laps, the ARAXA RACING PZ Reutlingen pilot saw the flag as winner after 31:58.856 minutes.Guest starters Renaud Derlot (France, MS Racing PZ Hamburg Nord-West) and Nick Tandy (Great Britain, Konrad Motorsport) added extra spice to the race, making every attempt to knock Bleekemolen off his perch. In the early stages, it was Derlot, the 27-year-old points’ leader from the Porsche Carrera Cup France, who put Bleekemolen under huge pressure. Over several laps, the Frenchman was just one-tenth of a second behind the leading Dutchman. From lap 13, Tandy caught up as well and after one more lap had moved into second position. Two laps later Derlot was back and the two guest drivers hounded Bleekemolen side by side. In the 18th lap Renaud Derlot slid into the gravel and fell back to fifth position, leaving the way clear for the duelling duo. Right up until the final lap the pair gave spectators a great show, with Jeroen Bleekemolen finally getting the upper hand over Tandy. With a gap of just 15-hundredths of a second, the Briton crossed the finish line in second.
Third place went to Thomas Jäger (Germany). The current points’ leader of the popular brand trophy series had only managed to qualify his Porsche on tenth place for round eight on the Circuit Dijon-Prenois. The 32-year-old former DTM pilot got away well at the start and immediately made up some places. By lap two he was sitting fifth. Towards the end, his conservative drive behind the duelling front-runners paid off with the last podium spot.
The situation in the drivers’ classification promises an exciting final of the Porsche Carrera Cup Deutschland on the Hockenheimring (25 October). Thomas Jäger leads the field with a total of 136 points. However, after his third win of the season, Jeroen Bleekemolen has now moved into second overall with 127 points. Just nine points separate the pair with one race left on the calendar.
Nicki Thiim (Denmark, Hermes Attempto Racing) and Renaud Derlot received the flag in positions four and five, with Christian Engelhart (Germany, MRS Team PZ Aschaffenburg) and the second French guest driver Nicolas Armindo (Hermes Attempto Racing) in sixth and seventh.
Sebastian Asch (Germany, Schnabl Engineering PZ Niederrhein) had to settle for eighth place. The 23-year¬-old youngster had secured fifth on the grid in qualifying and managed to make up one position in the race to sit a promising fourth. With six laps to go until the flag, Asch spun on the track and had to bury his dreams of a top result.
Jeroen Bleekemolen (winner): “Great work today. I had to fight hard for this victory, but it was fun. A fantastic race! Thomas brought home a decent result and it looks good for him in Hockenheim. But I’m not giving up and I’ll use any chance at the final to secure the championship title.”
Nick Tandy (second): “That race was almost perfect. The only thing missing was victory. But for my first race in the Porsche Carrera Cup Deutschland I’m very pleased. The team did a great job, the 911 was fun to drive and the fight for the lead was brilliant. Of course I didn’t want to fight to the finish because after all Jeroen is going for the championship. But I reckon I gave him a run for his money.”
Thomas Jäger (third): “I’m thrilled with today’s result. The Porsche handled perfectly. I was able to make up places right at the start and then concentrated on driving consistently over the 22 laps. My situation looks excellent for Hockenheim. But I’m not about to relax. Jeroen is an experienced and extremely strong rival in the fight for the title.”
Television station DSF broadcasts highlights of the eighth championship round in its “Motorsportmagazin” programme on Sunday evening. N-TV also televises highlights in the programme “Speed” on Tuesday (13 October) and in the DTM Magazine on DMAX on Sunday (18 October).
Race result:
1. Jeroen Bleekemolen (NL), ARAXA RACING PZ Reutlingen, 31:58.856 minutes
2. Nick Tandy (GB), Konrad Motorsport, + 0.152 seconds
3. Thomas Jäger (D), MS Racing PZ Hamburg Nord-West, + 1.215
4. Nicki Thiim (DK), Hermes Attempto Racing, + 1.479
5. Renaud Derlot (F), MS Racing PZ Hamburg Nord-West, + 2.261
GO
文本
英語 (Porsche AG)
已归档
M09_2615
M 143/09
2009-10-11
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- 赛车运动
- 2009赛季
- Porsche Carrera Cup Deutschland
- 最新消息
Porsche Carrera Cup Deutschland, round 8 on the Circuit Dijon-Prenois, Race Report: Bleekemolen closes gap to Jäger with flag-to-flag win