Walter Lechner Racing and more specifically Michael Ammermüller were simply imperious at the Norisring for races seven and eight of the fiercely competitive 2014 Porsche Carrera Cup Deutschland, remaining calm among a storm of chaos engulfing the thirty six car field.
For the second weekend in a row, the Saturday race was delayed due to the need to repair barrier damage incurred in a previous race. Heavy rain then forced the organisers into a safety car start. None of the drama would fluster Ammermüller, who drove from pole position in a dominant fashion away from the field.
Team Deutsche Post by Project 1 driver and Porsche Junior Sven Müller continued to show good form, whilst from second on the grid he could not keep pace with the race winner, he maintained a respectable distance to the tussle for third position.
Quite a tussle it was too. Konrad Motorsport man Christopher Zöchling snatched the position early into the race duration. However, Philipp Eng (Team Deutsche Post by Project 1) and Porsche International Cup Scholarship driver Earl Bamber (Team 75 Bernhard) tried continually over the remainder of the encounter to usurp the Austrian, eventually to no avail.
Of the remaining Porsche Juniors, it was difficult day for American Connor de Phillippi (Förch Racing by Lukas Motorsport) and Spaniard Alex Riberas (Attempt Racing powered by Hӓring). Neither scored points, a collision with Jim Pla (TECE MRS-Racing) ending the former’s race early whilst the latter lacked pace and finished in sixteenth position.
So on to race two and a Sunday encounter that featured multiple lead changes and stunning drives throughout the field, in other words, the sort of drama that Porsche one make racing is so often accused of lacking.
Rain early in the morning once again meant that an extra dimension was added to the encounter. Sven Müller this time started from pole position and stormed away from the field as the lights went out.
However, this would be a lead that was short lived; a mistake on lap six saw Müller slither helplessly off the road. Christian Engelhart (Konrad Motorsport) found himself in the lead following a difficult Saturday race and he looked on course for a second victory following his success at the Hungaroring.
Once again though, it was not to be for the race leader. On the twenty fifth tour both Ammermüller and the recovering Sven Müller managed to find a way around Engelhart, who would eventually fall to fifth. “In the end my car was simply not running very well,” said a clearly disheartened Konrad Motorsport pilot.
Whilst Ammermüller would be able to drive away to his second victory of the weekend, Müller’s dramatic day was still not finished. Bamber enjoyed a terrific race in which he climbed from seventh on the grid and in the final laps he would displace Müller to take second on the rostrum. “It is a great feeling to be back on the podium,” beamed the delighted New Zealander. Müller would finally cross the line in a commendable third position.
Alex Riberas enjoyed a far better Sunday than Saturday, finishing seventh having charged from twelfth on the grid. Again, the Spaniard still felt a better result was possible, saying “Unfortunately I just could not find a way past Christopher Zöchling (who finished sixth).”
Connor de Phillippi left the Norisring without any credible results or the Championship lead with which he had arrived. Sunday’s race was only marginally better than Saturday’s in that he actually finished but in a lowly sixteenth position.
After a dramatic weekend in Nuremberg, the Porsche Carrera Cup Deutschland now enjoys a five week summer break, prior to returning to action over the first weekend of August for a contest at the Red Bull Ring surrounded by the beautiful Styrian Alps in Austria.
The circuit has already produced one of the most incredible Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup races in memory earlier this year. The Carrera Cup Deutschland will arrive in Austria with the Championship’s top five covered by only nine points. The top three is composed of Zöchling, who leads by two points from Bamber with de Phillippi only one point further back. Philipp Eng is only one point behind the American whilst Engelhart lies another five points away. Combine such a closely contested championship with a circuit renowned for entertainment and you have the ingredients for some fantastic Motor Sport.
