Porsche Carrera Cup – Jeffrey Schmidt fourth in Red Bull Ring

Philipp Eng from Austria currently dominates the Porsche Carrera Cup Deutschland. The 25 year old won race ten of the championship on Saturday at Spielberg at the wheel of his 460 hp Porsche 911 GT3 Cup ahead of Robert Renauer (D/Herberth Motorsport) and Christian Engelhart (D/TECE MRS-Racing). “Right now everything is going brilliantly. I climb into my car and enjoy the adrenaline rush during the race. Today, however, it was a really close call. Two drivers collided right beside me,” said Eng, who competes for the Deutsche Post by Project 1 squad. So far this year, the Salzburg racer has climbed the podium eight times, with the Red Bull Ring success marking his fifth win of the season.

During Saturday morning’s qualifying session, Eng clinched pole position for both Saturday’s and Sunday’s race, making his pole tally for the season six. At the start of race ten, however, Eng was beaten off the line by Porsche Junior Sven Müller (D/Lechner Racing Middle East), but by the end of the first lap he had reclaimed his position at the front of the field. A collision between Alex Riberas (E/The Heart of Racing by Lechner) and Christopher Zöchling (A/Konrad Motorsport) brought out the safety car after lap two. When the field went green again, the gap at the front had closed. In formation, [caption id="attachment_22683" align="alignright" width="300"] Jeffrey Schmidt (CH)[/caption]

Eng, Müller and Michael Ammermüller (D/The Heart of Racing by Lechner) flew up the hill wheel on wheel at 230 km/h. In the heat of the battle, the two Porsche 911 GT3 Cup cars of the Lechner teammates Müller and Ammermüller touched, putting an early end to their race. This opened the door for Eng to bring home an undisputed victory. “The collision is, of course, really annoying and I first have to analyze everything. But right now I’m just disappointed,” said Müller.

After the crash, Renauer and Engelhart inherited second and third. “Every now and then you just have to wait for luck,” said Renault with a smile after climbing the podium in second. Engelhart was also pleased: “I came from seventh to finish third, which earns me very important points towards the championship. The spectators were treated to some incredibly exciting racing with lots of spectacular overtaking manoeuvres.” Swiss racer Jeffrey Schmidt (CH/Lechner Racing Middle East) occupied fourth place on the 4.326-kilometre circuit which lies around 80 kilometres from the Austrian city of Graz. Just 17 years old, guest driver Mattia Drudi (I/Dinamic Motorsport) swept over the finish line in fifth.

[caption id="attachment_22684" align="alignleft" width="300"] Rolf Ineichen (CH)[/caption]

Ben Barker (GB/Land-Motorsport) scored sixth ahead of rookie Alex Toril (E/Market Leader Team by Project 1). Richard Goddard (TECE MRS-Racing) from Australia planted his Porsche on eighth in front of his German teammate Elia Erhart. The 19-year-old Porsche Junior Matteo Cairoli (I/Team Deutsche Post by Project 1) rounded off the top ten finishers. “That was a tricky race. I got entangled in a lot of fights. I start Sunday’s race from sixth so I have to get ahead,” said Cairoli. The Austrian Luca Rettenbacher (Konrad Motorsport) crossed the finish line in eleventh. Porsche Junior Connor de Phillippi (USA/Land-Motorsport) had to settle for position twelve. “This race was a disaster. My start was bad and later I spun. I had to work my way through the field from the back of the pack,” declared de Phillippi.

Race eleven of the Porsche Carrera Cup Deutschland takes off on the Red Bull Ring on Sunday at 9.10 hours. With Philipp Eng (A/Team Deutsche Post by Project 1) from Salzburg, Luca Rettenbacher from Eugendorf and Christopher Zöchling (both Konrad Motorsport) from Bruck an der Mur, three Austrians contest the Porsche one-make cup series with the Porsche 911 GT3 Cup, which is based on the seventh generation of the iconic 911 sports car.

Race 10 result: 1. Philipp Eng (A/Team Deutsche Post by Project 1) 2. Robert Renauer (D/Herberth Motorsport) 3. Christian Engelhart (D/TECE MRS-Racing) 4. Jeffrey Schmidt (CH/Lechner Racing Middle East) 5. Mattia Drudi (I/Dinamic Motorsport) 6. Ben Barker (GB/Land-Motorsport) 7. Alex Toril (E/Market Leader Team by Project 1) 8. Richard Goddard (AUS/TECE MRS-Racing) 9. Elia Erhart (D/TECE MRS-Racing) 10. Matteo Cairoli (I/Team Deutsche Post by Project 1) Points’ standings after 10 of 17 races: Drivers’ classification 1. Philipp Eng (A/Team Deutsche Post by Project 1), 174 points 2. Christian Engelhart (D/TECE MRS-Racing), 125 points 3. Jeffrey Schmidt (CH/Lechner Racing Middle East), 115 points 4. Alex Riberas (E/The Heart of Racing by Lechner), 112 points 5. Michael Ammermüller (D/The Heart of Racing by Lechner), 107 points Rookie classification 1. Richard Charles Goddard (AUS/TECE MRS-Racing), 20 points 2. Alexander Toril (E/Market Leader Team by Project 1), 15 points 3. Pepe Massot (E/KÜS Team 75 Bernhard), 7 points Amateur classification 1. Rolf Ineichen (CH/Konrad Motorsport), 180 points 2. Wolf Nathan (NL/Land-Motorsport), 172 points 3. Ralf Bohn (D/Herberth Motorsport), 138 points Team classification 1. Team Deutsche Post by Project 1, 243 points 2. The Heart of Racing by Lechner, 219 points 3. Lechner Racing Middle East, 198 points

Press release Porsche

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