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Siedler wins and Edwards fights back

Race action at its finest at round nine of the Porsche Carrera Cup Deutschland. Racing fans on the packed grandstands witnessed gripping overtaking manoeuvres, close wheel-to-wheel duels and Norbert Siedler (Aust Motorsport) as the ecstatic winner. At the wheel of his Porsche 911 GT3 Cup, the Austrian beat Nicki Thiim (DK/Attempto Racing) and Sean Edwards (Team Deutsche Post by Project 1) to the finish line to secure the second victory in his Carrera Cup career. "A fantastic race - I'm over the moon. Now more victories need to follow," said Siedler.

The formation lap brought confusion when the vehicle of Alex Riberas (Attempto Racing powered by Motorvision) lost a wheel. After the start, the series leader Kévin Estre (Attempto Racing) turned his pole position into an early lead, only to have several collisions in the first lap throw the 34-strong field into disarray, causing the safety car to be deployed. When the race was resumed after six laps, Estre was suddenly handed a drive-through penalty due to a jumped start. The Frenchman was relegated back to the second to last spot.

Profiting from this incident were Siedler, Thiim and Edwards, with the latter taking up the race from position 32 on the grid after a fluffed qualifying. With fierce determination the Briton ploughed through the field and overtook one vehicle after another. When he had reached position four with just two laps to go, a defect robbed an almost certain third place from series newcomer Christopher Zoechling (A/Konrad Motorsport) after a brilliant run and threw him out of contention. After a sensational pursuit from position 32 on the 2.3 kilometre circuit at the wheel of the 450 hp best-selling race car, Edwards found himself climbing the podium. Beaming with joy, he accepted the trophy from Dr. Wolfgang Porsche, Chairman of the Dr. Ing. h.c. F. Porsche AG.

The fight for the championship is heating up. Estre ranks first overall after nine of 17 races with 135 points. Behind him sits Siedler with 120 points followed closely by Edwards with 118 points.

It was a day of mixed fortunes for the two Porsche Juniors Connor de Phillippi (USA/Förch Racing by Lukas Motorsport) and Alex Riberas (Attempto Racing powered by Motorvision). The 20-year-old de Phillippi was delighted with his seventh place: "That was one of my best races by now. I've earned some crucial points." Bitter disappointment for Riberas who was unable to compete due to a technical problem on the way to the start. "This was a nightmare of a weekend. I'm just going to wipe the Norisring from my memory," said the 19-year-old rookie.

Races ten and eleven of the Porsche Carrera Cup are contested on the 17th and 18th of August on the Nürburgring. On the 3.629 kilometre circuit in the Eifel region of Germany, competitors will once again battle for critical points in Germany's fastest brand trophy series.

Result race 9:
1. Norbert Siedler (A/Aust Motorsport)
2. Nicki Thiim (DK/Attempto Racing)
3. Sean Edwards (GB/Team Deutsche Post by Project 1)
4. Marko Klein (A/Team ZaWotec Racing)
5. Robert Lukas (PL/FÖRCH Racing by Lukas Motorsport)
6. Sean Johnston (USA/Team Deutsche Post by Project 1)
7. Connor de Phillippi (USA/Förch Racing by Lukas Motorsport)
8. Kyle Marcelli (CA/Logiplus MRS-Racing)
9. Jeffrey Schmidt (CH/Team Deutsche Post by Project 1)
10. Elia Erhart (D/Aust Motorsport)

Points standings after 9 of 17 races:
Driver classification
1. Kévin Estre (Attempto Racing), 135 points
2. Norbert Siedler (A/Aust Motorsport), 120
3. Sean Edwards (GB/Team Deutsche Post by Project 1), 118
4. Nicki Thiim (DK/Attempto Racing), 114
5. Christian Engelhart (D/Konrad Motorsport), 103

Amateur classification
1. Dominic Jöst (D/Attempto Racing), 140
2. Rolf Ineichen (CH/Konrad Motorsport), 132
3. Thomas Langer (D/Highspeed Racing), 99

Rookie classification
1. Connor de Phillippi (USA/Förch Racing by Lukas Motorsport), 63
2. Jeffrey Schmidt (CH/Team Deutsche Post by Project 1), 48
3. Alex Riberas (E/Attempto Racing powered by Motorvision), 43

Team classification
1. Attempto Racing, 250
2. Konrad Motorsport, 160
3. Aust Motorsport, 154