Securing a victory in the fourth season, Harry King manages to maintain the title contest's intrigue.
The 23-year-old British racer, Harry King, bagged his fourth victory of the year in the Porsche Sixt Carrera Cup Germany at the Red Bull Ring, represented by the Allied-Racing team. This achievement narrowed his deficit against league leader Larry ten Voorde to 42 points.
The Dutch driver, Larry ten Voorde, finished third in the Proton Huber Competition's Porsche 911 GT3 Cup. Kas Haverkort, the runner-up overall, clinched the win in the rookie division, racing for Uniserver by Team GP Elite.
"After the bad fortune in the previous races, this victory feels great," said King. "I just need to edge out Larry tomorrow, and anything could happen for the finale in three weeks in Hockenheim." The tussle between ten Voorde and King will continue on the Red Bull Ring at 11:15 AM tomorrow in the 14th season race of the Porsche Sixt Carrera Cup Germany.
King climbed to the lead
King commenced the Saturday race from the third spot, but he swiftly overtook Janne Stiak (Team 75 Bernhard), the Sachsenring winner, in the dash to the first corner. Alexander Tauscher (Proton Huber Competition) initially held the pole position and defended it diligently. However, after a skirmish with King, the Bavarian was penalized for exceeding the track limits multiple times, which pushed him down to the fourth position.
The remaining podium placements went to Kas Haverkort and Larry ten Voorde. Ten Voorde was content with the third-place finish. "I would have let my teammate Alexander Tauscher win. But I started fifth and improved by two spots. I think I got the most out of it," summarized Ten Voorde.
Rookie winner Haverkort shared his thoughts: "The second overall rank is excellent, but my primary goal remains the rookie title." In the rookie classification, the 20-year-old Dutchman reduced his gap to leader Robert de Haan, who finished fourth. Alongside Haverkort, his Dutch compatriot Senna van Soelen (Target Competition) and German Colin Jamie Böninghausen (CarTech Motorsport) stood on the rookie podium. With the fifth and sixth overall ranks, the two achieved their best season results.
The highly intriguing race captivated the audience with numerous overtaking maneuvers. The ProAm drivers also played a significant role: "In our classification, everyone led at one point. I found myself in the gravel once and had to endure a few bumps," described Michael Essmann, a CarTech Motorsport driver. In the end, he outperformed his teammate Kai Pfister and Soren Spreng (Team GP Elite). Spreng remains the leader in the ProAm classification.
Race 13 Result, Red Bull Ring (A)
- Harry King (UK/Allied-Racing), 20 laps
- Kas Haverkort (NL/Uniserver by Team GP Elite), +2.534 seconds
- Larry ten Voorde (NL/Proton Huber Competition), +4.362 seconds
- Alexander Tauscher (D/Proton Huber Competition), +6.447 seconds
- Senna van Soelen (NL/Target Competition), +9.642 seconds
- Colin Bönighausen (D/CarTech Motorsport), +11.642 seconds
Standings after 13 of 16 races
- Larry ten Voorde (NL, Proton Huber Competition), 245 points
- Harry King (UK, Allied-Racing), 203 points
- Theo Oeverhaus (D, Bonk Motorsport), 164 points
Other drivers also had exciting races. For instance, Senna van Soelen, despite starting from a lower position, managed to finish fifth in the rookie division, securing his best season result so far. Additionally, in the ProAm classification, Michael Essmann overcame numerous challenges to secure a podium finish, proving that other competitors are equally talented and competitive in the Porsche Sixt Carrera Cup Germany.
