Once again, there was a lot going on at the second race weekend of the Prototype Cup Germany. These are some exciting stories from before and behind the scenes of the racing series, which was newly founded by Creventic and ADAC for the 2022 season.
Images: Creventic, ADAC
Full spectator stands: The Prototype Cup Germany completed its second stop of the 2022 season as part of the ADAC Truck Grand Prix. The traditional event organised by the ADAC Mittelrhein was held for the 35th time and is a major highlight in the German motorsport calendar. Full grandstands, great entertainment in the paddock and race trucks on the track also thrilled the teams and drivers of the Prototype Cup Germany.
Pace Truck: The vehicle that took the Prototype Cup Germany field through the introductory laps also caused quite a stir. As befits the Truck Grand Prix, it was a truck that is also used as a pace truck in the FIA European Truck Racing Championship (ETRC). The Iveco S-Way NP is powered by bio-LNG and thus also helped in terms of the sustainability of the event.
Lucky gentleman: Matthias Lüthen (41/Hamburg, Mühlner Motorsport) had a race weekend to remember at the Nürburgring. The Duqueine D08 driver not only secured a double victory in the Trophy classification, but also finished second overall in Sunday's race together with youngster Donar Munding (20/Stuttgart). "That was the best and most successful race weekend of my career so far," beamed Lüthen. "I took a lot of emotions home with me. My mobile phone was filled with messages. It was just awesome."
Ginetta trio: for the first time ever, three Ginetta G61-LT-P3s were in action in a motor race. Konrad Motorsport fielded two of the British cars at the Nürburgring - Gebhardt Motorsport brought one car to the start. This also pleased Ginetta boss Lawrence Tomlinson: "We are very impressed with the new Prototype Cup Germany. It is a very professional race series with leading teams and manufacturers that lives the spirit of customer sport. The calendar, with circuits familiar from Formula 1, is very exciting."
Fast chicane: In contrast to the ADAC GT Masters, the Prototype Cup Germany used the fluid chicane familiar from motorbike racing at the end of the back straight. "The special thing is that we can of course drive much faster through the chicane, which is of course really fun," said Jacob Erlbacher (21/AUT, Gebhardt Motorsport). "However, you also have to pay attention to the curbs, which makes the layout very exciting. You can do a lot right there but also a lot wrong."
Familiar face: The press spokeswoman of the FIA European Truck Racing Championship also provided motorsport glamour. Barbara Proske worked for Mark Webber in Formula 1 and FIA WEC times and also for the two-time winner of the 24h Le Mans Timo Bernhard. The Austrian is a true sports car expert and naturally also took a very close look at the LMP3 of the Prototype Cup Germany.
Back in ADAC Motorsport: making his debut in the Prototype Cup Germany at the Nürburgring was Freddie Hunt (35/GBR) - the son of 1976 Formula 1 World Champion James Hunt. "It was a fantastic weekend," the Reiter Engineering driver was pleased to say. "The last time I raced at the Nürburgring was in 2009. That was in the ADAC Formula Masters. However, things didn't go particularly well for me then."
Meeting of ADAC GT stars: The Prototype Cup Germany field at the Nürburgring was peppered with drivers who have raced in the ADAC GT Masters or ADAC GT4 Germany in the past. Maximilian Hackländer (32/Rüthen, Konrad Motorsport), Klaus Abbelen (61/Barweiler, Frikadelli Racing) and Oscar Tunjo (26/COL, Rinaldi Racing) already competed in the ADAC's well-known GT3 series. Jacob Erlabacher, Mads Siljehaug (26/NOR Reiter Engineering) and Sebastian von Gartzen (29/Butzbach, Rinaldi Racing) already raced in the ADAC GT4 Germany. Marvin Dienst (25/Lampertheim, both Toksport WRT), who also became the first ADAC Formula 4 champion in 2015, even competed in both GT series. "The ADAC has already proven in the past that it can establish great racing series. The Prototpye Cup Germany is a mega great championship," said Dienst. "It's also nice to meet familiar GT drivers in the new racing series."
Satisfied guest from France: Pegasus Racing competed in the Prototype Cup Germany for the first time. The racing team from Alsace has a great tradition in prototype racing and has already competed at the 24 Hours of Le Mans and in the FIA WEC. "We are very happy that the series has been established and that it has also been approved by the ACO," explains team boss Julien Schell. "We are based near the German border and therefore have short distances to the race tracks. We are seriously thinking about doing more starts. At the Lausitzring, we have a scheduling overlap. But for the finale in Hockenheim we are currently planning with two cars. I would even like to drive one of the two Ligiers myself."
