Two high-octane rounds highlighted an action-filled day of racing for the Porsche Carrera Cup Asia as they hosted Round 6 and 7 at Sydney Motorpsport Park on Saturday, with two joint races alongside sister series Porsche Carrera Cup Australia at sunset and into the evening to round out an eventful race weekend.
Team Porsche Holding’s Martin Ragginger arrived at the circuit prepared for a fight, quickly clinching the two fastest lap times during the qualifying session on Friday. His impressive 1:29.9044 lap time during the qualifier paved the way for his maiden win of the 2018 season in Round 6 as he exploded from the green light to quickly gain a several second lead ahead of the rest of the pack in the first lap of the race.
Current table leader Chris van der Drift of Team Formax showed an equally hungry start from P7 as he quickly charged forward to overtake several positions before facing the impeccable defenses of Team StarChase’s Philip Hamprecht in P2. Van der Drift remained persistent in his onslaught of attacks throughout the entirety of the race, which eventually paid off as a last minute pass on Hamprecht sealed his second place position, with Hamprecht finishing third.
Ragginger led the grid at the start of Round 7 later in the day, but was soon overtaken by Hamprecht after an explosive start saw the young German driver fly to the lead from P3, doggedly pursued by van der Drift in P2. Hamprecht’s momentum was soon halted as a mid-grid clash-up on Turn 2 forced the safety car out, slowing the action for several laps.
The drama continued as soon as the safety car was removed in Lap 7, with van der Drift facing heavy pressure from both Ragginger and Maxime Jousse of AAS Motorsport by Absolute Racing. The action reached a climax after van der Drift, acclimating to the tricky track conditions, went off the track and re-emerged in the middle of a battle between Ragginger and Jousse, resulting in a thrilling three-car battle that saw Jousse pull ahead, with Ragginger close behind. In the end, Hamprecht finished in first with a comfortable lead ahead of Jousse in second and Ragginger in third.
“I think the start was the key to our success. I managed to get a good start and had new tyres. I controlled it from the beginning and was quite lucky they were fighting in the back. It’s a great end to the weekend,” Philip Hamprecht said in the press conference following Round 7.
Points Table (Top 5)
1/ Chris van der Drift 146
2/ Philil Hamprecht 135
3/ Martin Ragginger 107
4 Maxime Jousse 95
5/ Will Bamber 88
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