13.-14. August 2022 · Super Race-Weekend Wittgenborn

The Super Race Weekend in Wittgenborn was a three-part race: the first 3h race on Saturday, followed by a 4h race and the final 6h race on Sunday.

On Friday, it was primarily about the set-up as usual, we had to find the setting and used the free practice. Everything went great, we were satisfied and had a good feeling for the weekend.

On Saturday, I drove the qualification and the first race start. Unfortunately, we were disqualified because we were 0.5 kg underweight and had to start from the very back. But the start went very well and that's when the big chase began. This was a cue that lasted the whole weekend. By the end of my first stint I had made up ten places, but I noticed that the engine problems were increasing. I didn't get out of the corner properly because we got the speed on the straight but the engine only really revved up just before the corners. That was our undoing when overtaking. However, we were still able to deliver our performance as a team and take home a P1 in the Junior classification and P2 in the Trophy after the first 3h race.

The second race started from the very back again for us, as the positions from the first qualifying were also valid here. So for me it was once again a case of catching up. The stints went well and I was able to make up 9 places in my last turn and crossed the finish line in P1 in the Trophy for the second race.

On Sunday the pressure was on. An opposing team from the Trophy took the Trophy win in the first race and we took the Trophy win in the second race. So the overall victory hung on the next six hours. My teammate drove the start, we were great on the track, the changes went well. Everything according to plan until here and then there was a yellow. We had our last pit stop just before and our big rival this weekend was able to take advantage of the yellow and move into P1 with a lead of just under a lap (1 lap = approx.53sec). So the nerves remained on edge and inside everything was screaming to catch up.

I drove the last 65 minutes on Sunday and was able to close the gap to P1 in about 40 minutes and also overtake our rival team. In the last few minutes, I even managed to gain a 10-second lead myself, which put me in P1 in the overall Trophy standings.

This weekend was tough, both physically and mentally. With temperatures around 35° C it was hard to keep concentration and also the heat on the track was enormous. The problem with being underweight didn't seem to be an isolated case with us. I lost over four kilos to my starting weight on Friday and we all had to cope with the challenge of keeping the weights on and enduring the heat, through litres of water before and after the stints.

However, Wittgenborn brought recognition for our performance and gave us renewed optimism after the bitter outcome of the Bavarian 24h and also ensured we were in the top 3 in the championship. You could say it was a win-win situation.