Proton Huber Competition keeps title race open with strong weekend

Double success in two locations: Robert de Haan secured a victory and a second place in the Porsche Sixt Carrera Cup Deutschland at the Red Bull Ring, keeping the title race open. In addition, the GT3 team from Proton Huber Competition clinched an emotional victory at Silverstone.

The penultimate round of the Porsche Sixt Carrera Cup Deutschland took place at the Red Bull Ring, and Proton Huber Competition started with six Porsche 911 GT3 Cup cars – more than any other team in the field. In addition to the familiar drivers Robert de Haan, Marvin Klein, Sacha Norden, Joe Warhurst and Kai Pfister, Alexandra Vateva made her debut for the team. The Bulgarian is supported by Iron Dames and will also compete for the Bavarian racing team at the season finale in Hockenheim.

Robert de Haan had a strong weekend on the Grand Prix circuit in Styria, which he needed to put himself in a good position for the title fight at the finale in Hockenheim. The fast Dutchman won the first race. In Sunday’s race, he stormed from ninth on the grid to second place, while his title rival Alessandro Ghiretti finished the race in only 13th place.

‘I am very happy with the results of the race weekend,’ beamed Robert de Haan after Sunday’s race. “With the victory on Saturday and second place on Sunday, I was able to score important points for the championship and team standings. We will give it our all again at the final in Hockenheim and see what happens in the title fight!”

His Dutch compatriot Sacha Norden also took an important step forward in the rookie classification title fight. Norden triumphed in the sub-classification on Saturday and finished second on Sunday. He benefited from the misfortune of his team-mate Joe Warhurst, who also impressed with his tremendous pace. The Brit was involved in a serious accident on Saturday through no fault of his own, in which the chassis was so badly damaged that it could not be repaired on site. The team brought a replacement car from their headquarters in Hofkirchen to Spielberg, which was prepared for use during the night on Saturday. After Warhurst had to start the race from the back of the grid, he fought his way up to third place in the class.

Alexandra Vateva, another young talent, shone at the wheel of a Proton Huber Competition car. In the first race, the 20-year-old finished a strong second in the rookie classification on her debut in the German Carrera Cup. On Sunday, the Bulgarian once again showed her fighting spirit before falling back shortly before the end of the race.

Ahead of the season finale of the Porsche Sixt Carrera Cup Germany in Hockenheim, Robert de Haan is second in the championship standings. He is just twelve points behind the leader. With 50 points still up for grabs, the Dutchman still has a good chance of winning! Sacha Norden leads the rookie standings with a 17-point lead over his teammate Joe Warhurst.

‘We are very happy with our points haul at the Red Bull Ring! Robert got the maximum out of the race and took an important step in the title fight, while Sacha leads Joe in the rookie standings. We will now prepare as best we can for Hockenheim and want to fight for the title there right up to the last corner,’ said Michael Dirsch, who heads the Porsche Sixt Carrera Cup Deutschland programme for Proton Huber Competition.

At the same time, the GT3 team from Proton Huber Competition managed the Iron Dames’ entry in the Michelin Le Mans Cup at Silverstone. Former DTM driver Vanina Ickx and Marta Garcia from Spain drove the Porsche 911 GT3 R. After Ickx secured the best starting position in qualifying, the duo went on to clinch their first victory of the season in the international racing series in commanding fashion.