Chris Mamerow is again on the pace in the Porsche Supercup
Stuttgart. Chris Mamerow (Germany) and Jaap van Lagen (Netherlands) dominated the qualifying session for the fourth round of the Porsche Mobil1 Supercup. The two Damac Kadach Racing team mates secured the front row of the grid on the 5.4 kilometre Grand Prix circuit of Istanbul (Turkey). Initially, the 31-year old Dutchman turned the quickest lap in 1:57.354 minutes to top the time sheets where he remained for approximately 20 minutes. His team mate Chris Mamerow then went one better. The 23-year-old student lapped the circuit in 1:57.094 minutes and secured his first pole position in the world’s fastest international one-make series.
Providing even more suspense was the fight for positions behind the first row. Jan Seyffarth (Germany) posted the third quickest time just eight minutes before the end of the qualifying session. The 21-year-old, who currently ranks second in the championship ahead of Mamerow, was only three tenths of a second shy of the top time. Lining up alongside the Konrad Motorsport pilot for Sunday’s 13-lap race is reigning vice-champion Damien Faulkner (Ireland). Danny Watts (Great Britain), Faulkners’ team mate in the SAS Lechner Racing squad, qualified his 911 GT3 Cup in a close fifth position with Norbert Siedler (Austria) a heartbeat behind. The 25-year-old trailed Watts by a thousandth of a second. Siedler, who drives for VELTINS MRS Racing, takes up the race from sixth position.
The fourth row of the grid is occupied by Jeroen Bleekemolen (Netherlands) and René Rast (Germany). Bleekemolen, who last year celebrated a flag-to-flag victory here at Istanbul Park and currently leads the championship, was only 33-hundredths of a second off the pole-setting time, with Rast 34-hundredths of a second shy. The 26-year-old Jetstream Motorsport PZ Essen driver starts from seventh, with 21-year-old Rast taking off from eighth place for his VELTINS MRS Racing squad. Ninth and tenth in qualifying went to former DTM pilot David Saelens (Belgium, Irwin Racing) and Sean Edwards (Great Britain, Konrad Motorsport).
A total of 19 pilots qualified their Porsche 911 GT3 Cup cars within a gap of about one second.
Chris Mamerow (pole-sitter): “It’s simply amazing that I set pole position today. The two points that I earn for pole are really important right now. In Barcelona I didn’t take any points. So every little point helps to keep in close touch with the leader. I’m feeling optimistic for the race. Of course, I would like to bring home a win tomorrow. So we will now put together a race strategy and then let’s see.”
Jaap van Lagen (second in qualifying): “First and second on the grid – what a fantastic result for our team. I already had the feeling yesterday that our cars were really well prepared. For me personally, I had expected a top three result today, so it’s brilliant that it worked. Perhaps I could have been even faster but I didn’t get a perfect lap in today. Still, I’m not complaining. The team did a great job.”
Jan Seyffarth (third in qualifying): “I’m pleased with third position, particularly because I was twelfth yesterday in free practice. I guess you can’t always be at the front. Yesterday we made a few changes to the car and that earned us those decisive tenths of seconds. The second row is a good starting position for the race. Let’s see what happens.”
The television station “Premiere” broadcasts the race on Sunday (11th May) live from 11.40 hrs (CEST). “Eurosport 2” broadcasts the fourth round in full length but later from 13.15 hrs. Additionally, “Eurosport” televises highlights in its “Motorsports Weekend” programme on Sunday evening.
Qualifying:
1. Chris Mamerow (D), Damac Kadach Racing Team, 1:57.094 minutes (164.114 kmh)
2. Jaap van Lagen (NL), Damac Kadach Racing Team, + 0.260 seconds
3. Jan Seyffarth (D), Konrad Motorsport, + 0.306
4. Damien Faulkner (IR), SAS Lechner Racing, + 0.321
5. Danny Watts (GB), SAS Lechner Racing, + 0.327