Jaap Van Lagen is on pole for the German round
Stuttgart. The qualifying for the eighth round of the Porsche Mobil1 Supercup promises an exciting race. At the home round of the world’s fastest international makes cup the quickest eight drivers were separated by four-tenths of a second. Jaap van Lagen (Netherlands, Damac Kadach Racing Team) set pole position on the 4.57 kilometre Grand Prix track of the Hockenheimring in 1:42.897 minutes. This marked the first pole position for the 31-year-old, who had won in Istanbul and currently ranks seventh in the drivers’ standings with 55 points. So far, six different drivers have claimed pole position from seven qualifying sessions.
Van Lagen’s team mate, Chris Mamerow (Germany), secured the second fastest time in qualifying, a mere 57-thousandths of a second behind the pole-sitter. The 23-year-old former UPS-Porsche-Junior has already claimed a victory in Bahrain and set pole in Istanbul.
Taking up the 14-lap race from the second row are Jeroen Bleekemolen (Netherlands, Jetstream Motorsport PZ Essen) and Jan Seyffarth (Germany, Konrad Motorsport), about one and a half tenths of a second behind the fastest. The two are the only pilots who have managed to turn a pole position into a race win in 2008. Adding to the suspense is the fact that the pair currently leads the championship. After two wins (Monaco, Silverstone) 26-year-old Bleekemolen holds a clear lead with 104 points, 20 points ahead of 22-year-old Seyffarth. The young German won the Barcelona round and brings extra confidence to Hockenheim after winning the Zandvoort round of the Carrera Cup Deutschland one week ago.
Sharing the third row are Damien Faulkner (SAS Lechner Racing) and Nicolas Armindo (tolimit Motorsport). The 31-year-old Irishman had taken off into the season with a promising win at race one in Bahrain. The 26-year-old Frenchman still waits for a big success. Marco Holzer (Germany) starts from seventh on the grid in his 420 hp 911 GT3 Cup. The 19-year-old UPS-Porsche-Junior contests his third of six Porsche Mobil1 Supercup races in 2008 and has made it into the top ten for the first time. Eighth position on the grid is occupied by René Rast (Germany, VELTINS SRS Racing), the current points’ leader of the Porsche Carrera Cup Deutschland.
Competing as a guest of Dr. Ing. h.c. F. Porsche AG, Neel Jani from Switzerland posted 26th but must take up the race from the last position as he took several shortcuts. The reigning world champion of the A1 Grand Prix series competes in a GT race car for the first time. “The most difficult thing was getting the tyres to the right temperature. From the A1 Grand Prix I’m used to taking up the qualifying with pre-warmed tyres,” said the 24-year-old. “So I’m not too unhappy with my lap time especially considering the close competition in the Supercup. Apart from that, I had only tested in the wet which gave me no chance to gain experience with the car on a dry track. I will try to make up places in the race.”
Jaap van Lagen (pole position): “I’m totally happy for my team with our double whammy. That’s the second time after Istanbul that we managed this feat. Normally the second lap is the fastest with our tyres but I was held up a bit. So I backed off and really pushed it in lap three and you see – I didn’t make a mistake and took pole.”
Chris Mamerow (second qualifier): “A great achievement for the team! I’m actually surprised with my result because things didn’t go well yesterday. I was able to compensate the lack of speed by going full tack through the corners. Now everything looks promising to make a good start and win my home race tomorrow.”
Jeroen Bleekemolen (third qualifier): “I’m pleased. I couldn’t take pole because I had too much traffic in my fast lap – but that happens to everyone at some stage. Tomorrow I’m going for victory and attack. But of course as points’ leader you always know in the back of your mind that you can’t afford to retire.”
Television stations “Premiere” and “Eurosport 2” broadcast the race live on the Hockenheimring on Sunday (20th July) from 11.40 hrs. Additionally, “Eurosport” televises highlights on Sunday evening in its “Motorsports Weekend” programme.
Qualifying result:
1. Jaap van Lagen (NL), Damac Kadach Racing Team, 1:42.897 minutes (160.027 km/h)
2. Chris Mamerow (D), Damac Kadach Racing Team, + 0.057 seconds
3. Jeroen Bleekemolen (NL), Jetstream Motorsport PZ Essen, + 0.142
4. Jan Seyffarth (D), Konrad Motorsport, + 0.158
5. Damien Faulkner (IRL), SAS Lechner Racing, + 0.230