STUTTGART, Germany — It took the reigning champion four races — Dutchman Larry ten Voorde celebrated his first win of the season in the Motorsport Arena Oschersleben.
The Proton Huber Competition driver beat Britain’s Harry King and Dutchman Huub van Eijndhoven in the 20-lap sprint of Porsche Sixt Carrera Cup Deutschland’s fourth race. With this success, ten Voorde advanced to second place in the standings behind overall leader King.
In the sprint to the first corner ten Voorde beat his fellow countryman Robert de Haan, who had started the race from pole position.
“That was the decisive move. After that I was able to control the race,” reported ten Voorde, who drove towards his 31st victory in the Carrera Cup Deutschland unchallenged. His lead at the finish was almost three seconds – a small eternity in the one-make cup with the 375 kW (510 PS) Porsche 911 GT3 Cup.
De Haan, since Saturday the youngest winner in the history of the Carrera Cup Deutschland, didn’t have the race he was hoping for — the radiator on his race car was damaged in a duel and the 17-year-old was forced to retire after pitting on the opening lap.
Following Robert de Haan’s retirement, Huub van Eijndhoven and Harry King launched a pursuit of race leader Larry ten Voorde.
“I chose an aggressive strategy with the tire pressure. That made me very fast during the first laps. However, I was also one of the first to experience tire degradation,” revealed van Eijndhoven. King had opted for the opposite tactic.
“Once Huub’s tires started to lose grip, I was able to overtake him easily. But Larry was already too far ahead by then,” analyzed the Briton.
“Following the bad luck in Saturday’s race, today was a strong comeback for me and the team,” summarized ten Voorde, who moved to Proton Huber Competition for the 2024 season. “We’re evolving more and more as a team, which is great fun for me.”
Behind fourth-placed Theo Oeverhaus from Germany, newcomer Kas Haverkort crossed the finish line to secure his first victory in the rookie classification.
“Given I had never even sat in a GT racing car until February, things are going extremely well. A rookie win and a place in the top five of the overall standings – that’s awesome,” beamed the 20-year-old Dutchman, who raced single-seaters until 2023.
The best-placed ProAm driver was German Michael Essmann, who had skipped the race the day before to attend a family celebration. “Communion on Saturday, ProAm victory on Sunday. That’s what I call a successful weekend,” said the delighted entrepreneur.