PETN4, a race with ups and a down!
It’s time for the next race in the PETN. After competing in the 24 Hours race in a BMW 330i and racing on the beautiful Monza circuit in the Porsche GT4 RS, I’m happy to be back in the familiar Porsche championship after such a long time. It promises to be a tough weekend with a lot of heat, but I’m ready for it!
The weekend starts on Friday with practice. It’s time once again to get used to the car. In the meantime, I raced together with Ross Poole in the GT4 European Series at Monza in a Porsche GT4 RS. Almost the same car, but with a completely different driving style. Because of that, it takes some effort and time to adapt, but after spending the necessary hours analysing data and watching onboard footage, we’re feeling positive about Saturday!
Before Saturday begins, we first have a social media workshop with the Porsche Talent Pool in the Porsche Lounge. Here we receive guidance on the best way to use social media, Porsche’s social media strategy, and how we, as talents, can stand out.
Saturday:
As always, the day begins with qualifying, where, as always, there’s an element of luck in being on track at the right moment. Unfortunately, we don’t have that during the first run. As I start my second flying lap, a Porsche 911 Cup 2 car locks up behind me and crashes into my door. Fortunately, I’m able to return safely to the pits, and within moments the team has the car ready to go back out for a second qualifying run.
This run goes much better, and I put us just 1.5 seconds behind P1, sitting in second place at that moment. Unfortunately, we drop back one more position to P3. Still, starting from P3 gives us a good outlook for the race!
The race:
The strategy for this race is clear: Heiko drives the first stint, then I take over for the second stint, and Heiko is scheduled to finish the race in the third stint. The race starts well, and Heiko drives a very consistent opening stint. During the first part of the race, he loses around 11 seconds to the leaders, but by the time he enters the pit lane, he is right on the bumper of P1 and P2. An incredibly strong stint from him. Thanks to a quick pit stop, the team puts me in the perfect position to make progress. I rejoin the track in third place. In the first lap, I overtake P2, and in the second lap, I take the lead from P1! Everything is going really well, the stint remains consistent, and I’m feeling good. By then, I’ve built up a lead of 23 seconds.
During the final lap of this stint, my engineer, team manager, teammate, and I discuss our options. What are we going to do… We’re comfortably leading the race. Do we stick to the original plan and change drivers, or do we try to hold the position and go for the win? We decide to let me continue for a double stint all the way to the finish. That means I’ll spend more than two and a half hours in the car.
After the pit stop, I manage to keep driving consistently. The driver in second place closes the gap slightly, but the margin is still more than enough. Then I come around another lap and see our biggest rival at that moment standing by the side of the track. Retired. I only have three laps left to drive, the air conditioning is on, and I’m just bringing the laps home. But then, unfortunately, it doesn’t turn out the way we had hoped. I make a mistake, and I’m unable to correct the car enough. With a bit of bad luck, I end up hitting the barrier in one of the fastest sections of the circuit. That marks the end of our race with only two and a half laps remaining. Thankfully, I’m okay.
Since P2 also crashed, it will and will not have a huge impact on the championship. All three title contenders have now suffered one retirement. It certainly makes things much more difficult for us, though. This was the opportunity to make the difference.
Besides the damage on track, this also creates a major financial challenge to complete the season. The impact on the car also has a major impact on the budget. At this moment, it doesn’t seem possible, but we’re going to work hard. Together with my current partners and potential new partners, we’ll do everything we can to find a way to make it happen!