3rd Round at the Monaco Grand Prix

Start to Chequered Flag Victory for Ralf Kelleners by 1/10th of a second

Harald Bloche - Motorsport News International

Germany's Ralf Kelleners (Porsche Centre Rhein-Oberberg) fought off the determined attacks from his compatriot Sascha Maassen (Carex-Amag Group) over the whole racing distance of 16 laps in the streets of Monaco, to bring home his second victory of the year. The victor and new points leader: "That was clearly my day. I had a lot of luck. Sascha was attacking hard but fair, and I needed all the luck I could get. In the last corner before the finish I nudged the barriers and Sascha's Porsche drew alongside." SuperCup newcomer Sacha Maassen: "I experienced two heart-stopping moments during the race. The first time when my car came sideways on oil before Rascasse corner, and the second time when my Porsche hit oil at full revs in fourth gear coming through the tunnel." Ex Formola One pilot Jean-Pierre Jarier (F, Larbre Competition) thrilled spectators numbering over 100,000 with an immaculate and dramatic drive, starting from tenth to finish on the podium in third. Reigning champion Patrick Huisman (NL, Eschmann-Manthey-Racing) was sidelined in the fifth lap while fighting for third position, after an oil slick caused Johnny Mowlem's Parabolica-McCulloch Porsche to spin ahead of him. The Brit was also relegated to the pits.

Both VIP guest pilots, Bjoern Waldegard (S) and Jean-Pierre Richelmi (MC), finished the sprint race without incident. Sweden's Bjoern Waldegard, who began his international rallying career winning the Rallye Monte Carlo in a Porsche 911 T three decades ago, was content with his 13th place. "I had a fantastic start and managed to overtake several competitors, but then Bruno Eichmann crashed ahead of me. I was right behind him so had to wait until almost all the field passed. During the race I kept a close watch in the rear vision mirror, because these guys are unbelievably fast." Jean-Pierre Richelmi also drove a clean and professional race, bringing his 370 hp Pirelli-backed Porsche home 11th overall.

Results (top 10)

Pos     Driver/Nat              Team                            Time
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 1      Ralf Kelleners/D     Porsche Centre Rhein-Oberberg 28:27.355
 2      Sascha Maassen/D     Carex-Amag                      + 0.141
 3      Jean-Pierre Jarier/F Larbre Competition               11.365
 4      Oliver Mathai/D      Kadach Tuning                    16.508
 5      Stephane Ortelli/F   Eschmann-Manthey-Racing          22.797
 6      Bernd Maylander/D    Eschmann-Manthey-Racing          25.492
 7      Alessandro Zampedri/I Larbre Competition              26.216
 8      Roland Asch/D        Oberbayern Motorsport            27.645
 9      Pedro Couceiro/P     Porsche Centre Rhein-Oberberg    31.842
10      Frank Schmickler/D   Porsche Centre Rhein-Oberberg  1:01.778

Standings:

Pos     Driver       Points
---------------------------
 1      Kelleners        43
 2      Mathai           40
 3      Maylander        37
 4      Couceiro         35
 5      Jarier           32
 6      Heger            28
 7      Maassen          27
 8      Mowlem           24
 9      Ortelli          22
10      Huisman          21