Hockenheim report

Porsche-Pirelli-SuperCup - Fifth Round at the German Grand Prix ---------------------------------------------------------------

German Trio Climbs Podium Before Ethuseastic Home Crowds

Hockenheim. When the chequered flag dropped just 0.13 seconds seperated Germany's Horst Farnbacher (Zepter Racing Farnbacher) from his compatriot Oliver Mathai (Walker Gillet-Manthey Racing). However, on the way to his maiden victory in this year's Porsche-Pirelli-SuperCup Farnbacher not only fought off Mathai's determined attacks. Frank Schmickler (Dorint Hotels Racing Team) trailed the leading duo by only half a second as they crossed the finish line after breathtaking 12 lap sprint on Germany's Hockenheim-Ring.

Chasing hard on the heels of the leading German trio came pole-setter Dominique Dupuy from France (DDO).The double French Carrera Cup Champion lay just 0.7 seconds behind the leader at the finish. Fellow countryman Jean-Pierre Malcher and his 22-year-old team mate Patrick Simon (both Oberbayern Motorsport) had to settle for fifth and sixth for this round, but both remain well within the top ranks of the drivers' championship.

Last year's winner Patrick Huisman (Manthey Racing) from the Netherlands was unable to repeat his 1996 performance. Starting ninth on the grid he gained to places to finish his race seventh.

The two invited VIP drivers experienced a turbulent race. Motorcycle ace Ralf Waldmann put in a convincing performance before his race ended in the tenth lap after visiting the gravel trap at the Nordkurve. As he climbed out of his stranded car thousends of fans applauded him like a winner. German TV celebrity Richy Muller started his race commendably overtaking four competitors, but was soon side-lined after another Porsche shouldered his VIP Carrera off the track.

The two youngsters of the Porsche-junior Team gave a fine demonstration of their abilities in the international high class field. 21-year-old Dirk Muller finished his race tenth out of 34 starters, with his 18-year-old team mate Marc Basseng taking 12th.

Race result (top 10)

Pos     Driver/Nat              Team                            Time
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 1      Horst Farnbacher/D      Zepter Racing-Farnbacher   28:56.339
 2      Oliver Mathai/D         Walker Gillet-Manthey Racing + 0.131
 3      Frank Schmickler/D      Dorint Hotels Racing Team      0.522
 4      Dominique Dupuy/F       DDO                            0.713
 5      Jean-Pierre Malcher/F   Oberbayern Motorsport          1.290
 6      Patrick Simon/D         Oberbayern Motorsport          1.509
 7      Patrick Huisman/NL      Manthey Racing                 2.162
 8      Hans Willems/B          Oberbayern Motorsport          8.267
 9      Stefan Roitmayer/D      Dorint Hotels Racing Team      8.976
10      Dirk Muller/D           UPS-Porsche Junior Team       14.962

Standings (top 6): Pos Driver Pts --------------------------- 1 Mathai 78 2 Simon 77 3 Farnbacher 76 Dupuy 76 5 Huisman 72 6 Malcher 64