Hugaroring Report

Porsche Pirelli SuperCup 1998, Sixth Round at the Hungarian Grand Prix ----------------------------------------------------------------------

Patrick Simon From Germany Clinches Season's Maiden Victory

Budapest. With a brilliant start Germany's Patrick Simon leapt from second place on the grid into the lead ahead of Patrick Huisman (NL), and drove with unwavering concentration to victory. For the 24-year- old Simon and his Porsche-Zentrum-Koblenz team the sixth round of the Porsche Pirelli SuperCup here in Budapest marks their first win of the season. "At last my luck held out over the entire race. Around half- distance my car began to vibrate until I thought the dashboard would fall out. The last few laps were difficult, but I managed to hold on to my lead."

Despite his second placing, Patrick Huisman still comfortably leads the series by 30 points. The 31-year-old racing professional was content: "I was extremly careful with my brakes. Two laps before the finish I could have passed Patrick Simon, however when my team showed me that my toughest rival Jurgen von Gartzen was out of the race. I stayed put." Germany's Jurgen von Gartzen was nudged out of the race by a competitor but still retains his second overall ranking.

Third place went to UPS Porsche-Junior team member Dirk Muller (D). The 22-year-old gained a place at the start and maintained his position over the 63.5 km race distance behind Huisman. "I'm contesting just four rounds of the SuperCup and don't collect points in the championship, so I didn't want to jeopardise the chances of the regular competitors." Huisman's team mate Oliver Mathai brought his Porsche over the finish line in fourth, 8/10th of a second behind Muller. "I'm thrilled. I could have pushed Dirk much harder, but I knew he couldn't take points, so I didn't want to risk anything. It was more important to bring home those points for myself and my team."

Team mates Ralf Kelleners (D) and Stephane Ortelli (F) made the weekend perfect for their PZ Rhein-Oberberg team, with places five and six. Place seven went to Porsche stalwart Altfrid Heger (PZK Zakspeed), followed by 28-year-old Andrej Kulundzic from Yugoslavia, driving for Zepter Racing. Frank Schmickler and Portugal's Pedro Couceiro, both driving for Tolimit Motorsport, round out the top ten. Last year's pole setter and winner Dominique Dupuy experienced a disappointing race. After starting from fifth on the grid, the triple French Carrera Cup champion received a heavy knock in the early stages of the race, which punctuated his radiator, forcing him to retire.

Race results (top 10):

Pos     Driver/Nat              Team                            Time
--------------------------------------------------------------------
 1      Patrick Simon/D         PZK Zakspeed               28:52.154
 2      Patrick Huisman/NL    Walker Monroe-Manthey Racing   + 0.428
 3      Dirk Muller/D           UPS Porsche-Junior Team        1.687
 4      Oliver Mathai/D       Walker Monroe-Manthey Racing     2.426
 5      Ralf Kelleners/D        PZ Rhein Oberberg              5.294
 6      Stephane Ortelli/F      PZ Rhein Oberberg              6.460
 7      Altfrid Heger/D         PZK Zakspeed                   6.794
 8      Andrej Kulundzic/YU     Zepter Racing                 17.188
 9      Frank Schmickler/D      Tolimit Motorsport            17.302
10      Pedro Couceiro/P        Tolimit Motorsport            24.908

Point standings:

Pos     Driver       Points
---------------------------
 1      Huisman         104
 2      v.Gartzen        74
 3      Ortelli          65
 4      Mathai           64
 5      Schmickler       55
 6      Kelleners        50
 7      Galimberti       45
 8      Heger            44
 9      Kulundzic        43
10      Monforte         41