Nurburgring report

Porsche-Pirelli-SuperCup - 9th Round at the Grand Prix of Luxembourg --------------------------------------------------------------------

Horst Farnbacher is the new Porsche-Pirelli-SuperCup Champion

Nurburgring. By winning the dramatic ninth and final round of this year's Porsche-Pirelli-SuperCup here at the Nurburgring, Horst Farnbacher (Zepter Racing-Farnbacher Motorsport) takes home championship honours. The 36-year old entrepreneur from the town of Lichtenau in Germany had already notched up a win in Hockenheim,two second placings in Monaco and Spa-Francorchamps as well as finishing consistently in the top four at further rounds. Farnbacher, who is also a main contender in the national German Carrera Cup, has been involved in the Porsche-Pirelli-SuperCup since 1993.

Patrick Huisman (NL, Manthey Racing) and Patrick Simon (D, Oberbayern Motorsport) came to the Ring ranking first and second overall and both with excellent chances to snatch the championship. However, during a heated cornering manoeuvre Huisman was clipped by guest driver Roland Asch and took Patrick Simon with him into the gravel trap. With three victories this year Huisman had enough points to take the vice champion laurels. 22-year-old Simon had one win to his credit and finished his season fifth overall. Oliver Mathai (D, Walker Gillet-Manthey Racing) took his maiden win last weekend at the A1-Ring round and started today's 15 lap sprint race ranking fourth overall. After a fierce fight for the lead against Horst Farnbacher, the two touched in the final lap causing Mathai to slide from the track. The 29-year-old righted his car and finished the race seventh.The result put Mathai third overall. Another main title contender, Dominique Dupuy (F, DDO), who snatched his third national French Carrera Cup Championship title last weekend, drove a clean race and was rewarded with an excellent second. The Frenchman ranks fourth overall in the championship. Coming to the final round third overall was Jean-Pierre Malcher (F, Oberbayern Motorsport). The 1995 Porsche-Pirelli-SuperCup Champion had a disappointing race. In the first lap he was pushed from the track by RTL-VIP driver Pedro Lamy.

After setting pole in qualifying, the 21-year-old UPS pilot, Dirk Muller from Germany, went on the show his prowess in the race when he led the pack of the Porsche old-hands convincingly. However, luck was not with the talented youngster. He finished his race in the gravel after a technical defect caused a wheel to fly loose. RTL-VIP driver Roland Asch proved he hasn't lost the Porsche touch. The German finished his race third overall. Andrej Kulundzic from Belgrade (YU, Zepter Racing-Manthey Racing) gave a final performance, starting from the front after pulling pole position from the grid lottery and finished sixth in the race. The result gives Kulundzic an eighth overall ranking.

Race result (top 10)

Pos     Driver/Nat              Team                            Time
--------------------------------------------------------------------
 1      Horst Farnbacher/D      Zepter Racing-Farnbacher   27:51.463
 2      Dominique Dupuy/F       DDO                          + 1.341
 3      Roland Asch/D           RTL-VIP Carrera                2.456
 4      Frank Schmickler/D      Dorint Racing                  4.382
 5      Harald Grohs/D          Manthey Racing                 5.133
 6      Andrej Kulundzic/YU     Zepter Racing-Farnbacher       7.321
 7      Oliver Mathai/D         Walker Gillet-Manthey Racing   8.031
 8      Stefan Roitmayer/D      Dorint Racing                 12.485
 9      Michel Neugarten/B      DDO                           25.854
10      Paul Belmondo/F         Gosselin Competition          28.851

Final Standings (top 10)

Pos     Driver          Pts
---------------------------
 1      Farnbacher      134
 2      Huisman         128
 3      Mathai          126
 4      Dupuy           125
 5      Simon           117
 6      Malcher         115
 7      Grohs            76
 8      Kulundzic        73
 9      Muller           48
10      Belmondo         42