Frikadelli Racing wins the Porsche Cayman GT4 Championship (Type 981) ahead of schedule
14.10.2019
The Frikadelli Racing Team was able to make the championship title in the Porsche Cayman GT4 Championship (Type 981) perfect by winning the penultimate VLN season round. Before the season finale, Hendrik von Danwitz and "Jules" are in the lead unassailable lead and are therefore the new champions in the championship advertised by Manthey Racing. At the same time team boss Klaus Abbelen and Thomas Preining were able to make a successful debut in the International GT Open with the Porsche 911 GT3 R in Monza.
"I'm incredibly proud of my entire team, because a simultaneous engagement on two race tracks with about 780 kilometers distance is already a great challenge. However, we have mastered these successfully and can be more than satisfied with our performance. My congratulations go to Hendrik von Danwitz and "Jules" for winning the title in the Porsche Cayman GT4 classification (Type 981), "says a delighted Abbelen.
Although Hendrik of Danwitz and "Jules" knew that they could make the title perfect at the eighth round of the VLN season, they kept a cool head over the weekend. So even in the morning qualifying nothing of any pressure was felt. On the contrary: with the second rank, the German-British team of drivers brought in a good starting position. In the race, the duo then remained consistently in the top group before von Danwitz took the lead in his final stint and could bring the victory safely to the finish. Overall, it was within the Cup 3 class to a strong second place.
For Sabine Schmitz the return to the "Gisela" BMW 325i E90 of Speedbeat Motorsport also ended successfully. Together with her brother Beat Schmitz and Andre Sommerberg, the two-time 24h winner finished seventh in the strong V4 class. She delivered a convincing start stint and worked her way up to fourth position. Then she handed over the wheel to her two teammates, who were involved in close duels until the end.
But not only at the Nürburgring but also in Monza there were satisfied faces. Klaus Abbelen and Thomas Preining completed a successful guest start with the Porsche 911 GT3 R at the season finale of the International GT Open. In the first race, they fought their way up from 20th on the grid to twelfth overall. With this result they outpace all AM vehicles. They confirmed this result again on the following day. Here, too, was the twelfth overall position to book. Much more important than the pure race result, however, was the experience gained with regard to a possible commitment next year.
Voices after the race weekend:
Hendrik von Danwitz (VLN / driver Porsche Cayman GT4 # 962): "The title win, of course, makes me incredibly happy. It's great that I've achieved this goal together with Frikadelli Racing. The cornerstone of this success was certainly our consistency, because we had not recorded a single failure and were able to consistently score very well. Many thanks to the entire team for the outstanding performance. "
"Jules" (VLN / driver Porsche Cayman GT4 # 962): "It was really a great season for us, which now ends perfectly with the title win. Even if there is still one last VLN race this year I would like to thank the Frikadelli Racing Team. The whole crew did a great job in both the preparation for the car and the race weekends themselves. "
Sabine Schmitz (VLN / Driver BMW 325i E90 # 477): "Today I had a lot of fun on the track again with" Gisela ". She was basically tame, only on the brake to some "bumpy". Overall, we can be very satisfied with our performance and the result. The class V4 is a very strong class. Therefore, we absolutely do not have to hide in seventh place, even though maybe a little more would have been possible. "
Klaus Abbelen (GT Open / driver Porsche 911 GT3 R # 31): "First of all we were very happy that we were welcomed here in the GT Open with open arms. We got to know very nice people and it was great to see how the official side looked after the concerns of each team. This helpfulness was just great and made us just as happy as our performance on the track. In general, our guest appearances in the ADAC GT Masters, Creventic 24h Series, STT or GT Open were a great way to observe the joy and passion of each series. Therefore, it is clear that we will decide on at least one of these racing series in 2020. "
Thomas Preining (GT Open / Driver Porsche 911 GT3 R # 31): "Although the circuit in Monza does not suit us so much, I think that we presented ourselves very well as a team. Overall, I would say a successful debut in the International GT Open. In my opinion, the GT Open has become a really high-profile series. The competition is big and really strong. "
