Joy and the sorrow in the third VLN race
28.04.2019
At the third VLN race joy and sorrow were very close to each other for the Frikadelli Racing Team. While the workscar with Sven Müller, Mathieu Jaminet and Romain Dumas already crashed after a few laps, the second Porsche 911 GT3 R driven by Alex Müller, Felipe Fernadez Laser and Klaus Abbelen finished the race on a strong ninth place during difficult conditions.
“This weekend good and bad things happened", says team manager Klaus Abbelen after the race was finished. “I’m very happy about the performance of our #30 Porsche and our Cayman, which could win his class. For our number #31 car the race was very disappointing, as they had an accident while being in a good position. I’m sure, that they could have achieved a good result.”
The qualifying already was a game of poker. Due to the starting rain there only was a short amount of time in which the drivers could set a fast laptime. The two red and white Porsche 911 GT3 R affected this amount of time and qualified on the tenth and eleventh place.
Exact at the race start it rained all around the track. But in the beginning Felipe Fernandez Laser and Sven Müller both started good and defended their positions. But shortly after that the #31 slided into the wall at the end of the start-finish straight. As the car was very damaged a continuation of the race wasn’t possible.
In contrast to this the sister-car wasn’t involved in any kind of accidents in the first laps and temporarily fought for the top five. After the rain chaos in the first hours of the race, the sun came out in the end and Klaus Abbelen had to bring the car home on a drying track. That was successful: After four hours he crossed the finish line on a strong ninth place in the very competitive SP9-class.
The day was successful for Hendrik von Danwitz, “Jules” and their Porsche Cayman GT4 CS as well. After the seventh position in qualifying they continually moved forward and finished fifth in the Cup-3 class while being the best 981-Cayman.
Voices after the race:
Klaus Abbelen (team manager #30 Porsche 911 GT3 R):
“On the one hand I’m frustrated about our #31 car not being able to show it’s capability. But on the other hand I’m satisfied with our other cars. Especially in the field of GT3-cars with countless worksdrivers our ninth place is a big achievement.”
Alex Müller (#30 Porsche 911 GT3 R): “It was a very difficult race for all of us. But in contrast to many other cars we managed to finish the race without a scratch. I got along with the rain and felt good in the car. After two shortened races it was great to finally drive a full VLN-race again.”
Felipe Fernandez Laser (#30 Porsche 911 GT3 R): “The conditions in qualifying were very tricky, but I think the eleventh place was good to start the race. The start was good too, as I could defend my position and hold the pace of the cars in front. All in all I’m very happy about the race and the result.”
Sven Müller (#31 Porsche 911 GT3 R): “I’m very disappointed about our early retirement. Right after the start we were in a good position but a bit later I became a victim of aquaplaning and lost the car. I’m very sorry for the team, as the car was well prepared and would have been capable of a good position in the end.”
“Jules” (#962 Porsche Cayman GT4): “The start was difficult, but the most important thing is, that we achieved to finish the race without a crash, that was the key to success today. Hendrik drove a great stint in the end and I’m happy about being the best 981-Cayman.”
