TOPCAR Sport is your current TCE leader at the Hankook 16H HOCKENHEIMRING, but was lucky to survive a bizarre incident with AC Motorsport on the run down to turn one at the start of the race.
The TOPCAR Sport CUPRA TCR (#131, Fabian Danz / Karen Gaillard / Kai Jordan) and the AC Motorsport Audi RS3 LMS (#188, Stéphane Perrin / Vincent Radermecker / Mathieu Detry) made contact across the start-finish line as the green flag was being waved, sending both into the run-off area before either had even reached the first turn.
The collision immediately brought out the Code 60 caution flags and left the Audi with a front left puncture and a heavy dent in the driver’s side door. Though undamaged, further bad luck befell Fabian Danz in the TOPCAR CUPRA, who was unable to pass Vincent Radermecker in the crippled Audi under purple flags as the pair limped back to pitroad.
Solid running and an alternative strategy means TOPCAR Sport now leads the TCE field at the halfway point of the Hankook 16H HOCKENHEIMRING, the CUPRA TCR having completed 221 laps of the 4.574km Hockenheimring en-route to the chequered flag.
Overall TCE Teams’ champion Autorama Motorsport by Wolf-Power Racing currently rounds out the TCE podium with its two entries. The lead Volkswagen Golf GTI (#122, Alberto Vescovi / Roberto Ferri / Miklas Born / Marek Schaller / Benjamin Leuchter) had led the TCR class for much of the afternoon after securing the Swiss team’s maiden TCE pole position in the 24H SERIES the previous afternoon.
Having opted to pit before the overnight intervention though, the #112 Volkswagen has now dropped to 3rd behind TOPCAR Sport and the second Autorama Motorsport Golf GTI (#1, Constantin Kletzer / Jasmin Preisig / Christoph Lenz / Rhys Lloyd / Yannick Mettler) entry.
Despite its earlier issues, AC Motorsport currently lies 4th after a storming recovery drive.
The Red Camel-Jordans.nl CUPRA TCR (#101, Ivo Breukers / Luc Breukers / Steven Liquorish) which, like AC Motorsport, is in contention for the TCE crown in both the 24H SERIES Europe and 24H SERIES Continents, had run as high as 2nd in the early going, aided by a mega stint from Ivo Breukers, who completed more than half an hour on a wet track on dry slicks.
The Dutch team though lost more than an hour in the pits to drivetrain problems, which has since dropped the CUPRA to the tail of the TCE division.
The Day V Tec BMW 240i (#240, Jan Jaap van Roon / Tim Coronel / Gaby Uljee) leads a tight battle for TCX-class victory at Hockenheim ahead of the Nordschleife Racing Ligier JS2 R (#226, Guillaume Roman / Daniel Waszczinski / Michel Sallenbach).
The Ligier had led the TCE division outright in the early going only for mechanical woes to strike, while accident damage and suspected gearbox problems have similarly delayed the BMW.
After the traditional overnight intervention, the first-ever Hankook 16H HOCKENHEIMRING will resume racing tomorrow from 12.00 hrs local time tomorrow, Sunday 6 September. After the final eight hours of running, the chequered flag will fly at 20.00 hrs.