Competition102 GT4 European Series paddock stories from the Nürburgring
The penultimate event of the Competition102 GT4 European Series resulted in two wet races at the Nürburgring race track. PROsport Performance’s drivers Peter Terting and Carsten Struwe made the most of the weather conditions by capitalising their home track experience and were victorious twice. Meanwhile AM racer Daniel Uckermann claimed the title in his division by scoring another two podium finishes with ZaWotec’s KTM X-BOW GT4. With 51 points advantage, nobody is able to pass him in the AM drivers’ standings during the final two races in October.
Uckermann’s success
Daniel Uckermann finished not lower than third in each of the ten races this season. This performance landed him the title which he didn’t expect to collect when the championship got underway at Nogaro. “I can’t believe to win the title like this,” told Uckermann. “When Mario (Wolf, ZaWotec Team Principal) told me he wanted to try a brand new car I asked if it would be competitive. He had a great vision and therefore we proceeded. When it arrived for the second event at Zandvoort we weren’t busy with the championship. But we directly started winning races and especially the second race win is one of my many highlights of this season.”
Terting’s impressive debut
Peter Terting’s debut in the series couldn’t be better. Partnering fellow former DTM driver Carsten Struwe in the Porsche Cayman 981 SP, Terting mastered the wet Nürburgring race track brilliantly by winning both races. “I’ve been following the series for some time and I find it interesting. It’s competitive and not so expensive as in GT3 categories,” said Terting who has driven many different vehicles from GT’s to touring cars like DTM and WTCC. In recent years he has spent time in the United States of America and when he came back to Europe, he found it difficult to get a contract. The Competition102 GT4 European Series seems to open up new possibilities. “I’m very happy I received this opportunity from PROSport Performance and I’m proud we’ve won our first race together. It will be a target to drive the full 2016 season.”
Swedish invasion
Joakim Söderström and Milton Lundström decided to participate in the Competition102 GT4 European Series as they like the Nürburgring race track and were able to team up with fellow Swedish teams Bald Eagle Racing and Ricknäs Motorsport. “Everything fitted in one truck, so we could split the costs. The series is quite new to us but the first impression is really good,” said Soderström who has been racing the BMW M3 GT4 for five years. Lundström is Soderström’s talented team mate. “The championship is very professional and it’s much more fun than in our Swedish competition because there are much more cars participating,” the 24-year-old race car driver noticed. “Thanks to the strong competition I now know how much I can improve.”
Sin Cars aiming for strong comeback
The yellow and green Sin R1 GT4 vehicles were hard to miss in the championship. While development on the prototypes are ongoing, Sofia Car Motorsport showed the cars’ potential with AM driver Jose Luis Talermann scoring two podium finishes and Hendrik Still, together with Sin Cars creator Rosen Daskalov were classified fourth in the PRO division of race two at the Red Bull Ring. “We decided not to race at the Nürburgring but to develop the cars instead. We haven’t tested much, while it’s a brand new car. So that’s the plan between now and Misano,” said Still who believes in the potential of Sin R1 GT4. “It’s really quick over the first couple of laps, but we encounter problems after that. We’ll be addressing these issues in the next weeks.”
Welcome back Liesette
Liesette Braams suspended racing when doctors discovered cancer. The quick lady was therefore forced to watch the races from the hospital bed and couldn’t stop thinking about making a return in the sport. She decided not to give up and that helped her defeating the disease. She made an appearance at the Nürburgring race track supporting her husband Luc and even received the chance to get behind the wheel of her BMW M3 GT4. “It felt great to be back and to drive a handful of laps during the second practice session. It would be a dream to start the final race weekend at Misano,” said Braams.
Next race: Misano
The battle for the championship in the PRO division of the Competition102 GT4 European Series continues in Italy. The Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli will be host of the final two races of the season. While partnering the Blancpain Sprint Series for the second time, Dutch championship leaders Jelle Beelen and Marcel Nooren are aiming to claim the title in the PRO division. “I’m really looking forward to Misano,” said Nooren. “I debuted with the team at this track last year and I have great memories about that.”