A rollercoaster of emotions for the KÜS Team Bernhard at the DTM weekend at the Sachsenring
Following a very successful Saturday, with a podium finish and championship points, the Sunday was a ‘wasted day’ for the racing team from Landstuhl.
At the weekend (8 to 10 September 2023) the DTM returned to the Sachsenring for the first time since 2002. Saturday was a promising day for KÜS Team Bernhard: Porsche contract driver Ayhancan Güven took third place, the second podium finish of the season for the team of Le Mans winner Timo Bernhard, while his team-mate Laurin Heinrich secured four championship points with a twelfth-place finish.
Ayhancan, who was the best Porsche driver, was second fastest in the morning qualifying session. The 25-year-old from Gronau already scored two points for the championship before the start of the race for his grid position on the first row. His team-mate Laurin delivered a decent result with tenth place, but still had to serve a grid penalty from the Lausitzring and therefore started the race from P15.
In the starting turmoil, “Can” in the Porsche 911 GT3 R with start number 24 was able to defend his second place against the fiercely pressing competition and clearly distance himself from his pursuers. Even an early safety car phase did not upset the Turkish ex-Porsche Junior. After the compulsory pit stops, Ayhancan was securely in third place and was able to keep this podium position unchallenged all the way to the finish. 16 more points for the championship represented the well-deserved reward.
Laurin drove a smart race in the race number 75 sister car. The Porsche contract driver stayed out of the tough skirmishes for the most part and in the end only just missed the top ten after finishing twelfth.
As pleasing as the first day of racing was for the team of Porsche brand ambassador Timo Bernhard, it was a sobering experience for the entire squad on the following day. Both Ayhancan Güven (25, Gronau) and Laurin Heinrich (21, Kürnach) had to retire their Porsche 911 GT3 Rs early after accidents in which they were not at fault.
In eighth place on the grid after qualifying, Ayhancan was the best Porsche driver in the field. Laurin had to settle for 21st position, a seemingly Herculean task for the 21-year-old. But the race didn’t even last one round for the Carrera Cup champion. His Porsche was so badly damaged in a crash that was not his fault and involved several cars that he was unable to compete at the red-flag restart.
His Turkish team-mate was also sent to the gravel trap after only a few metres in lap one through no fault of his own and therefore dropped to the very back of the field. At the restart, the Porsche contract driver was still in the running and worked his way back to the front, but had to retire his number 24 nine-eleven early in the race due to secondary damage after the earlier outing.
Thus, the Sachsenring’s comeback to the DTM racing circuit ended with a rollercoaster of emotions for team boss Timo Bernhard and his young squad. We are already looking ahead to the next event at the Red Bull Ring in Austria from 22 to 24 September 2023.
Darts meets Racing
Some DTM stars swapped their tools of the trade on Thursday on the sidelines of the motorsport spectacle in Saxony. At the German Darts Open in Jena, which took place at the same time as the European Darts Tour of the PDC Europe, Laurin Heinrich and the two South Africans Kelvin and Sheldon van der Linde proved their precision with their darts. The trio challenged Gabriel Clemens, the German number one in darts, in a show match. The German Giant showed his usual diplomatic restraint in his comments about the outcome of the match: “Everybody had a lot of fun, but you only spot talent later.”
In return, the darts pro from Saarland sent the DTM drivers out onto the track at the Sachsenring on Saturday with the sign “Drivers start your engines” and presented the trophy for third place to Ayhancan Güven after the race. So to speak from one HYLO® athlete to another HYLO® athlete. After the visit to the DTM, including a pit tour at Team Bernhard with team boss Timo Bernhard, Clemens was impressed and enthusiastic about the whole operation and spectacle at the DTM.
We are looking forward to the upcoming activities of our HYLO® partners in their respective fields of activity. Good luck and success to Team Bernhard at the Red Bull Ring and Gabriel Clemens at the World Series of Darts Finals in Amsterdam from 15 to 17 September 2023.