Porsche Carrera Cup Deutschland returned from its summer break this weekend at a hot and sunny Nürburgring for rounds 13 and 14 of the sixteen race season. Our driver Dirk Schouten, running a full campaign across both the Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup and Carrera Cup Deutschland, delivered one of his strongest weekends of the year, backing up two blistering starts with a pair of top-six finishes and a healthy haul of championship points. He was joined on the grid by Looping by CarTech teammate Gio Griezmann, making his series debut.
Qualifying
Two qualifying sessions in scorching conditions set the grids for the weekend. Reigning champion Robert Dehan took pole for Saturday's race with a 1:27.746, while Nürburgring specialist Alex Tausher claimed top spot for Sunday with a 1:27.634, his seventh career pole in the series.
Dirk qualified seventh for Race 13 and thirteenth for Race 14, keeping himself in touch inside a tightly packed field where the whole order was separated by fractions. Teammate Gio Griezmann impressed on debut simply by making the grid at a demanding circuit he had long dreamed of racing.
Race 13: from sixth to the podium fight
Starting sixth after a grid reshuffle, Dirk produced a stunning getaway to jump straight up to fifth into the opening corner. The launch was so good that the stewards took a closer look, but Dirk had timed it to perfection and kept his position.
He held firm through a strong run to bring the car home fifth on track, then moved up to fourth after Porsche Junior Flynt Schuring was handed a penalty for a jump start. A superb result and a big points haul to open the weekend, delivered in a car the team had dialled in perfectly.
Race 14: another rocket launch
Sunday brought more of the same. Lining up twelfth, Dirk once again nailed the start, passing two cars through turn one and immediately putting himself in the fight. From there he settled into a strong rhythm, kept his pace with the leading group, and waited for his chances in an eventful race.
The opportunities came, and Dirk took them, climbing from twelfth to sixth by the flag. A move from P12 to P6 in a field of identical machinery is no small feat, and it capped a weekend that yielded serious championship points across both races.
A weekend to build on
Two starts, two of the best on the grid, and two top-six finishes. Dirk leaves the Eifel with momentum on his side and important points in the bag as the season heads towards its climax at Hockenheim.
A big thank you to the Looping by CarTech crew for another strong car all weekend. We keep pushing.