PSC: Hungaroring report

• harald.bloche@gmd.de (Harald Bloche)
• MNI - Motorsport News International
• Tue Aug 13 23:02:20 EDT 1996

Seventh Round at the Grand Prix of Hungary
------------------------------------------

Ralf Kelleners Breaks Emmanuele Collard's Winning Streak

Budapest. After an absence of two rounds, Porsche specialist Ralf
Kelleners (D, Porsche Zentrum Koblenz) returned to the seventh of
nine Porsche Pirelli SuperCup rounds, and promptly broke Emmanuel
Collards winning streak. Kelleners, who started second from the
grid, commented: "I had a perfect start and was in front of Horst
Farnbacher in the first corner. Horst and Emmanuel Collard fought
for second until the eighth round when Emmanuel overtook him, which
gave me time to put some distance between us. But this was pretty
tough on my tyres, so when Collard started shaving the seconds off
between us I was beginning to sweat." Even with second place, current
points leader Emmanuel Collard takes a big step towards the overall
title. His perfect start and spectacular duel with Farnbacher thrilled
spectators. Reigning champion Jean Pierre Malcher (F, Larbre Competition)
had a clean race starting third on the grid and ended his race third as
well. Malcher is optimistic about taking runner up position in this
year's series. Fourth place getter Horst Farnbacher (D, Zepter Racing)
withstood intense pressure from Collard over half the race: "Then, I hit
some oil on the track and lost traction for a split second. Collard
grabbed the chance to nab me. But our car is getting better each race.
The race took a dramatic turn, when after a few 100 metres the cars of
Juergen von Gartzen (D, Oberbayern Motorsport) and Oliver Mathai
(D, Manthey Racing) touched and spun, creating havoc in the field behind
them. As a result Patrick Simon (D) and Duncan Huisman (NL, both Porsche
Zentrum Koblenz) were immediately side-lined and Juergen von Gartzen
limped to the 14th lap before retiring. Two new names to the top ten
pack were Fabio Santaniello (I, Pro-Race Motorsport) and Paul Belmondo
(F, SARL Gosselin) with seventh and tenth respectively. Separating the
two were Harald Grohs (D, Manthey Racing) in eighth and Matteo Galimberti
(I, Knuepfing Motorsport) in ninth. 1984 World Rally Champion Stig
Blomquist's guest appearance as a VIP driver was a 50th birthday surprise
from Mobil Sweden. Said the Swede about his 16th place: "I thoroughly
enjoyed my present, but to be seriously fast with this car you must be a
specialist." Lacal hero piloting the second VIP Carrera was ten times
national Touring Car Champ Peter Mozart from Budapest who took 18th
place. "I'm very impressed by the intensity of competition here. This
Porsche needs a lot of skill and stamina."

Top ten results:

Pos     Driver                  Team                            Time
---------------------------------------------------------------------
 1      Ralf Kelleners/D        Porsche Zentrum Koblenz     29:15.003
 2      Emmanuel Collard/F      JMB Competition               + 0.378
 3      Jean Pierre Malcher/F   Larbre Competition              3.699
 4      Horst Farnbacher/D      Zepter Racing Team             10.569
 5      Patrick Huisman/NL      Oberbayern Motorsport          13.468
 6      Oliver Mathai/D         Manthey Racing                 14.439
 7      Fabio Santaniello/I     Pro-Race Motorsport            16.073
 8      Harald Grohs/D          Manthey Racing                 23.058
 9      Matteo Galimberti/I     Knuepfing Motorsport           29.792
10      Paul Belmondo/F         SARL Gosselin                  36.953

CHAMPIONSHIP:

Pos     Driver                  Pts
-----------------------------------
 1      Collard/F               149
 2      von Gartzen/D           103
 3      Malcher/F                96
 4      Patrick Huisman/NL       88
 5      Mathai/D                 80
 6      Kelleners/D              65