Races 3 & 4, Zandvoort, Netherlands
The Finn's dreams of winning were dashed when both race days ended with DNF.
Saturday, 1st race
This time it was teammate Enzo Joulié's turn to start. The success weights from the previous race had a decisive impact on the qualifying pace, but the 10th starting grid was still the best of the BMW drivers.
Thanks to the successful start, the Frenchman climbed two places immediately in the opening round. After a safety car-coloured opening half, Trogen was put on duty. The pace was promising and the standings also improved until Trogen collided in the first corner with Simon Connor Primm's Mercedes in the Netherlands.
The German spun on the sand and the race jury gave Trogen three rounds of penalties. During the penalty round, the driver must drive through the penalty area at a controlled pace. The disappointment was compounded by a broken front suspension as a result of the hit, which eventually forced Trogen to stop.
"My stint got off to a really good start, we were somewhere around number four. I passed one Porsche and the pace seemed to be right. Coming to the end of the main straight, two competitors were fighting each other in front of me. They braked very early and I braked later than usual. There was no way to avoid the hit. After examining the video footage from the car's interior camera, I realized that I had been overly optimistic. The front left wheel took a hit and it was impossible to continue the race," Trogen said.
1st race results:
1) #31 David Jahn/Jannes Fittje – AVIA W&S Motorsport – Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 2) #4 Marcel Lenerz/Denis Bulatov – BCMC Motorsport – Mercedes-AMG
GT4 3) #75 Daniel Gregor/Finn Zulauf – AVIA W&S Motorsport – Porsche 718 Cayman
GT4 4) #1 Mike David Ortmann/Hugo Sasse – PROsport Racing – Aston Martin Vantage GT4
5) #34 Mex Jansen/Nico Hantke – Walkenhorst Motorsport – BMW M4 GT4
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23) #35 Enzo Joulié/Sami-Matti Trogen – Walkenhorst Motorsport – BMW M4 GT4
Sunday, 2nd race
Saturday's event really corralled the Finn, but it didn't help to dwell on failure. That evening it was time for the second time trial. The team's mechanics repaired Trogen and Frenchman Enzo Joulié's BMW to a new standard and received high praise from the drivers. Trogen, who was in qualifying position, finished 14th in a colourful time trial when the slower car unfortunately hit the front on the decisive lap.
Sunday's race was Trogn's biggest disappointment in a long time. Barely half a lap had been completed when the driver in the middle group got caught between two cars. The rival's innocent-looking nudging caused significant damage, this time to the right front wheel. The car was instantly unroadworthy and faced the second interruption of the weekend.
"I knew that starting from medium frost would not be easy and the risks would increase. I got into a sump right at the first corner. The driver next to me turned the back corner of his car to the front of mine. The tire broke and the whole wheel folded so much that I couldn't continue. The worst race weekend in many years," Trogen lamented.
2nd race results:
1) #4 Denis Bulatov/Marcel Lenerz – BCMC Motorsport – Mercedes-AMG
GT4 2) #34 Nico Hantke/Mex Jansen – Walkenhorst Motorsport – BMW M4 GT4 3) #
31 Jannes Fittje/David Jahn – AVIA W&S Motorsport – Porsche 718 Cayman
GT4 4) #5 Leon Wassertheurer/Tim Reiter – Hofor Racing by Bonk Motorsport – BMW M4
GT4 5) #1 Hugo Sasse/Mike David Ortmann – PROsport Racing – Aston Martin Vantage GT4
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(DNF) #35 Sami-Matti Trogen/Enzo Joulié – Walkenhorst Motorsport – BMW M4
GT4 Standings after 4/12 races:1) #
4 Bulatov/Lenerz – BCMC Motorsport – 65 points
2) #34 Hantke/Jansen – Walkenhorst Motorsport – 63 p.
3) #31 Jahn/Fittje – AVIA W&S Motorsport – 62 p.
4) #1 Sasse/Ortmann – PROsport Racing – 49p.
5) #85 Primm/Springob – CV Performance Group – 44 p.... 9) #35 Trogen/Joulié – Walkenhorst Motorsport – 31p
The German GT4 Championship continues in just over a month, on August 4-6 at the Nürburgring.