Heinz-Bert Wolters (991 GT3 R) returned to the Porsche Club Historic Challenge with two overall victories. In the first race at the Hockenheimring, Wolters won ahead of Ioannis Smyrlis (992 GT3 Cup) and in the second race ahead of Jürgen Albert (991 GT3 R).

In qualifying, Klaus Horn (991 GT3 R) used the last free lap to grab pole. In the race, the Landau native defended his first place, but soon afterwards was shown the sign for a drivethrough penalty for a jump start. This brought Wolters, who had been hot on Horn's heels until then, to the front of the field. Even though it got tighter again towards the end, the veteran confidently sealed his first victory of the season. "The first race went well for me. After the start, I stayed in second place behind Klaus. We fought for the lead as the game progressed. After the Drive Trough penalty for the leader, the way was clear for me," Wolters said about race one.

The success in the second race came as a surprise. Wolters had defended his first position right after the start and created some distance to the rest of the field. But an FCY yellow phase in the last part of the race shook everything up again. After the flags went back to green, Wolters only found himself in fourth place. The eventual winner was finally waved off in second place. The fact that it was still enough for victory was due to a 30-second penalty for Thomas Lindemann (992 GT3 Cup), which he was given afterwards. Thus, Wolters could be happy about a perfect start to the season. "I overlooked the green flag and pressed the wrong button. That was due to my own nervousness and I still have to learn something with the new car. Several shot past me. When Lindemann pushed out the yellow Porsche, I hoped that I would be there again," says Wolters.

Strong guest appearance by Smyrlis Racing
Joy and sorrow were close together for the Smyrlis Racing team. Spontaneously, it was decided to start with two cars for the guest start. A difficult task because of the tight schedule. There was hardly any time between the races, so that Ioannis Smyrlis had to chase the field from the pit lane. And Smyrlis immediately showed a strong performance and was already in third place at the halfway point of the race. When Jürgen Albert, who was in front of him, had problems, Smyrlis secured second place. The victory in the newly created class 9 was the icing on the cake. "At the beginning we had problems with the cold tyres. We don't manage to control the air pressure quite well yet. In the end, it was still enough for first place in class and second place overall. In terms of action, it was good to start from the back. I'm very happy with the race," said Smyrlis

And teammate Jürgen Oehler, who had taken over the Porsche wheel for the second heat, also seemed to do a similarly good job. Initially in third place, Oehler fought his way past Joachim Bölting (991 GT3 Cup). Once that was done, the 992 driver quickly extended his lead over the rest of the field. At the end of the FCY phase, Oehler was wide awake and grabbed first place. Behind him, Lindemann, who had already had a close relationship with Klaus Horn before, suddenly came very close. Too close. The brand colleague touched Oehler at the rear, whereupon he was thrown far back. Although Lindemann saw the finish in first place, he was given the 30-second penalty afterwards. In the end, this threw him back to fifth place behind Oehler.

Jürgen Albert snatches second place

Jürgen Albert was clearly on course for the podium in the first race when contact in lapping traffic became his undoing. Both tires were slashed, making the Porsche virtually undrivable. In the end, the Porsche specialist crossed the finish line in fifth place behind Klaus Horn. In the second race, Albert proved his qualities after things didn't go smoothly, especially at the beginning. Before the FCY phase, Albert only found himself in seventh position overall. A spin in the corner before the start and finish had cost places. After the end of the FCY, Albert was in fourth place, before Oehler fell back due to the accident and Lindemann received the time penalty. Albert rewarded himself for his performance in the second race with second place. "In the end, I'm satisfied with the second race. I had lost the car on the rear axle in the middle of the race. We made a few adjustments, but they went in the wrong direction. That's why I turned around my own axis once and lost about ten seconds. I then had to give everything to be able to catch up with the front again," said Albert.

Of course, Klaus Horn was less satisfied, who stopped in the green strip in front of the pit entrance after the fight with Lindemann and also triggered the FCY phase.

Thomas Winkler on the overall podium twice
Thomas Winkler, competing in the PCHC for the first time in the 992 GT3 Cup, put in a strong performance over the weekend. The Swiss got along very well, fought some close battles for positions and convinced with two third places overall. In the second race, it was even enough for the first class victory in the new Class 9. Of course, I'm very satisfied. It was fair driving in the series and it was a lot of fun. I thought that I could have caught up a little more in the second race," Winkler said. Markus Maier finished fourth in both races in class 9.

Class 8 was firmly in the hands of Joachim Bölting, despite a 30-second penalty in race two. "There are only 992 and R in front of me, so I'm relatively well positioned with the 991," Bölting said about his performance. Behind him, the two teammates Alfred Winkler and Thomas Pfister fought a close battle for second place. Twice Winkler narrowly kept the upper hand. In class 7, both races went to Eduard Heinz. Heinz won race one ahead of returnee Udo Schwarz, while Hans von Spronsen took second place in the second race. Class 4 was won twice by Constantin Laube ahead of Harald Häfner (both Cayman GT4 CS), while Jan Horwath (991 GT3) was in front twice in Class 3.