Robert de Haan kept his championship hopes alive with a second place in his home race of the Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup at Zandvoort. Contrary to many weather forecasts, after qualifying also the race took place in dry conditions on the very special track in the dunes at the Dutch North Sea coast. In front of a huge crowd of Dutch fans, Max Verstappen´s “orange army”, the BWT Lechner Racing driver showed a very strong performance and had a big chance of winning the race, when a safety-car with two laps to go prevented a final attack on his main championship rival.
De Haan, who had missed out on pole position in a very tight qualifying on Saturday by only three hundredths of a second, started from P3. With a very good getaway he immediately secured P2 before the safety-car had to come out for four laps due to a midfield accident and a car stuck in the gravel. After the re-start he first slightly saved his tyres to be able to attack towards the end of the race. Which he did, closing in on three tenths of a second. Putting a lot of pressure on the leader he seemed bound to catch him before the chequered flag, but a second safety-car with two laps to go, which lasted until the end of the race, unfortunately took this chance away.
Marvin Klein started from P10, was involved in a lot of midfield fighting, but managed to keep it all clean, did not get involved in any incidents, overtook two cars and finally finished in P8, securing important points for the team with both championships still open until the final in Monza next weekend.
Robert Lechner, BWT Lechner Racing Team Principal: “Congratulations to Robert, who showed a very strong performance today, one of the best races I ever saw from him. Great start, great pace, no mistakes, while staying out of any trouble. He was clearly fastest in the final third of the race – I am sure without the safety-car he would have won today! Now we are really looking forward to Monza – everything is still possible.
Robert de Haan: “Thanks to the team for giving me a great car, they did a fantastic job, but I think I didn't do a bad one either as a driver today. The safety-car in the end was really unfortunate, otherwise I am very confident I could have won the race today, I had the speed to do so. This performance also gives me a lot of motivation for a strong attack next weekend in Monza.
Marvin Klein: “I was slightly touched from behind and lost 3 places when I was in fight for P7. But I came back P8 at the end of the race with some nice overtaking moves. Not the weekend I had hoped for, but the speed was there. So I am looking forward to be at Monza and give everything to finish the season on a high note!”
Michael Schöch, BWT Lechner Racing Team Manager: “With the season final already coming up next weekend, it is very important to be able to leave Zandvoort with two undamaged cars – so thanks to the drivers for avoiding any incidents. Now we will fully focus on the final challenge of the season – hopefully with a good outcome in the end.”