Five weeks after the chequered flag fell at the Nürburgring, the Fanatec GT Europe season resumed at another legendary German venue. Hockenheim was an Endurance Cup event in 2022, so there was considerable interest in how the track would suit Sprint racing.
As many had expected, it produced plenty of action. Both 60-minute contests featured at least one pass for the overall lead and there was plenty more position-swapping throughout the pack.
This was a key weekend for the championship battle. Akkodis ASP and Tresor Orange1 shared the victories, the latter closing the gap at the top of the standings, though the former maintained its record of winning at each Sprint Cup round in 2023.
With little time to spare before the series moves on to Valencia, these are the key stories and stats from an eventful trip to Germany.
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After starring at Brands Hatch, the #40 Tresor Orange1 Audi was a surprising absentee from the lead battle at Misano. Normal service resumed at Hockenheim, with a commanding win in Race 1 that saw both Ricardo Feller and Mattia Drudi make passes for the lead. A weekend sweep looked possible, only for a five-second penalty in Race 2 to cost the duo vital positions.
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Audi's status as the most successful brand in Sprint Cup history was further enhanced with victory in Race 1, which marked the 51st overall win for the Ingolstadt marque. Two of those came courtesy of Attempto Racing, while a further pair have followed courtesy of the German squad's Tresor Orange1 programme.
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Nicolas Baert earned his maiden series podium by finishing as runner-up in the opening contest. The youngster was joined in the #12 Comtoyou Racing Audi by podium regular Fred Vervisch.
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Third place initially went to the #69 Emil Frey Racing Ferrari. This would have ensured a maiden podium for Thierry Vermeulen, but the Dutch driver's final-corner pass on Dries Vanthoor (#32 Team WRT BMW) was deemed to have been overly aggressive. A one-second penalty swapped the two cars around, giving the #32 BMW a fourth podium of the campaign.
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Despite the penalty, this was an impressive weekend from the inexperienced Vermeulen. In only his third Sprint Cup weekend, the Dutchman battled established front-runners and showed promising speed in qualifying and both races.
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The opening contest saw Raffaele Marciello and Timur Boguslavskiy fail to score points for the first time since Race 1 at Zandvoort in 2022. Coincidentally, that was also the fifth race of the season; what's more, it was also followed by a victory in Race 2.
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Sunday's win was Maricello's 13th in the Sprint Cup. Only Dries Vanthoor (15) and Laurens Vanthoor (14) have more. It was Boguslavskiy's eighth, all of which have come alongside Marciello. What's more, it marked the first time that the Akkodis ASP pairing had won from anywhere other than pole.
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Mercedes-AMG remains second to Audi in terms of Sprint Cup wins, with Sunday's triumph representing its 31st in the series. Almost half of those have come courtesy of Akkodis ASP, which has earned 15 overall victories.
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Marciello and Boguslavskiy left Hockenheim with 63.5 points, keeping them top of the Sprint Cup standings. Feller/Drudi are second with 54, while Vanthoor/Weerts are still in the title conversation on 46.
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The #11 Comtoyou Racing Audi of Lucas Légeret and Christopher Haase bagged a second podium of 2023 by taking runner-up spot in Race 2. The pair sit fourth in the Sprint Cup standings, 22 points shy of the championship lead.
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A third-place finish for #25 Saintéloc Junior Team Audi gave the French outfit its first overall Sprint Cup podium of the season. This also marked Erwan Bastard's maiden overall podium in GT3 machinery. The 25-year-old won last year's GT4 European Series title in a Saintéloc-run Audi.
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The #54 Dinamic GT Porsche scored its first points of the season by finishing ninth in Race 1, then improved to eighth in Race 2. In terms of pace, this was undoubtedly the best weekend of the season for the pairing of Christian Engelhart and Adrien De Leener.
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Team WRT scored Gold Cup honours in Race 1 thanks to its #30 BMW pairing of Niklas Krütten and Calan Willaims. The young duo finished fifth, the best overall result for a car outside the Pro category this season. Their chances in the second outing were hampered by an early puncture.
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In keeping with the pattern of the season, the #9 Boutsen VDS Audi of Aurélien Panis and Alberto Di Folco maintained the pressure by winning the second contest. The same two crews have shared the wins at all three Sprint Cup events, with Team WRT eight points ahead following the Hockenheim weekend.
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Frank Bird (#77 HRT Mercedes-AMG) withdrew from the event on Friday following the passing of his father, Paul. A former rally driver and a respected team owner in top-level motorcycle racing, Paul Bird's squad enjoyed stints in MotoGP and the World Superbike Championship.
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Bird's place in the #77 HRT entry was taken by Alain Valente, who combined with Jordan Love to score an emotional Silver Cup win in Race 1. Both drivers paid tribute to the Bird family, while Love also praised Valente's performance after a last-minute call-up in difficult circumstances.
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Tresor Attempto Racing lost the Silver Cup championship lead after a DNF in Race 1, which was caused by suspension damage following contact at the Spitzkehrea. They bounced back in Race 2, edging the #77 Mercedes-AMG to secure class honours.
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Madpanda Motorsport consolidated P3 in the class standings by finishing both races on the podium. The #90 of Ezequiel Perez Companc and Jesse Salmenautio was runner-up in the first contest and took third in the second. They are 20.5 points off the lead, suggesting that this will be a straight fight between HRT and Tresor Attempto Racing.
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In the Bronze Cup, the #66 Tresor Attempto Racing Audi made waves in Race 1 as Dennis Marschall ran P3 overall. Andrey Mukovoz brought the car home for the win ahead of Ralf Bohn and Robert Renauer (#91 Herberth Motorsport Porsche), with the sister #911 Pure Rxcing entry of Alex Malykhin and Klaus Bachler in third.
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Race 2 produced a different winner, though the podium was otherwise unchanged. After a smoky exit from the opening contest, the #79 HRT Mercedes-AMG of Hubert Haupt and Sebastien Baud bagged a first Sprint Cup victory of the campaign, keeping their title hopes alive in the process.
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Having swept the Misano weekend, the #188 Garage 59 McLaren did not even take a Bronze Cup podium at Hockenheim. Nevertheless, Miguel Ramos and Henrique Chaves narrowly lead the class standings ahead of Valencia, which will be this season’s final Sprint outing for the Bronze Cup class. The Portuguese pair have 43.5 points, followed by Malykhin on 43, Bohn/Renauer on 36 and Haupt/Baud on 28.5.
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Jordan Pepper gave VSR its maiden series pole by topping Qualifying 1 in the #40 Lamborghini. Pepper beat Ricardo Feller to ensure that the Italian marque returned to P1 at a Sprint Cup event for the first time since Zandvoort in 2021. Coincidentally, the man who set the previous Lamborghini pole was Feller.
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Reema Juffali (#81 Theeba Motorsport Mercedes-AMG) became the first female driver to score pole position in the Sprint Cup by leading the Bronze Cup class in Qualifying 2. The Saudi racer follows the Iron Dames, who scored pole in the same class at the previous Endurance round.
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The Sprint Cup season continues at Circuit Ricardo Tormo Valencia on 15–17 September. The Spanish track is set for its third appearance on the calendar, with support action coming from the Fanatec GT2 European Series, Lamborghini Super Trofeo and VOLRACE.
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