Sascha Weber wins at the EuroSpeedway Lausitz
The second season round of the VW New Beetle Cup at the EuroSpeedway Lausitz ended with a double victory for the Moskovskaya-Race for Fun-team. Sascha Weber (Euskirchen) won the 13 lap race from his team mate Kai Riemer (Espelkamp). Third place went to Patrick Michels (Merzkirchen / First Choice RacingWeber had already been fastest in qualifying. He had an advantage of over three tenths of a second on second-placed Patrick Michels, while Kai Riemer started in third place. Fourth was Björn-Felix Hansen, the first ADAC VW Rookie: the driver from north-Germany became champion in last year’’s ADAC VW Lupo Cup and is racing in the VW New Beetle Cup this year with support from ADAC and Volkswagen Racing
Fastest qualifier Weber benefited from his pole-position at the start of the race. He immediately took the lead, followed by Michels and Riemer. There was bad luck, however, for Jürgen Gockel, another Moskovskaya-Race for Fun-driver. He spun off the track together with Tim Mende (Henstedt / ADAC VW Rookie Team). Both were able to continue. Riemer put the pressure on Michels in the opening stages of the race, but the First Choice-driver defended his position. As the two of them were fighting, Weber was able to extend his lead. He set the fastest lap times in the field and was already 1.7 seconds ahead after two laps
One lap later, Riemer had the inner line under braking for the first corner and overtook Michels. Three former drivers of the ADAC VW Lupo Cup also showed a good performance: Jacek Henschke (Poland / Mintgen Motorsport), Holger Pohlen (Geilenkirchen / First Choice Racing) and Thomas Henkel (Bendorf / ADAC VW Rookie Team) had an exciting race in the midfield, together with one-make series’’ stalwart Thomas Marschall. The latter had to give up his ambitions on the sixth lap: he spun off the track and was stuck in the gravel trap for a long time before he was able to continue his race.
At half-distance, positions appeared to be taken in front. Weber led in a dominant way ahead of his team mate Riemer, who saw the VW New Beetle of Patrick Michels ever closer in his rear-view mirrors. Riemer managed to defend his second place. Thus, the Moskovskaya Race for Fun-team could celebrate a dominant double victory. Michels finished third from fastest rookie Hansen, Schrick, Henschke and Gockel, who made a strong recovery after his bad luck on the first lap. In the fight for eighth place, Holger Pohlen and Thomas Henkel crossed the line at exactly the same time. Race winner Weber was satisfied: ““At the end, I did it a little bit slower, as I knew that my advantage was big enough. For our team, this is a perfect result.””
Result 2nd round, EuroSpeedway Lausitz, 13 May 2001 (13 laps)
1. Sascha Weber (Euskirchen) in 27.10.440 min.
2. Kai Riemer (Espelkamp) 1.847 zur.
3. Patrick Michels (Merzkirchen) 3.781
4. Björn-Felix Hansen (Harrislee) 16.997
5. Tim Schrick (Gräfelfing) 20.877
6. Jacek Henschke (Poland) 27.187
7. Jürgen Gockel (Jülich) 29.362
8. Holger Pohlen (Geilenkirchen) 31.248
9. Thomas Henkel (Bendorf) 31.250
10. Jürgen Bretschneider (Friedberg) 47.853
11. Michael Renn (Berlin) 48.504
12. Ralf Goral (Duisburg) 51.617
13. Achim Lalk (Diedersdorf) 57.153
14. Reiner Schönauer (Ingolstadt) 1.11.486
15. Peter Velti (Dänemark) 1.40.932
16. Thomas Marschall (Eggenstein) one lap
17. Dennis Rostek (Porta Westfalica) one lap
Did not finish:
Tim Mende (Henstedt)
Fastest lap: Sascha Weber in 2.04.231 min = 131.387 km/h
Points:
1. Sascha Weber 50 points
Patrick Michels 50
3. Björn-Felix Hansen 41
4. Kai Riemer 38
5. Tim Schrick 33
