Leipert Motorsport, supported by PROFICAR, competed in front of a home crowd at
the fourth round of the Lamborghini Super Trofeo Europe season at the Nürburgring. In front of numerous fans, the team once again demonstrated strong pace and convincing performances. However, despite promising starting positions, the deserved podium finishes failed to materialize this race weekend.
Contrary to expectations, the free practice sessions and qualifying at the Nürburgring took place in good weather conditions, allowing the pace of the cars to be clearly assessed. Leipert Motorsport performed strongly in qualifying: the #99 (Rytter/Pretorius) was temporarily in pole position, but had its fastest lap disqualified due to track limits and ultimately qualified in 4th and 5th place in the Pro class. Pablo Schumm (#88) placed his car twice in 11th place in the Pro class. The #44 (Thalin/Bergman) secured solid starting positions with 8th and 3rd place. Gerhard Watzinger’s (#70) performance was particularly outstanding, putting his Lamborghini in 2nd and 1st place in the Cup qualifying.
#99 Rytter (DK) / Pretorius (ZAF) – Pro class
Pretorius started Race 1 from P4, but initially fell back to 8th place after a turbulent start in Turn 1. The duo fought their way back to the front, but after a failed restart following a full-course yellow phase and a resulting collision with a competitor, the race was over shortly before the finish, just short of the podium. In the second race, the #99, like most of the field, opted for rain tires. After a strong start, Rytter moved up to P2 and remained consistently at the front of the field until the pit stop. Pretorius continued to set top lap times in the second stint and crossed the finish line in 4th position.
#88 Pablo Schumm (SUI) – Pro class
Schumm put in a strong performance at the start and brought the #88 home in 10th place in Race 1. The second race, however, was unfortunate: halfway through the race, he lost control while braking in the NGK chicane and unfortunately collided with his teammate Watzinger (#70), resulting in both cars retiring early.
#44 Thalin/Bergman (SWE) – Pro class
In the first race, the #44 finished in 8th place in its class. In the second race, Bergman got off to a strong start and was in the top 3 for a long time. However, as the track dried out, the rain tires lost grip, causing the duo to lose positions. Thalin finally brought the Lamborghini home in 9th place.
#70 Gerhard Watzinger (USA) – Lamborghini Cup
After his very strong qualifying performances, Watzinger confirmed his good pace in the race as well. In the first race, he was clearly on course for a podium finish, but unfortunately had to park his car in the gravel after the pit stop because he was unable to continue the race under his own power. In the second race, too, it looked for a long time as if he had a chance of a podium finish or even another race win: after the pit stop, Watzinger was in second place in the Cup class. However, an unfortunate collision with his team-mate brought the race to a premature end – a bitter end to a weekend that had shown so much potential.
The next step: on the way to the World Final
Managing Directors Marc Poos and Marcel Leipert: “We started this weekend very well prepared and, as always, had a strong pace, but were unable to build on our victory in the last race at Spa. It is particularly bitter for Gerhard Watzinger, who was clearly on course for the podium twice and was only two points off the top of the table before the event. Nevertheless, our drivers clearly showed that we can compete at the front, which makes us very confident for the final events in Barcelona and Misano.”
Leipert Motorsport will continue with the next round of the Lamborghini Super Trofeo Asia from 5 to 7 September in Sepang, Malaysia. Just a few weeks later, another highlight awaits with the Super Trofeo Europe in Barcelona (10–12 October), marking the last race weekend before the World Final in Misano.
About Liepert Motorsport
