A sunny day promissed good racing today on Deutschlandring and it did not under-deliver. At the start the already heated rivalry between Mikus Actiņš and Mick Trompke got even more heated in training, when LGI Racing owner Nick Van der Meijde proudly proclaimed “I can’t wait to beat you!”, making a point to beat Trompke in todays race in Hohenstein.

Trompke starting in front of Van der Meijde and Actins

only 2 drivers on the grid set a time.

After the green flag was waved, it was off to a bad start for Trompke, who set the wrong gearing and lost a lot of speed on the Grand Loop. Following the battle for Actiņš and Van der Meidje to the end of the Grand Loop, the wrong gearing might’ve been a blessing in disguise, as Trompke braked early, while Actins and Van der Meijde went straight into the barrier, losing precious time in the process.

What followed was the hunt of the weekend. Actiņš clearly faster on a lap per lap basis starts to up the pace again and tries to reduce the 50 second lead of Trompke, who was trying to keep it safe and steady on the road. Nick Van der Meidje suffered from issue and had to retire the car prematurely after hitting the haybale on the bridge soon after.

Calm was the name of the game here on Deutschlandring after the second lap for Mick Trompke, who was getting more nervous by the minute. Actiņš had climbed up the ranks and was 20 seconds behind Trompke. Especially in the slower later parts of the track, Trompke felt the car slipping off the road and had to be very careful, losing more time in the process.

5th lap and the emotions are boiling. 12 seconds are between Actiņš and Trompke in the slower parts of the track and 5th place seems to be slipping away from Trompke. If he gets to the straight, he has it. At this point, the winner of the race is already decided by a mile! Simon Brännström Stattin goes over the line 24 seconds in front of Janak with the fastest lap of 04:01.538 beating the quickest time after him by over 4 seconds

The last bump was a bit to much for the stewards at Deutschlandring, as Actiņš catches a 15 second penalty for dangerous driving right before the end, putting him 1 place down into 7th. As the sun goes down on Hohenstein, we are patient for the next round at Donnington Park.