The Porsche Carrera Cup Deutschland race weekend in Italy offered a whole lot of excitement and action. For FACH AUTO TECH, the two races on 25 and 26 September at the Autodromo Nazionale Monza were a real rollercoaster ride, with wheel-to-wheel racing and a top-5 finish as well as a number of setbacks.
“The boys showed lots of fighting spirit in Monza,” said Team Principal Alex Fach as the weekend drew to a conclusion. “The races were anything but easy. Lots of contact on track didn’t make it easy to recover positions, and so the fifth-place finish on Saturday was a result that we were happy with.”
The trio of FACH AUTO TECH drivers provided much entertainment for the spectators, particularly on Saturday. The first of two races during the weekend was extremely hard-fought, with Christopher Zöchling under attack for much of the race. The 33-year-old Austrian was able to hold his nerve and crossed the line in an impressive fifth, despite a whole host of hard-charging competitors snapping at his heels.
Sandro Kaibach in the #10 Porsche 911 GT3 Cup also managed to make his way through the field on Saturday. The 24-year-old started in 18th on the grid but slowly but surely rose into the top 15 as the race progressed. Kaibach crossed the line in 13th, gathering some valuable championship points. Christof Langer also looked in good shape, finishing 22nd overall and eighth in the ProAm classification.
Sunday’s race, on the other hand, didn’t quite go to plan for the team from Sattel. Heavy rain swept over the Monza circuit in the morning, giving the race engineers a tough decision to make once it was time to race: rain tyres or slicks? “The competition is very strong in the Carrera Cup, and the races are always hard-fought. You need to take risks if you want to win, which is exactly what we did,” said Fach, explaining the team’s decision to start on dry tyres. Unfortunately, there was no reward for FACH AUTO TECH, as Zöchling and Kaibach crossed the line in 15th and 21st position. Langer finished just behind Kaibach, crossing the line in fifth in the ProAm classification.
“We gambled, and our strategy could have paid off,” said Zöchling. “But the track didn’t dry as we hoped it would, and remained damp in some places, including on the start-finish line. It’s a disappointment, that’s for sure, but that’s motorsport. The one positive from Sunday is that we were able to defend our fifth position in the championship.”
FACH AUTO TECH’s next chance to score big points is just around the corner. The seventh race weekend of the single-make Porsche series sees teams travel to the Sachsenring from 1 to 3 October as part of the ADAC GT Masters race weekend.