Heated Austrian battle at the Salzburgring offers pure PRTC action in three qualifying classes

Salzburgring. The Pfister Racing Touring Car Challenge (PRTC) has already heralded the halfway point of the season with races 5 & 6 at Austria’s Salzburgring. Touring car drivers competed in the “XLR8” (accelerate) race weekend with a strong supporting program at the ADAC Racing Weekend from June 17 to 19, 2022. In addition to the motorsport duels on the 4.255 km long traditional racetrack, the fans were offered a constant stream of highlights: The “Flying Bulls” were at the start as well as a special “Sim Racing Gaming Zone” and test drives with ultra-modern electric karts on site in the paddock.

All races were broadcast in a live stream with commentary on the organizer’s website.

The PRTC was once again dominated by ambitious novices, fast newcomers, talented gentleman drivers and motivated guest starters as “local heroes” who provided an explosive mix with the ultimate touring car action.

“Real cars, real racing. That’s the motto of our racing series. We offer professionally organized races with appealing touring cars in 4 qualifying categories, at reasonable costs and with good marketing. This concept is becoming increasingly popular, and we have been pleased with the great response. Last but not least, our racers put on a terrific show for the spectators. We provide the ultimate touring car action!” stated organizer Andreas Pfister at the beginning of the racing weekend.

15-year-old racing driver Raphael Rennhofer (AUT, Vienna) celebrated a successful debut in his touring car

All the racing cars are equipped with standard tires from TOYO TIRES, with the semi-slick Proxes R888R or RS1 Slick Proxes, which in combination with the central fielding and “rotating system” on the CHEVROLET and CUPRA racing cars (class 1 and 2) from Pfister-Racing GmbH, allow for a competitive race at affordable costs.

The winner of the 2022 Pfister Racing Touring Car Challenge (PRTC) in class 2 will receive a free test drive in the 350 hp TCR racing car.

Bedrich sets the first mark with pole position for race 1

On Friday, the drivers were able to get to grips with the track and conditions during the free test sessions. The Salzburgring challenges them with fast high-performance passages but also a tight chicane that requires maximum concentration during the braking phase.

The racers had to show their hand for the first time in the qualifying session to determine the starting grid for race 1: Marco Bedrich (GER, Cottbus) was able to continue his improving form and set the best time for class 2 on the Austrian asphalt with a lap time of 1:52:930. Championship leader Tim Schestag (GER, Walldorf) also made it into the first row of the grid. Behind them, Simon de Mori (AUT, Hörbranz) and Raphael Rennhofer (AUT, Vienna) made up a complete starting row in red-white-red.

In the CUPRA class 3 Hinrich Groeneveld (GER, Moosburg) was able to secure a top spot for ATT-Racing with fast lap times, ahead of Patrick Eppich (AUT, St. Lorenzen) who were both at the start in 330 hp CUPRA Leon MKII DSG racing cars.

A strong Saturday for Marco Bedrich: pole position and victory in race 1!

The first race was a standing “Grand Prix” start and the numerous fans at the racetrack, but also the viewers in the live stream were already looking forward to real touring car action again.

Once the starting lights had gone out though, Tim Schestag took advantage of the opportunity to take over the leading position. Behind him, Marco Bedrich, Dirk Ehlebracht (GER, Oberursel) and David Stein (GER, Usingen) engaged in a three-way battle for second position.

Passing through the paddock bend three abreast and then entering the Reiner-S, none of the three racers wanted to give up even a single centimeter, resulting in quite a few collisions, which the chasing pack was able to use to catch up with the front positions.

Sebastian Gödderz (GER, Nürnberg) with a good first touring car race in the CUPRA Ibiza V1 Cup

The losers of the aforementioned collision were David Stein and Dirk Ehlebracht, who both forfeited positions. Mathias Gaiser (GER, Oberursel) was able to move up to third position ahead of Raphael Rennhofer.

Marco Bedrich, however, escaped with a few scratches and managed to get into the leader Tim Schestag’s slipstream.

Another duel then threw the rest of the race into confusion once again: Thomas Eckert (GER, Nuremberg) defended his position against Martin Rennhofer senior (AUT, Vienna) and hit the tire wall in the first chicane, which he pushed onto the track, resulting in a safety car phase to neutralize the race.

At the re-start, Schestag initially remained in the leading position, but was then thrown back by a misunderstanding with David Stein, who was being lapped, which Marco Bedrich took advantage of to take over first place.

Bedrich thus managed to take his third win of the season in a row, ahead of Tim Schestag, who was able to pass Mathias Gaiser again at the end. A great fourth place was achieved by touring car rookie Raphael Rennhofer.

In the CUPRA class, Eppich took a home win as Groeneveld struggled with technical problems on his racing car towards the end of the race.

All the preparations were then already focused on the second qualifying session and race, which was to take place on Sunday in even hotter temperatures of over 35 degrees Celsius. In the meantime, the PRTC racers enjoyed meeting former Formula 1 racer Christian Danner in the paddock during a “Meet & Greet” with the touring car legends.

Dirk Ehlebracht makes an impressive comeback with pole position for race 2

The fans were already feverishly awaiting the rolling Indianapolis start of the second race, which Dirk Ehlebracht impressively secured pole position for ahead of Robin Renz (GER, Stuttgart), which meant that both were able to report back with a strong performance.

Tim Schestag won with the “SONIC-Chevy” in the second race and extended his lead in the standings

Ehlebracht was also able to take the lead at first after the start, but Tim Schestag was able to overtake him already at the end of the first race lap with a spirited maneuver. But just how much Tim Schestag was driving at the limit became apparent just a few moments later when he touched the tire wall in the first chicane.

This allowed the chasers to keep up with the front of the pack, first and foremost Dirk Ehlebracht as well as Robin Renz and Mathias Gaiser. But the suspense was far from over: Another safety car phase caused by Simon de Mori dropping out brought the entire field within a few meters of each other.

So after the restart, a real heart-stopping “neck and neck” finale began. Initially, a three-way battle broke out between Ehlebracht, Renz and Gaiser, which ended with a high-speed spin by Mathias Gaiser in the paddock bend after a bump with Robin Renz.

In the lead, Schestag now had to reach deep into his bag of tricks to hold his own in the final meters in an extremely close photo finish ahead of Robin Renz and Dirk Ehlebracht. The Top 5 was then completed by David Stein and Marco Chianese (ITA, Würzburg), who both delivered a strong race.

Patrick Eppich carried off the victory in the CUPRA class again ahead of Hinrich Groeneveld.

With a sensational show at the Salzburgring, the PRTC is now saying goodbye for the time being until the next races from July 22-24, 2022 at Automotodrom Grobnik (CRO) on the Croatian Mediterranean coast. Once again, there will be no end to the action on this track in line with the motto “real cars, real racing”.

Pictures: Pfister-Racing GmbH