Tunjo/Apothéloz win the finale of this season’s Prototype Cup Germany at the Nürburgring

Sunday’s Prototype Cup Germany race at the Nürburgring was an entertaining affair and produced plenty of spectacular action on the track. At the end of an eventful race, it was Oscar Tunjo (27/COL) and Julien Apothéloz (22/CHE, both Van Ommen Racing by DataLab) who took victory in a Duqueine D08. Second place went to Ligier JS P320 driver Nigel Moore (31/GBR, Aust Motorsport). Completing the podium in third place were Gustavo Kyrila (29/BRA) and Nico Göhler (20/Grasleben, both BWT Mücke Motorsport) in another Duqueine. “We are obviously absolutely delighted. We started the season with a race win and ended the year with a victory. That is the perfect end to a season,” said Apothéloz, who also finished runner-up in the Drivers’ Championship together with Tunjo.

Göhler started the race from pole position. However, Nigel Moore had overtaken the BWT Mücke Motorsport driver and taken the lead by the end of the second lap. Moore managed to open a bit of a lead as the race progressed, while Göhler could not prevent Jacob Erlbacher (23/Böblingen, Gebhardt Motorsport) from taking second place in the Duqueine. Around the midway point of the race, the safety car was called into action to allow the Duqueine of Valentino Catalano (17/Westheim, DKR Engineering) to be recovered from the edge of the circuit, resulting in the front of the field bunching together again. Eventual race winner Apothéloz was running sixth at this point of the race.

As soon as the race resumed, the pit stop window opened. Göhler’s team-mate Kyrila initially led the field after the driver changeover, but was soon powerless to stop Moore and Tunjo, who had taken over from Apothéloz, from passing him. The front two then proceeded to pull clear of the 15-strong field and Moore went on to cross the finish line ahead of Tunjo. However, the Brit was handed a five-second penalty for snaking excessively to heat his tyres after the grid sign on the formation lap. As such, victory went to Tunjo/Apothéloz. The Swiss also won the Junior competition.

A captivating battle for third place developed between Kyrila and Jacob Erlbacher. However, the Gebhardt Motorsport driver was unable to find a way past the Brazilian and ended the race in fourth place. Fifth place went to Xavier Lloveras (23/ESP, Mühlner Motorsport) who, like Moore, started alone in another Duqueine. Guest starter Klaus Abbelen (63/Barweiler) and Felipe Laser (34/Leipzig, both Frikadelli Racing) finished sixth – a result that also saw Abbelen take victory in the Trophy competition.

Seventh place went to fellow Ligier racers Jan Marschalkowski (20/Inning am Ammersee) and Guilherme de Oliveira (18/PRT, both MRS GT-Racing), ahead of Max van der Snel (20/NLD) and Mark van der Snel (52/NLD, both More Motorsport by Reiter) in another Ligier.

That was enough to earn Max van der Snel the title in the Junior competition in 2023. His father Mark van der Snel also had cause to celebrate. He was crowned Trophy champion. The title in the Team competition went to Racing Experience. Gary Hauser (31/LUX) and Markus Pommer (32/Untereisesheim, both Racing Experience) had already been confirmed as champion drivers ahead of the season finale.

Oscar Tunjo – winner for Van Ommen Racing by DataLab “The win was unexpected. The first half of the race was not easy. However, anything could happen after the safety car. We had a super strategy. In the end, I heard over the radio that Nigel had been given a penalty. After that, I did not take any risks to try to overtake him. We are obviously also mega happy to finish runner-up in the championship.”

Julien Apothéloz – winner for Van Ommen Racing by DataLab “We chose the perfect strategy and came in for the pit stop at exactly the right time. Oscar was then able to overtake the Mücke car straight away. I am also happy with my stint. I had a bit of wheelspin at the start, as I hit a wet spot. However, I was then able to make up two places. Ending the season as runners-up is very special, as the standard in this series is very high.”

Nigel Moore – second place for Aust Motorsport “I would obviously have liked to have won, but second place is excellent for everyone in the team. We had a super pit stop and decent pace. In the end, I had to keep an eye on the temperatures a bit, as we had an issue with the gearbox. It was a good finale to the season.”  

Gustavo Kyrila – third place for BWT Mücke Motorsport “I am overjoyed with third place in the race, as that meant we also came third in the championship. That was the goal for this season. 2023 was my first season outside of Brazil. The battle at the end was crazy and really enjoyable.”

Nico Göhler – third place for BWT Mücke Motorsport “My stint was really tough. I was not really able to make full use of my pace. Despite that, we are really happy with the podium. Our goal was to take third place in the overall standings. We managed that, and are delighted to have done so.”