The Polo Cup Germany’s inaugural season is heading down to the wire, and if the penultimate weekend at the Lausitzring is anything to go by, the championship’s first-ever title is going to be decided the hard way.
Three qualifying sessions, three races and enough wheel-to-wheel action to keep the stewards busy all weekend made for a seriously entertaining visit to the Lausitzring. While Saturday started out decidedly chilly before temperatures climbed, the racing itself was anything but cold, with the championship fight taking yet another twist ahead of the season finale.
RACE 1
The first qualifying session on Saturday morning was held under glorious sunshine, although the track itself was still properly cold. That made life particularly tricky for the front-wheel-drive Polos, with getting heat into the non-driven rear tyres proving to be a bit of a mission.
Luca Wieninger (Max Kruse Racing) figured it out better than most, grabbing pole from Leon Arndt (FAV Performance) in the dying seconds of the session. Championship leader Bradley Liebenberg (Georg Motorsport e.V.), meanwhile, had been due to start fifth but was dropped to 20th following a penalty. Once the lights went out, Wieninger initially held the advantage, but Arndt wasn’t about to let him disappear. After five laps of applying the pressure, Leon made his move and took control of the race.
Behind the leading pair, Julian Konrad (Konrad Motorsport) was carving his way through the field with some properly committed overtakes, while Cedric Piro (Team Piro Sports) and Franco Fahrbach (Max Kruse Racing) joined the fight at the sharp end.
Then, with just four minutes remaining, Gabriel Kraus (a-workx Motorsport by KATANA Tools) had a heavy impact with the barrier at the start of the main straight. Thankfully, the safety equipment did its job and Gabriel walked away unhurt, although the damage to his car meant his weekend was over.
The resulting Full Course Yellow and Safety Car neutralised the final stages, leaving Arndt to take the win on his 20th birthday. Wieninger followed him home in second, with Konrad completing the podium. Fahrbach and Piro took fourth and fifth, respectively.
Liebenberg’s recovery from 20th to seventh was particularly important in the championship context, limiting the damage from his penalty. Tyler Robinson (Team TumaMotorsport) came home eighth as the highest-placed female driver, while Robert Rausch (Gravity Racing) bagged his first top-ten finish in tenth.
RACE 2
By Saturday evening, the Lausitzring had warmed up considerably, and so had the lap times. Franco Fahrbach put the Max Kruse Racing Polo on pole for the second race, with teammate Wieninger alongside him and Liebenberg starting third.
Sunday morning brought another problem, though: cold tyres. With temperatures hovering around 13°C, the field was given two formation laps in an effort to get some heat into the rubber. Even then, the opening laps were messy, with drivers finding out just how little grip there was beyond the racing line.
Fahrbach was one of the first to discover this, running through the grass after missing his braking point. Liebenberg and Konrad also got tangled up on the opening lap, dropping both down the order. Fahrbach then suffered another moment, falling to third behind Wieninger and Arndt.
The drama wasn’t finished. Marlon Di Salvo (CV Performance X JP Motorsport) ended up in the gravel after contact with Mike Müller (TOPCAR sport), bringing out the Full Course Yellow before the Safety Car was deployed.
When racing resumed, Wieninger held the lead, while Müller eventually fought his way into third after a proper scrap with Fahrbach. Franco’s earlier grass excursion also came back to bite him, with grass blocking the radiator and causing the engine temperature to rise as he began losing power.
Up front, however, Wieninger and Arndt were having none of it, going right down to the final lap with the win still up for grabs.
In the end, Wieninger held on by just 0.472 seconds, with Arndt forced to settle for second. Müller took third, narrowly beating Liebenberg, who had once again recovered strongly after his early issues.
Carlos Fahrbach was fifth, Konrad sixth, with Rafael Kraus and Hannes Kraus seventh and eighth. Franco Fahrbach salvaged ninth, while Robinson completed the top ten and once again took the honours as the highest-placed female driver.
RACE 3
If the first two races had provided enough action, the third and final encounter of the weekend decided to throw the entire championship fight into a blender.
Liebenberg grabbed pole in the final qualifying session, with Di Salvo alongside him on the front row. Franco Fahrbach and Wieninger completed the top four, with just 0.259 seconds separating the quartet.
The opening lap was absolute chaos, with several championship contenders losing big chunks of ground almost immediately. Liebenberg was defending from an attack by Fahrbach when he lost control, sending both cars into the gravel. Just like that, two of the title contenders were at the back of the field. Arndt wasn’t immune either, suffering a similar fate after an incident with Wieninger.
That left Di Salvo as the big winner from the carnage. The 15-year-old emerged from the chaos in the lead, with Wieninger and Müller behind him. Having retired from the previous two races, Di Salvo wasn’t about to waste another opportunity and showed impressive composure at the front.
Eventually, though, Wieninger found a way past and began stretching his advantage. He crossed the line first to take his second victory of the weekend, while Müller fought his way into second after a lengthy battle with Di Salvo.
The young CV Performance X JP Motorsport driver refused to crack under the pressure, though, holding on for a hugely impressive third-place finish at just 15 years of age.
Piro came home fourth, with Robinson producing another excellent drive to finish fifth. Konrad was sixth, while Liebenberg and Fahrbach recovered to seventh and eighth respectively to limit the damage from their opening-lap excursions. There is a small asterisk hanging over the results, though.
Several incidents from the starts and races have been referred to the DMSB, with investigations still ongoing. As a result, the Lausitzring results remain provisional at the time of writing.
What isn’t provisional is the fact that the inaugural Polo Cup Germany championship is going down to the final weekend.
The series heads to the Hockenheimring on 24 and 25 October for the final two races of the season, where the first-ever Polo Cup Germany champion will be crowned.
After a Lausitzring weekend featuring wins, crashes, recovery drives, Safety Cars, 0.472-second victories and enough drama to keep everyone guessing, you’d be brave to bet against another proper scrap at Hockenheim.
