Niklas Krütten produced an impressive display in the GT World Challenge Europe in Hockenheim: the 20-year-old from Trier and his Australian team-mate Calan Willians claimed their best overall result of the season, guiding their BMW M4 GT3 to fifth place and victory in the Gold Cup in Saturday’s race.
A puncture in the Sunday race meant Krütten narrowly missed out on another podium in his class, eventually finishing fourth. Success in Hockenheim saw the former ADAC Stiftung Sport driver defend his lead in the Gold class within the Sprint Cup.
The team started the opening race of the weekend at the 4.574-kilometre Hockenheimring from third place in their class and 16th overall. Krütten was first behind the wheel of the WRT team’s BMW M4 GT3 when the one-hour sprint got underway beneath a cloudless sky and in temperatures around 27 degrees. A perfect start and clever tactical manoeuvres allowed the 20-year-old to quickly gain ten places in the overall standings and climb into second place in his class. Krütten was rewarded for a spirited race and was rewarded with the lead, before coming into the pits after 26 minutes to hand over to team-mate Williams from first place in their class. The Australian also showed good pace and went on to complete the class victory and take fifth place overall.
With conditions similar on Sunday, Williams started the final race of the weekend from second in the Gold Cup and 12th place overall. The start was immediately eventful and resulted in a lengthy safety car phase. A collision with another car at the re-start caused a puncture on the 590-hp BMW, which unfortunately led to the WRT duo losing a lot of places. Williams handed the car over to Krütten at the halfway point of the race, and he went on to cross the finish line 29th overall and fourth in the class after 35 laps.
Niklas Krütten: “On the whole, it was a really good weekend for us, as far as our pace was concerned. The start of race one was extremely successful, as I was immediately able to make up a lot of places. Calan then took over at the wheel and wrapped up the class win and our best overall result of the season. That meant more valuable championship points for us. On Sunday, Calan had contact with another car in the race. Unfortunately, a puncture dashed any chances of winning. All in all, however, it was a really strong weekend for us, so I am definitely satisfied with our performance.”
Round eight of the Fanatec GT World Challenge Europe takes place on 16th and 17th September 2023 in Valencia (Spain). Niklas Krütten is back in action this weekend (8th to 10th September) with Walkenhorst Motorsport in the Nürburgring Endurance Series.