Another podium for Niklas Krütten in race eight of the Fanatec GT World Challenge Europe. The 20-year-old WRT driver from Trier battled his way to third place in the Gold Cup alongside Jean-Baptiste Simmenauer (FRA) and Calan Williams (AUS) at the Nürburgring at the weekend.
That result was sufficient for the team to defend its lead at the top of the class standings.
Krütten’s Sunday started with rain and poor visibility for qualifying on the 3.629-kilometre sprint circuit at the foot of the Nürburg. However, the W Racing trio refused to allow that to knock them out of their stride and qualified fifth in the Gold class with a time of 2:11.138 minutes. The conditions had improved by the time the race got underway, and team-mate Simmenauer started the three-hour race on a dry track. The Frenchman, at the wheel of the 590-hp BMW M4 GT3, made up two positions in the early stages and handed the number 30 car over to Williams in third place. The Australian held onto that position during his stint, before Krütten took over behind the wheel for the final third of the race. After three hours of racing and a flawless performance, Krütten crossed the finish line in third place.
Niklas Krütten: “On the whole, the BoP classification of the BMW made it a difficult weekend for us. With that in mind, it is all the more pleasing to take third place in our class. We did not make any mistakes in the race, and slickly gained two positions. That is very important with an eye on the championship. Next up is the Hockenheimring. I think we will battling at the front of the field again there.”
The next round of the Fanatec GT World Challenge Europe takes place from 2nd to 3rd September 2023 at the Hockenheimring Baden-Württemberg.