Strong performance from Niklas Krütten in the Fanatec GT World Challenge Europe: the 20-year-old from Trier and his Australian team-mate Calan Williams took victory in the Gold Cup in the second race of the weekend.
On Saturday, the W Racing Team driver had narrowly missed out on the podium, finishing fourth on his debut at Brands Hatch circuit in Great Britain. The former ADAC Stiftung Sport driver now lies second in the Gold Class standings in the Sprint Cup, and third in the Endurance Cup.
Niklas Krütten: “We did not know what to expect, as neither Calan nor I had ever raced at Brands Hatch before. However, right from the first free practice session I felt good in the car, and we only had to make a few adjustments to the set-up. The car was really very good in the fast corners. I was able to secure a good grid position in qualifying for race two. We drove a clean race and the team called us in at the right moment and did a perfect pit stop. That allowed us to take the lead and win the race. If we carry on this way, we will have more opportunities to celebrate this year, and hopefully win the title.”
The team began the opening race of the weekend at the 3.916-kilometre racetrack in Great Britain from fourth place in its class. Under overcast skies and with cool temperatures around ten degrees Celsius, team-mate Calan Williams was first behind the wheel of the BMW M4 GT3. He was able to hold his own against the opposition in the turbulent early stages of the race, and handed over to Krütten in fourth place after 28 minutes of racing. The man from Trier did make up a few positions in the overall standings during his stint, but was unable to improve in his class. As such, the duo came home fourth in the Gold Cup, narrowly missing out on a place on the class podium.
Krütten started the final race of the weekend in similar weather conditions. The early laps produced some thrilling wheel-to-wheel racing on the narrow track to the south of London. However, the 20-year-old kept a cool head and intelligently stayed clear of the battles raging between his rivals. Krütten demonstrated his great talent, called on his experience and, after 30 minutes, handed the BMW M4 GT3 over to his Australian team-mate in second place. A clever pit stop strategy saw the team pass the Gold Cup leader. Williams tightened his grip on this position in the second half of the race and claimed the first class victory for the number 30 car. The W Racing Team duo came home seventh overall.
Round three of the Fanatec GT World Challenge Europe takes place from 2nd to 4th June 2023 at Circuit Paul Ricard in France. Krütten then lines up in the Nürburgring Endurance Series in the Eifel Mountains with Walkenhorst Motorsport from 16th to 17th June.