Stefano Proetto clinched his first win in the new VW Scirocco R Cup at the Norisring at the weekend.
The 25-year-old from Munich, who is making his return to motorsport this season after a five year break, made a perfect start from the front row of the grid and was never challenged in the 18-lap race, taking victory by 9.5 seconds.
Championship leader Maciek Steinhof, winner of both the rounds held so far in the series’ inaugural season, took second place and extended his lead in the standings, while 18-year-old Christian Schweiger was third, his first podium finish.
Perhaps the most impressive display came from rally specialist Krzysztof Holowczyc, who not only defeated the other specially-invited ‘legend’ drivers but finished a fine fourth overall.
Sportscar racer Ralf Kelleners also fared well in sixth, while ex-F1 star Marc Surer and former DTM driver Christian Abt also finished inside the top ten. Miriam Holler, winner of Germany's Next Top Model, made a respectable car racing debut in 23rd, finishing on the same lap as the leaders.
The race was stopped early when Dennis Rieger rolled his car after clipping the barriers at the S-Corner. The red flags flew, though Rieger was able to extract himself from his car before being sent to hospital for a check up.
“I’m overjoyed,” said Proetto. “Mounting the podium right away after returning to motorsport from a five-year break is an exhilarating feeling.
“After retiring at the EuroSpeedway I was really hot about clinching a good result here. Today we’ll seriously celebrate.”
VW Scirocco R Cup results – Round 2, EuroSpeedway Lausitz
1 Stefano Proetto, 18 laps 18:29.689
2 Maciek Steinhof, +9.535
3 Christian Schweiger, +15.762
4 Krzysztof Holowczyc, +17.643
5 Jann-Hendrik Ubben, +18.459
6 Ralf Kelleners, +19.207
7 Kris Heidorn, +19.809
8 Ola Nilsson, +20.437
9 Marc Surer, +21.894
10 Christian Abt, +24.168
11 Arne Larisch, +25.642
12 Dennis Rieger, +25.918
13 Aditya Patel, +26.313
14 Timmy Megenbier, +29.022
15 Isabelle Biela, +29.846
16 Eve Scheer. +31.916
17 Bertram Schafer, +35.744
18 Philipp Glauner, +36.491
19 Berek Bayindir, +38.273
20 Daniel Bohr, +40.409
21 Felix Tigges, +43.449
22 Nicolas Schneider, +46.927
23 Miriam Holler, +54.648
24 Hans-Peter Schleifer, +58.065
Not classified
Adam Gladysz, 5 laps
Championship Standings (after 3 rounds)
1 Maciek Steinhof, 108pts
2 Kris Heidorn, 80
3 Stefano Proetto, 73
4 Ola Nilsson, 67
5 Dennis Rieger, 58
6 Jann-Henrik Ubben, 55
7 Arne Larisch, 55
8 Aditya Patel, 54
9 Timmy Megenbier, 52
10 Christian Schweiger, 51
Next round: 8 August, Nurburgring
Watch VW Scirocco R Cup highlights from the Norisring on Saturday 11 July at 6:35pm (BST) on Motors TV.
Andy Wilkinson
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