Lausitzring FIA GT: Porsche’s rain parade
Wolfgang Kaufmann took his first FIA GT Championship win at the Lausitzring this weekend, after a strategic, cautious drive in treacherous conditions

Driving the Freisinger Motorsport Porsche 911 GT2 with fellow German Hupert Haupt, Kaufmann started from third on the grid, and made steady progress despite heavy rain showers which left the new circuit extremely slippery. With cars sliding off the track and spinning spectacularly, the safety car was brought out three times. Kaufmann chose the perfect time to pit, and emerged in the lead when his main opponents stopped later, taking the chequered flag amidst a fireworks display.
Wet qualifying sessions had turned the grid upside down, with usual podium contenders Julian Bailey in the Lister Storm and the two Paul Belmondo Racing cars starting towards the back of the grid. In the early, dry part of the race, however, they soon came to the fore, while pole-sitter Hezemans in the Carsport Viper and Philippe Favre in the second Lister Storm battled for the lead.
After the rain, and the first safety car period, Vincent Vosse in the Paul Belmondo Viper was leading, with Bailey close behind. Derichebourg, taking over the Viper, maintained the lead, while Bailey dropped back with visibility problems.
Kaufmann pitted during the final safety car period, whereas Derichebourg stayed out, which eventually gave the Porsche a comfortable lead when Vosse took over the Viper for his final stint. He rose up to second, maintaining the team's lead in the GT Teams Classification, but was unable to challenge the Porsche 911 GT2. The last time a Porsche 911 GT2 won in the FIA GT Championship was at the Hungaroring in 1998, when Sascha Maassen and Bruno Eichmann drove the Roock Racing Porsche to GT2 victory.
Vosse and Derichebourg came in second, with Bailey and Campbell Walter recovering to fifth overall and third in GT after a great drive from the young British driver. "That was my first time driving in the dark - and I liked it," Campbell-Walter said.
As had been expected, the rain closed up the categories and brought the N-GT cars further up the field than usual. Until the rain started, Luca Riccitelli and newcomer Patrick Huisman, in the RWS Red Bull Racing Porsches, were fighting for their lead. Huisman's car dropped back slightly after a stop to change the windscreen wiper, and mid-race, Magnus Wallinder had a starring role, coming close to leading the race outright in his Pennzoil Quaker State G-Force Porsche 911 GR3-R.
"It was the best race of my life," the Swedish driver said. "I was driving with a big smile on my face."
His car dropped to third in class after Wallinder handed over to Nigel Smith. Despite a small accident after the first restart, Riccitelli moved into the lead of the class, taking his second win of the season and placing him third in the Drivers Championship.
Second place went to Bouchut and Goueslard in the Larbre Competition car, after a cautious drive in order to maximise their points. With 52 points in the Drivers N-GT Classsification, and twenty points remaining, they now have an unassailable lead and will be the first-ever FIA N-GT Drivers champions.
"The race was very hard, but our aim was to collect as many points as possible," Bouchut said. Wallinder and Smith finished third.
1 3 3 GT Kaufmann/Haupt Freisinger Porsche GT2 79
2 17 12 GT Derichebourg/Vosse Belmondo Chry Viper 79
3 7 77 NGT Riccitelli/Quester RWS Porsche 996 79
4 8 52 NGT Bouchut/Goueslard Larbre Porsche GT3 78
5 25 14 GT Bailey/CampbellWalter Lister Lister Storm 78
6 9 50 NGT Wallinder/Smith G-Force Porsche GT3 78
7 13 56 NGT O'Rourke/Sugden EMKA GTC Porsche GT3 77
8 6 79 NGT Höfer/Huisman RWS Porsche 996 76
9 1 25 GT Hezemans/Hart Carsport Chry. Viper 76
10 14 53 NGT De Lesseps/Arhle Larbre Porsche GT3 76
11 4 5 GT Konrad/von Gartzen Konrad Porsche GT2 76
12 27 55 NGT Bertuzzi/Masselli ART Porsche GT3 75
13 2 15 GT Springer/Favre Lister Lister Storm 75
14 22 11 GT Gosselin/Belmondo Belmondo Chry Viper 75
15 11 51 NGT Nearn/Willems G-Force Porsche GT3 75
16 21 27 GT Sabatini/Spinelli/Villa Orlando Porsche GT2 74
17 18 67 67 NGT Collini/Mancini MAC Porsche 996 74
18 24 57 NGT Colloni/Mancini ART Porsche GT3 73
19 23 7 GT Reid/Reid Proton Porsche GT2 73
20 15 24 GT Müller/Trunk MRT Lamborghini 72
21 12 8 GT Garbagnati/Casadei Haberthur Porsche GT2 71
22 16 4 GT Hane/Palmberger Freisinger Porsche GT2 71
23 26 58 NGT Fomenko/Vasiliev Freisinger Porsche GT3 67
24 20 21 GT Cappellari/Matteuzzi Racing Box Chry. Viper 57
Not Classified
25 10 22 GT Wieth/Wieth Wieth Porsche GT2 48
26 5 2 GT Brun/Seiler Chamberlain Chry.Viper 44
27 19 60 NGT Ligonnet/Neugarten Haberthur Porsche GT3 22

McNish secures third pole of season
Biela and Pirro take radio-controlled Texas win

Latest news
How to be an ace engineer – GT racing expert Gary Davies
Winning a US endurance classic outright with a GT car, against prototype opposition, ought to be one of the best experiences in an engineer’s career. That Gary Davies can quickly pinpoint a triumph more satisfying says much about his long and successful career spanning single-seaters and sportscars
WRT and Audi to part ways at the end of 2022
The Belgian WRT squad will end its partnership with Audi in the GT3 arena after 13 seasons at the end of this year.
Spa 24 Hours: Mercedes takes first win since 2013
Mercedes claimed a first Spa 24 Hours victory since 2013 as the French Auto Sport Promotion team finally broke its duck in the Belgian enduro.
Spa 24 Hours: Lamborghini loses pole for engine infringement
Lamborghini has lost pole position for this weekend’s Spa 24 Hours for an engine infringement.
How to get the best out of amateur racers
Pro-Am GT racing is booming. But how should drivers approach working with an amateur? Autosport sought out a panel of experts to explain the pitfalls amateur drivers should avoid and how professionals can help them to achieve their goals
The remarkable career of a 'classy' champion who rejected politics
Over two decades as a factory driver with Audi and BMW, Martin Tomczyk earned the respect of team-mates and rivals as a hard but fair racer. After calling time on his racing career, the 2011 DTM champion sat down with Autosport to look back
The ex-IndyCar racer in "uncharted territory" of British GT team ownership
This weekend’s British GT finale will be a tense title showdown for some but, for those not in the championship fight, it’s a chance to end a challenging year on a high. In the latter camp is Paddock Motorsport's team owner Martin Plowman, whose 2021 season has been a rollercoaster ride of non-stop learning
The unpopular BMW stalwart built for the big occasion
It has won most of the big prizes in endurance racing across its six years in service, but the BMW M6 GT3's key weaknesses meant only a devoted few teams persisted with running it. As it prepares to bow out at season's end, the teams and drivers involved in its story share the secrets of an unpopular winner
The unwanted GT car that changed sportscar racing forever
Had FIA GT boss Stephane Ratel had his way, the Maserati MC12 would never have been allowed to set foot in his series. It duly proved the class of the field that most had expected, but the Balance of Performance that its superiority spawned would keep GT1 battles tight and bring long-term benefits that sportscar racing enjoys today
Why Britain's greatest sportscar was eclipsed on the world stage
The E-Type may be the most famous of all road-going Jaguars, but that didn't always translate into success on the track. After winning on its competition debut in 1961, motorsport success seemed an inevitability, but things didn’t turn out to be quite that straightforward
Why the Jaguar E-type remains special at 60
It’s 60 years since the Jaguar E-type arrived and caused a sensation. As our resident racer Ben Anderson discovered when he got behind the wheel of two special racing versions at Brands Hatch, the thrill of driving them hasn't diminished over time
The rise of a GT squad responsible for a unique 24-hour racing feat
It's a significant achievement to win one 24-hour race in a year, let alone two, and with different manufacturers, but that's exactly what ROWE Racing did in 2020 at the Nurburgring and Spa. This weekend's German classic offers the DTM newcomer a chance of another unique double to add to its growing collection of accolades