20-year-old German wins both races at the HungaroringJoonas Lappalainen defends lead of overall standingsXavi Forés keeps upper hand against Chaz Davies in duel of Ducati stars
Dennis Marschall made his mark on the Hungarian premiere of the Audi Sport TT Cup. At the Hungaroring, the German celebrated two lights-to-flag victories and reduced his deficit to overall leader Joonas Lappalainen from Finland to nine points. Now, the showdown will take place in the season’s finale at Hockenheim. In the guest entrants’ classification, two stars from the FIM Superbike World Championship (WorldSBK), Chaz Davies and Xavi Forés, were on the grid.
Marshall had demonstrated his ambitions for the weekend as early as in qualifying, clinching the top spot on the grid for both races. From pole position, the native of Karlsruhe did not give his rivals the slightest chance and scored an uncontested victory twice. “That was an impressive performance,” praised Project Leader Philipp Mondelaers. “But our other young talents delivered fantastic motorsport once more as well. The premiere in Hungary was a resounding success.” Trailing Marschall, overall leader Joonas Lappalainen clinched a clear second place. Sheldon van der Linde from South Africa completed the top three.
In the guest entrants’ classification, the grid at the Hungaroring again included two high-caliber entrants, WorldSBK stars Chaz Davies and Xavi Forés. The Spaniard Forés decided the duel of the motorcycle campaigners in his favor, celebrating a second and a third place. For Davies, both races ended early following collisions he was not at fault in. In spite of this, the Welshman had huge fun switching from two to four wheels and is leaving Budapest with plenty of positive memories. The Dutchman Milan Dontje dominated the action in the guest entrants’ classification. The seasoned campaigner won both races and fought a number of spectacular duels with the permanent entrants.Lappalainen, on scoring his eighth and ninth podium result this season, defended his position in the overall standings. The 18-year-old now has a tally of 239 points, trailed by Marschall with 230. Van der Linde, with 197 points, is in position three and, following the sixth of seven race weekends, is leading the rookies’ classification, trailed closely by Nicklas Nielsen. The Audi Sport TT Cup newcomer from Denmark is trailing the reigning Champion of Volkswagen Polo Cup South Africa by just one point. “The fans can look forward to the season finale at Hockenheim,” says Chris Reinke, Head of Audi Sport customer racing. “There are four drivers who, mathematically, still have chances of becoming champion and among the rookies there are three talents battling for the coveted title.” The final event in the 2016 Audi Sport TT Cup will be held as part of the DTM season’s finale at the Hockenheimring from October 14 to 16.
