Masterful drive at a damp Hockenheim Rd9

Alex Davison today crowned his 2001 Porsche Carrera Cup season in Germany with victory in the ninth round at the Hockenheim circuit. The 21-year-old Australian has finished the high-profile German racing series in sixth place, in the field of 22 identical Porsche 911 GT3 Cup cars.

Today's race result made a pair of book-ends for Davison, who had won the opening round in April, also at Hockenheim. Unlike the opening round, however, today's race was held on the full, 6.8 kilometre grand prix circuit, with the Porsche 911 GT3 Cup coupes reaching almost 290 km/h on the long straights.

Davison started the race from second on the grid, alongside series leader Jörg Bergmeister (Farnbacher Racing). Their qualifying times in the dry Saturday session equated to an average lap speed of 179 km/h.

"What pleases me most is that I got my time without getting a 'tow' from another car, which is very satisfying at Hockenheim", Alex said, referring to the aerodynamic slipstreaming among competitors that is a feature of racing on this high-speed circuit.

Alex's grid position also put him immediately in front of Bergmeister's title rival, UPS Porsche-Junior Team driver, Timo Bernhard, who needed to score at least four points over Bergmeister to clinch the title.

Race day was all Alex Davison's, however, the young Melbourne driver undaunted by heavy showers during the morning. While the rain had eased in time for the race, the wet circuit prompted organisers to stage a rolling start, with the first two laps under yellow flags.

Davison stayed behind Bergmeister until lap six, when the Australian driver initiated a daring, outbraking move around the outside entering the Jim Clark chicane. Alex then stayed on Bergmeister's doorhandle to assume the inside line, and the lead, through the apex of the chicane.

"I didn't really mean to pass him when I did - it just sort-of happened that way!" Alex said after the race. "I'd been staying behind Jörg, just checking out his braking points and so on, and after a few laps, I was outbraking him easily. I braked much later than he did, so I moved to the outside. When I was alongside him, I just thought, 'Well, I might as well stay here.'"

Alex quickly built a lead of two seconds over Bergmeister, who soon had to contend with the UPS Porsche-Junior Team cars of Marc Lieb and Timo Bernhard. Lieb was in fighting form, but was also mindful of his team-mate's title bid.

Timo Bernhard's eventual second place, assisted by Lieb, brought him equal in the points score with Bergmeister, who finished in fourth place today. Bernhard was awarded the title on a countback of race victories.

Alex was pleased to have ended his season on a high note. "I know this is a cliché, but it was as easy as it might have looked today", he said. "I had a lot of oversteer and the track was fairly slippery in places, so I had to concentrate hard to keep a margin back to second. On this track, there's a lot of slipstreaming, so it's difficult to shake someone off once you've let them get close."

Team Hewlett-Packard/Porsche Centre Koblenz, which fields Davison's number 12 car and the number 11 car of Christian Menzel, was delighted with Alex's season-closing win. The Nurburgring-based team, in its maiden Carrera Cup season, had already clinched the teams prize at the previous round.

Davison maintains high hopes for a third season in Porsche Carrera Cup next year, ideally in concert with a season in Porsche-Pirelli Supercup. "I'm starting to channel my ambitions towards a career in sports car racing, which I think is a bit more realistic than Formula One", Alex said. "I've been very fortunate to have been able to build this relationship with Porsche.

"Obviously, I want to thank Porsche Cars Australia, Mobil Oil Australia and Mistral International for giving me the opportunity to race in Europe, in the Porsche Carrera Cup", Alex said. "It's been a bit of an up-and-down season for us, but we've ended on a high note. It's been the most incredible experience."

Results Carrera Cup Rd. 9, Hockenheim, October 7, 2001

1. Alex Davison (Team Hewlett-Packard/PZK), 12 laps 32:50.862 (149.556 km/h)
   
2. Timo Bernhard (UPS Porsche-Junior Team) + 0.652 seconds
   
3. Marc Lieb (UPS Porsche-Junior Team), 0.937s
   
4. Jörg Bergmeister (Farnbacher Racing), 3.415
   
5. Roland Asch (Warsteiner Carsport Racing), 3.623
   
6. Wolf Henzler (PZE Grohs Motorsport), 3.866
   
7. Frank Schmickler (Tolimit Motorsport), 4.117
   
8. Frank Stippler (PZO-Team Herberth), 13.813
   
9. Jochen Land ((Land Motorsport), 16.749
   
10. Enrico Bertaggia (Home Jumper Star-Farnbacher), 17.757

1. Timo Bernhard, 135 points (4 wins)
2. Jörg Bergmeister, 135 (2 wins)
3. Christian Menzel, 100
4. Roland Asch, 89
5. Alexander Grau, 88 (1 win)
6. Alex Davison, 87 (2 wins)
7. Marc Lieb, 78
8. Sascha Maassen, 71
9. Enrico Bertaggia, 59
10. Tim Bergmeister, 58