28.10.15 From pole position to victory - strong performance in Portugal for Wolfgang Kaufmann/Afschin Fatemi

In difficult conditions, the German professional takes the Porsche 911 to a win in the Classic Endurance Series When Wolfgang Kaufmann travelled to the final round of the Classic Endurance Racing series at Portia, he set himself one goal: to make one more perfect performance. At the Autodromo International Algarve, he shared the Porsche 911 RSR with Afschin Fatemi.

In the first, dry qualifying session, Kaufmann secured pole position in the GT class for the duo by putting a 0.8 second difference between himself and the other teams in this class over a lap on the 4.6 kilometer track. The second session he left to Fatemi who only turned one lap in worsening weather.

And just when the teams lined up for the 60 minute race, dark clouds moved in over Portimao. The team decided to start the race on grooved slick tyres, a decision that had Wolfgang Kaufmann approach the start of the race with caution. "I did not want to take too much of a risk", Kaufmann explained, "important championship points were at stake for us." Within a short while, however, the conditions had improved enough for Kaufmann to unleash the Porsche's potential, and move into the lead. Unfortunately, a subsequent safety car period ate up his advantage, and the field closed up again.

The seasoned campaigner got the restart right, and again began to fight for every meter of track he could put between himself and his opponents. With the rain once again getting heavier and the mandatory pit stop coming up, the clock showed more than 8 seconds' advantage for Kaufmann. At the stop, Afschin Fatemi was issued rain tyres in order to minimize the risk for him. "The team did fine work on the tyre change", Kaufmann praises the mechanics' performance, "a quick tyre change is a whole different challenge on a historic car: the car has to be jacked up manually, and the wheels have five conventional wheelnuts instead of a central lock."

Their toughest opponent in the GT category was a team with a newer, more powerful Porsche 911 RSR; they had not changed to rain tyres. When Fatemi went back on track, he was 22 seconds in arrears of the other team, and moved back up to within 4 seconds to the class leader. A second, long safety car phase finally brought the Kaufmann/Fatemi Porsche within striking distance of the leader. It seemed very likely that the race would be concluded under yellow; but two laps before the end, the race officials flew the green flag.

Fatemi was able to move into the lead, and the team finally was able to celebrate their first victory in the CER series. "We have been waiting all season for this moment", Kaufmann says, "we have worked and fought for this win, and we have earned it. It is a great reward for a long season in historic racing." With the points scored for this win, the duo was able to place itself among the top 3 finishers in the final championship standings - a special bonus.

"the top 3 finishers get an automatic invitation for next year's Le Mans Classic", Kaufmann points out, "this is one of the real marquee events of historic racing - an amazingly well organised event with a great atmosphere."