18.06.14 Successful first half of the season in current and historic racing for Wolfgang Kaufmann

For Wolfgang Kaufmann, the racer from Molsberg, the 2014 season has an intriguing mix of currrent and historic motorsport in store.

The opening race with Mazda Sports Team Jota on the legendary Nürburgring, in preparation for the 24hr race on the that same track, already brought considerable success. Even though the Mazda MX-5 was the least powerful of the cars in the V3 class, Kaufmann and his team mates Owen Mildenhall (UK) and Teruaki Kato (J) were able to celebrate a victory at the end of six hours of racing.

Three weeks on, Wolfgang Kaufmann travelled to the Eifel again to compete in the endurance championship with a Kremer Racing's Porsche 997 GT3 KR. In qualifying, he put the car on the 3rd grid position for the SP7 class with its 14 entries. The event covered four hours on the combination of the modern Grand Prix track and the Nordschleife. At the end of 26 laps, and after a supreme effort by Kaufmann, the duo was classified in 2nd place in SP7.

That weekend was to bring twice as much success, as Kaufmann also took part in the Hockenheim round of the Youngtimer Trophy with a Ford Escort Mk.I RS 1600. His commitments at the Nürburgring on Saturday meant that he had to miss qualifying in Hockenheim, and had to take the start of the 1 hour race on Sunday at the tail end of the field. Undaunted, the racing professional fought hard for every single track position. Lap after lap he made up ground and eventually secured the race win, with an advantage of almost a second over the 2nd place finisher!

With the start of his historic racing programme successfully behind him, Kaufmann looked ahead to his outing in the Classic Endurance Race at Spa-Franchorchamps with confidence. He drove a 1974 Porsche 911 RSR 3.0 together with the car's owner, Hans-Georg Hübner, and prepared by Scuderie M66. Even though it was only the car's first appearance in competition, the team had no trouble to report. Kaufmann put the RSR on pole position, and promptly led the race on the 7km rollercoaster in the Ardennes. At post-race scrutineering however, the officials did not agree with a number of small details on the car - which had no influence on its performance – and effected a 5 minute time penalty on the team. This relegated Kaufmann / Hübner to 11th place.

The French CER round at Dijon brought sweet revenge. This time out, Kaufmann drove the Scuderia M66 Porsche by himself and made it clear to his critics that the 911 had been a justified winner of the GT1 class even at Spa. From pole position, Kaufmann controlled the race over 324 laps on the demanding track, against some considerable more powerful machinery, and took victory with a clear advantage of 48 seconds on his nearest rival. The 911 RSR driven by Kaufmann also turned the fastest lap of the race.

The “Sixties Endurance” was also part of the Grand Prix De L'age D'or at Dijon. Hired by Siamak Siassi to share his 1963 Jaguar E-Type Coupe in the 2 hour race, Kaufmann quickly adjusted to the classic GT with its 3.8 liter, six cylinder engine and put the British coupe on row 2 of the starting grid. In the race, he soon found his rhythm on the 3,8km track, and turned the fastest lap among all the Jaguar entrants, leaving even renowned E-Type specialists in his wake. The Kaufmann / Siassi combination was delighted with 8th place in the overall standings at the end of two hours of racing.

The coming weekend holds the toughest assignment in store for Kaufmann. He will take on the 24hrs on the Nürburgring, and with two cars. In the V3 class, he will again compete for Mazda Sports Team Jota; additionally he will once again join Kremer Racing with its Porsche 997 GT3 KR in the SP7 class. The two cars could not be more different: on the one hand the race modified stock production Mazda, on the other the thoroughbred GT from the Kremer Racing stable.

You can follow the chase twice round the clock on German TV channel Sport1, or via the live stream at www.24h-rennen.de