28.6.17 Double victory at the Nürburgring for Wolfgang Kaufmann and the Kremer Porsche 935K

It was a very special birthday party: to celebrate the 90th jubilee of the opening of the legendary Nürburgring, the Düsseldorfer Automobil- und Motorsport- Club 05 e.V. put on a grand historic racing extravaganza: the Eifelrennen.

Team Porsche Kremer brought along its Vaillant 935 K2, for team owner Eberhard Baunach, and the 1980 Jägermeister 935 K3, to be driven by Wolfgang Kaufmann; both were entered in the two-part FHR 100 Mile race.

In the paddock, the Kremer Porsche 997 K3, usually driven by Kaufmann/Baunach in VLN, and the street-legal 997 K3 road were on display for the 17000 spectators.

In the first qualifying sesion, Kaufmann held back. Fresh from a major overhaul, the 935 K3 had to be bedded in and optimised. But the second session saw the Piranha show his infamous bite: pole position for the Group 5 Porsche.

From his starting position at the head of the grid, Kaufmann then stormed into the first leg of the FHR 100 Mile Trophy at 6.30 pm local time. Thanks to a proper setup, not to mention lots of turbo power, Kaufmann held his lead over the 17 laps on the Grand Prix circuit. But if it looked like a walk in the park, it was to be anything but that. „Especially Felix Haas in the Cheetah prototype was always breathing down my neck; but that was what made it fun“, Kaufmann said at the end of this first heat, „the Porsche is heavier and, being built to GT regulations, has relatively small brakes in relation to its weight and power. So you have to take care of the car, even in head-to-head racing“ - especially as the twin turbo engine began to lose power and art times cut out toward the end of the run. 0.8 seconds were Kaufmann's margin of victory at the finish line.

There was not much time for rest, relaxation, and repairs: heat 2 was scheduled for 21.30hrs on the same Saturday night – into darkness! Much as in the first part of the race, Kaufmann held his leading position with the Porsche 935 K3 in its classic Jägermeister livery. In excellent racing mood, the man from Molsberg was able to improve his fastest lap time on the Grand Prix track by 0.7 seconds, to 1.48,739mins. With not much repair time, the Team Porsche Kremer crew was unable to completely remedy the car's engine problem; and again, the six cylinder boxer motor lost some power in the latter stages of the race.

But they don't call Kaufmann „Fighter“ and „Piranha“ for nothing! He held his own against the hard-charging Cheetah prototype, and brought home the win in the second part of the FHR 100 Mile Trophy.

„These two races were a whole lot of fun, especially driving into dusk. With all this, and Porsche turbo power behind me, it was a perfect weekend“, said a delighted Kaufmann, who also approves of the re-launched event under the storied Eifelrennen moniker: „The organisers have put a lot of effort into putting a fine event together; especially the Saturday action was something special. For me personally, receiving a classic trophy and a laurel reef was an emotional high-point. My thanks go to Eberhard Baunach and the whole Team Porsche Kremer Racing.“