The racing results statistics of Kappeler Motorsport already includes a number of positions on the podium, but they had missed a victory so far. This top result was now captured by Willy Hüppi (Switzerland) and Alex Schula (Hattersheim/ Germany) at the fifth VLN race of the Opel Astra OPC Cup.
The starting signal for the grid figuring more than 150 cars was given at 12 o’clock. Start driver Alex Schula took up the race from second grid position in his class. Due to a collision, he dropped back into third place but was able to catch up again and even passed the leaders M.Oestreich and R.Strycek. So Schula was in the class lead when he handed over the car to Willy Hüppi at the drivers’ change in the pits.
Hüppi was scheduled to complete a double stint which was, however, spoiled due to a problem with the drinking bottle. So Hüppi only completed an extended middle stint before he changed the steering wheel to Alex. The team then changed their strategy and Thomas Koch and his team proceeded to some comprehensive calculations. Alex was driving at medium engine speeds and he was in permanent contact with his pit team as they wanted to save one refuelling stop. “Towards the end of the race, there were many areas under yellow flags due to accidents and there were also three ‘Code 60’ sections. This was of course an advantage for us regarding fuel consumption”, said a happy Alex Schula at the end of the race.
So the risky fuel strategy was working well and this was definitely their key to success. With this result, Schula and Hüppi are now in second overall position in the Opel Astra OPC Cup. Willy Hüppi: “Finally it worked. On Friday already, I had a feeling that this would be a really good weekend. That it then turned out to be that good – simply fantastic.”
