Supercup: The new guy wins for the specialist team
TRIUMPH FOR YELLOLY IN MONACO That was fast: In just his second outing for Fach Auto Tech, Briton Nick Yelloly won the Porsche race in Monaco. Team boss Alex Fach was just as happy as he was in 2015 - only now the pressure is higher. In 2015, Jaap van Lagen had been the substitute driver for Simon Trummer in the [...]
In 2015, Jaap van Lagen had won the Mobil 1 Supercup round in the street canyons of Monte Carlo for himself and Fach Auto Tech as a substitute driver for Simon Trummer. Three years later, the Dutchman was back on the grid for the Schwyz-based team last weekend in Monaco, but now as a regular driver.
Nick Yelloly like Daniel Ricciardo
This time, however, it was not him but newcomer Nick Yelloly who won in the white-and-red Porsche 991 GT3 Cup from Sattel. Fach provided the Briton with a flawlessly functioning and perfectly tuned car, which he drove to the best time in the most important qualifying session of the year.
Like Daniel Ricciardo in Formula 1 hours later, Yelloly immediately took the lead from pole position. Under pressure from championship leader Michael Ammermüller, he never relinquished it after a flawless drive.
It could have been even better
The team result could have been even better for Fach if Jaap van Lagen hadn't slipped on an oil track and crashed into the guard rails on the last fast lap in qualifying.
By then he was a touch faster than Yelloly and thus also on his way to a starting place on the front row instead of just the third. After all, with fourth place he contributed valuable points to the team standings, which the Swiss team now leads.
In the drivers' championship, the two specialist drivers now occupy joint second intermediate place. In 21st place overall, the third specialist driver, Christof Langer, took second place on the ProAm podium in Monaco.
The team owner's joy was correspondingly great.
Alex Fach: "Nick's victory is sensational. The whole team did a phenomenal job, including repairing Jaap's car. That was rewarded with two podium finishes. With Nick and Jaap as drivers, anything else would be a quiet disappointment, because with them the pressure has grown, especially on me as team boss."
The last unfulfilled wishes of Alex Fach
After Van Lagen had already finished second in Barcelona, the pressure will therefore not ease after the first win of the season. On the contrary.
Alex Fach: "A win in Monaco is always something special. With a first and fourth place, we equaled our best team result to date from Mexico last year. So it would now be nice to see both drivers on the podium for once. Preferably in the top two places..."
