Porsche Cup Suisse: Together through the desert adventure 🎥
JOINT EXPERIENCE For two years, they fought out the title in the Porsche Sports Cup Suisse between themselves as rival support drivers. For the 24-hour race in Dubai, Alexander Fach and Dominik Fischli teamed up.
Alexander Fach and Dominik Fischli have been racing in the GT3 Cup as part of the Porsche Sports Cup Suisse for the past two years. There, the two Swiss drivers emphatically demonstrated their talent and, thanks to the support of the organizers and Porsche Schweiz AG, were given the tools for their future careers in motorsport.
At the end of 2021, the development program for Fach and Fischli will come to an end as planned, but because it was so successful from the point of view of everyone involved, the two juniors were given an unusual farewell present as a thank-you gift at the end of the program: a start in the 24-hour race in Dubai with an all-Swiss Porsche 911 GT3 Cup of the latest 992 model generation.
Never before at a 24-hour race
Both 19-year-old Alexander and Dominik, who is a good six years older, entered new territory with the trip to the United Arab Emirates: Neither of them had previously competed in a race outside Europe or over such a long distance.
Their excitement before the endurance adventure in the Dubai desert was understandable: endurance competitions are very different from the 30-minute sprint races they both know from the GT3 Cup - there, it's mainly full throttle from start to finish, and each competitor can set up his own car the way he personally likes it best.
Dominik Fischli: "In the Cup, we were opponents for two years and pushed each other to an ever higher level. I was able to learn a lot from the fact that Alexander was sometimes a bit faster than me. Even when there was contact on the track."
Alexander Fach: "... but that's part of it. We always got along well in the paddock, too. I knew that Dominik is a hard worker and has a strong will. Because of him, I always had to give even more. When he beat me in a time sector, I always took a close look. We both benefited from this fair rivalry. Driving together with him now was a lot of fun."
A new experience
In 24-hour races, it comes down to a willingness to compromise, teamwork, and strategy-especially since the two young drivers shared the cockpit of their 911 GT3 Cup with three other Swiss drivers: Peter Hegglin, Marcel Wagner, and Jan Klingelnberg are also among the fast people in the Porsche Sports Cup Suisse.
Dominik Fischli: "Pit stops with driver changes were an exciting topic. We didn't know that before and practiced it in detail together with our three gentleman drivers."
An unfortunate start
The Swiss quintet quickly became acquainted with the special features of the Dubai 24-hour race: 81 cars of different speeds provide plenty of spectacle with numerous incidents on a circuit just under 5.4 kilometers long.
Fach Auto Tech's Porsche was not spared either: Despite all the caution, it came into contact with a KTM X-Bow shortly after the start (see video below), which affected the front left radiator. The mechanics completed the necessary repair in barely more than 15 minutes.
Alexander Fach: "After that we started a super race to catch up and rolled up the field from behind. All five drivers were fast and the pit stops worked just as well as the strategy."
Too bad: Already at the start there was a collision with time-consuming consequences.
Stone in the radiator entails failure
After eleven hours, the white-and-red 911 GT3 Cup had already fought its way back up from ninth place to fourth in its 992-AM class and shone with significantly better lap times than the cars ahead of it. Then, however, fate struck a second time: a whirled-up stone interfered with the function of the throttle valve, and acceleration was hardly possible.
Alexander Fach: "We tried several times in the pits to blow the stone away. After that, things were fine again for around five laps, but then the problem always returned - presumably because the throttle body itself had been damaged."
No matter how eagerly the mechanics tried to fix the defect: In the end, the team had no choice but to park the car at midnight, halfway through the race.
Fischli enters the GT World Challenge Europe
The disappointment about the premature retirement is limited for the two young talents. For Dominik Fischli, it was the coolest race he had ever competed in.
He is now staying true to endurance racing: In the new season, the man from Remetschwil will be competing in the GT World Challenge Europe with a Porsche 911 GT3 R from Team Allied-Racing.
Fach wants to develop further in Germany
Two-time Swiss GT3 Cup champion Fach is also leaving the nest and the Porsche Sports Cup Suisse to tackle the next stage of his motorsport career: The Porsche Carrera Cup Deutschland is on the cards for him in 2022.
Alexander Fach: "I hope that I can develop further there and get even closer to the pros. The Dubai 24 Hours will certainly not be my last endurance race. In terms of pace, we were in such a good position that second place in class was within reach despite the accident at the start. We can't just let that sit on our hands."
24hseries.com/races/hankook-24h-dubai-2022
