After a well-deserved summer break following their Spa 24 triumph, the young trio got back behind the wheel of their Gulf Oil–liveried WRT Audi with a comfortable lead in the championship.
This was the German-Danish Bullet athlete’s first visit to the Hockenheimring. The weekend started strongly, as the #30 WRT Audi has been amongst the frontrunners in the Free Practice and Pre Qualifying sessions. Proving their dominance in Sunday’s Qualifying, they secured pole position for the 3H race.
Benji took the wheel for the start and even though he avoided the opening lap drama, he slipped down to P3 in class before the Safety car got deployed only 5 minutes into the race. After almost half an hour, the race went back underway. Benji put in a strong performance, and maintained his position, before passing the wheel to JB, but unfortunately, a lengthy pit stop cost them 30 seconds, and Simmenauer emerged P9 in Silver on his return to the track.
With two more hours left on the clock, it was all in or nothing for the #30 squad. JB fought his way up to P4 before Thomas took over from him, and the young Frenchman finished the job by clinching the final podium spot, which was enough for the trio to secure the 2022 GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup Silver title with one race to spare.
Benjamin Goethe:
We didn’t come here to win the title, our main objective was to be competitive, but we’ve done it anyways. It is such a great feeling, and I am thankful to Thomas, JB, Vincent (Vosse) And the entire WRT team for their hard work throughout the season. But it’s not over yet, as there is one more title to win and we will give our best in the final two rounds in Spain!”
Stuart Hall, Motorsports Director, ROFGO Racing:
“Benji is having an excellent season, starting with a podium finish in Dubai and collecting numerous wins and podiums in both Sprint and Endurance races, including Spa 24. He’s really stepped up this year and he is becoming one of the best Silver drivers on the toughest GT grid in the world. WRT provides him with the best environment a young driver can wish for. Besides having a fast car and brilliant teammates, he is working with one of the most successful sports car teams in the world. A first title is always special and I can tell, it is only just the beginning for Benji. Even though he`s been racing GT cars for five years now, he is still only 19 years old, so the best is yet to come.”
The 2022 GTWCE season continues in two week’s time ( September 16-18 ) in Valencia with the final Sprint Cup round, while the last endurance race will take place in October 14-16 at the Circuit de Catalunya in Barcelona.
