Porsche planing ‘nice to be in One Piece’ after Eau Rouge scare

Prening challenged for second place by Mercedes Lucas Auer As they exited La Source on the opening lap, the two were running neck to neck on the short dash to Eau Rouge.

Auer made slight contact with a planing Porsche on the entry to the corner, leaving him on his side and on the grass as he went up the hill and into Rydilon.

Miraculously, Preening was able to regain control of the car before going into a full spin, which many onlookers described as a “save of the season”.

The momentum the Austrian lost while going off the track meant he dropped to the bottom of the top ten on the run to Les Combes, but he recovered the ground he had lost after making an early pit stop. , managed to grab the last spot on the podium behind the race winner Dennis Olsen Auer’s teammate Maximilian Gotz.

In the second race of the weekend, Preening made another brave move on Gotts’ Winward Mercedes in the same Eau Rouge/Rydilon section before passing Auer just before the opening left-hander to finish another third. .

Prening didn’t want to blame Auer for the crash in the opening race of the weekend, but said the psychological effects of the incident took him several laps to recover.

“At that moment I was mostly shocked and glad nothing happened,” the 26-year-old said at the post-race press conference.

“Obviously there have been some moments in my career that normally don’t matter at all, but this time it took me a lap or two to process.

“I have to check the footage properly but I was leaning to the left the whole time. I pushed a little too much and ran out of space. And of course after the hit there was a lot of spin which I had to save. It didn’t happen.

“In Eau Rouge, having 25 cars side by side behind you is never a good thing. I have seen a lot of things happen in that scenario.

“I am very happy that I was able to continue running without major damage, and I am happy that I was able to finish on the podium.

“I am mostly very happy to still be sitting here in one piece and to be on the podium.”

Goetz watched the battle between Pleining and Auer in the grandstands and moved past a runaway Porsche to take third place.

The reigning champion said he expected an incident between the two as neither wanted to concede a position on a track that was still wet in places and took evasive action accordingly. rice field.

he said:

“And there was only one dry line, so I thought, ‘This is going to end in a spin, a crash, or whatever.

“And I was already lifting, but at that moment he spun inwards, so I slowed down a bit to avoid hitting him. Dirt had accumulated on the car and windshield, so I put on my wipers.

“It was a very big moment [watching] It’s the back side of things. But luckily it worked.

“Being in the back might give you a slightly different view than those of them who don’t want to sit in the end and give up. ”