Porsche marathon comes to an end at Lausitzring: Jeffrey second in Carrera Cup standings
No rest for Jeffrey Schmidt! At the Lausitzring, the 21-year-old contested his fifth Porsche race weekend in a row. In front of 60,000 spectators, he scored further points in his pursuit of the title. A P6 and a P4 in the two races were enough to keep Jeffrey in second place overall.
Jeffrey, that was another strong performance in qualifying to put you third on the grid. It was your third Top Three result in five qualifying sessions this season. Even so, you don’t seem to be totally satisfied…
No, unfortunately qualifying didn’t quite go to plan. Although grid positions six and three may sound OK, I feel that a double pole at the Lausitzring should have been achievable. I was going really fast but then came up behind a slower car in the final sector. That cost me a several tenths of a second. On my last flying lap, I started out with a personal best time in the first sector and the absolute best time in the second. Then I pushed a little too much and misbraked on the penultimate corner. I have to take the blame for that. Ultimately, I was just 45 thousandths of a second off the pole time. A pity, because my car was perfectly set up – a big thank you to the guys at Lechner Racing for that!
From third on the grid, you narrowly missed out on a podium in the second race. Does the sizeable points haul outweigh the disappointment of finishing outside the Top Three?
It was more like damage limitation, because I had set myself a podium finish as a clear objective. Unfortunately, I didn’t get off the mark very well in the second race, because the track had unexpectedly developed extra grip. So I lost a place early on, and of course that was annoying. In the race, I had to fight really hard, because I was one of the few drivers at the front of the field who were on scrubbed tyres. But anyway, I successfully defended my place.
By finishing fourth and having already placed sixth in the first race, you have scored a lot of championship points; you’ve come away from every race so far with a double-digit haul.
Podiums are great, but in the end, it all comes down to consistency. Currently I am second in the overall standings, which is a very good basis for rest of the season. In Race 1 at the Lausitzring, I managed a very good start. In the infield, I then had to get out of the way of another car in order to avoid a collision. Unfortunately, that cost me a place which I wasn’t able to recover. Once again, it shows how difficult it is to overtake in the Carrera Cup. Qualifying is absolutely crucial. Once the field has sorted itself out after the start, overtaking is almost impossible and often involves taking excessive risks.
You have a marathon programme behind you, having now completed five consecutive race weekends in the Carrera Cup and the Porsche Supercup. Are you glad that you can now take a short break?
I wish I could get back in the Porsche tomorrow and drive the next race. To make it to the very top in the sport, you not only need motivation but also a sense of enjoyment. I’ve never had that feeling of not being up for the challenge. But the short break will be good for my academic studies. I have some exams in Economics this week. At the Lausitzring, I spent the evenings in my hotel room revising for them. Swatting can be exhausting at times, but I think it’s very important to have a second string to your bow in addition to motorsport.
And what’s your next engagement on the racetrack?
Between 19th and 21st June, I’ll be in Austria for the Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup. I’m especially looking forward to the race weekend at the Red Bull Ring which takes place in the framework of Formula 1. Last year, I managed my first podium finish in what was the third Supercup race for me. I still remember this success, and as a racing driver, it gives you extra confidence when you know that you’ve done it before. I’m going to Austria as second in the Rookie Championship and hope to return home as overall leader.
