SSR Performance celebrates first DTM victory

Dennis Olsen (NOR) completed the successful series of the #94. On Saturday he celebrated the first DTM victory for SSR Performance after claiming pole position.

• Dennis Olsen with first pole position for Porsche in the DTM
• Start-finish victory for Olsen in Saturday’s race

Race 1

At the Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps things were interesting from the start. In the free practice sessions, the two SSR Performance Porsches proved that they could keep up with the pace of the strong field. Factory driver Laurens Vanthoor secured the best time in the first session. He also managed to make it into the top 3 in the second.

But in the end it was Dennis Olsen who stunned in the #94. He wrote history with the first ever pole position for a Porsche in the DTM. His best time of 2:30.488 was underscored by his teammate in the #92 car in fifth place. With the goal clearly in mind, the Norwegian secured a spectacular start-to-finish victory on the 7.004-kilometre circuit. Laurens Vanthoor had to end the race early due to a collision and the resulting strong vibrations.

Race 2

The wrong tire tactics were used in qualifying due to the changing weather conditions, which made it difficult for the drivers to place higher up for the race. Dennis Olsen started from P23, Laurens Vanthoor from P25 due to a penalty. Both gave their best and delivered an exciting race. But luck was not on the side of the Munich based team. In front of his home crowd, the Belgian crossed the finish line on 12th place. Dennis Olsen finished the race in P19.

Saturday’s top result was hugely important for SSR Performance. Porsche contract driver Dennis Olsen is currently fifth in the championship. SSR Performance takes third place in the team ranking.

The next DTM weekend will take place from September 23rd to 25th at the Red Bull Ring, Austria.

Mario Schuhbauer, Team Principal SSR Performance

“Of course we are more than proud of the performance on Saturday. The team worked hard and absolutely deserved the victory and the first pole position for Porsche. Unfortunately, we weren’t able to exploit our potential on Sunday, but we’ll do our best again at the Red Bull Ring.”

Maike Frik, Team Manager SSR Performance

“The results on a race weekend could hardly be further apart. Changing weather conditions made strategic decisions a real challenge. After both drivers had laid a very promising foundation for the race in qualifying on Saturday, Dennis Olsen was able to celebrate his first DTM victory at the end of the day. On Sunday, the choice of tires for qualifying was a real poker game – both drivers started from far behind and had to fight back in the race. Laurens was able to drive confidently from third to last to P12. Spa showed that drivers and cars can perform very well. For the next race, it’s about working on our strategy and then going on the offensive again.”

Laurens Vanthoor, #92 driver SSR Performance

“It was a disappointing weekend. I had hoped for more. I made a mistake myself on Saturday, and then the wrong decision in qualifying on Sunday hit us hard. There would definitely have been more potential.” 

Dennis Olsen, #94 driver SSR Performance

“I have mixed feelings about the weekend. The performance was very good. Pole position and victory on Saturday were phenomenal. The team absolutely deserved it. The wrong tire choice destroyed our chances on Sunday. I no longer risked everything in the race.”

Results 1st race DTM Spa

 1. #94 Dennis Olsen // SSR Performance // Porsche

2. #1 Maximilian Götz // Mercedes-AMG Team Winward Racing // Mercedes

3. #24 Thomas Preining // KÜS Team Bernhard // Porsche

DNF Laurens Vanthoor // SSR Performance // Porsche

Results 2nd race DTM Spa

 1. #37 Nick Cassidy // Red Bull Alphatauri AF Corse // Ferrari

2. #31 Sheldon van der Linde // Schubert Motorsport // BMW

3. #24 Thomas Preining // KÜS Team Bernhard // Porsche

12. #92 Laurens Vanthoor // SSR Performance // Porsche

19. #94 Dennis Olsen // SSR Performance // Porsche

Team ranking after the sixth DTM weekend:

 1. Schubert Motorsport // 175 points

2. Abt Sportsline // 138 points

3. SSR Performance // 117 points

Driver ranking after the sixth DTM weekend:

 1. Sheldon van der Linde // 130 points

2. Lucas Auer // 98 points

3. Rene Rast // 96 points

4. Mirko Bortolotti // 94 points

5. Dennis Olsen // 87 points

17. Laurens Vanthoor // 30 points

About SSR Performance
The young and dynamic Munich based SSR Performance GmbH was founded by a car and motorsport enthusiast. The exclusive automobile company has had an exciting start to 2020. After moving to a new High Performance Automotive Center in the north of the Bavarian metropolis, which has seven floors and around 10,000 square meters of floor space, the motorsport department at SSR Performance had its first full season in the ADAC GT Masters 2020 on the program ended with Michael Ammermüller and Christian Engelhart winning the driver and team classification as well as the title in the team championship. Another year in the ADAC GT Masters followed in 2021, with Michael Ammermüller and Porsche factory driver Mathieu Jaminet competing for SSR Performance. After winning the title in the debut season, the team continued the success story as vice champion.

For SSR Performance GmbH, which takes care of repairs, maintenance and service of sports cars and vintage cars of all brands in their day-to-day business, motorsport is an integral part of the still young group of companies.

Stefan Schlund, CEO of SSR Performance GmbH from Munich emphasizes: “For us, our involvement in races with GT sports cars offers an excellent platform to demonstrate our competence in motorsport and the sports car sector derived from it.”

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Spa-Francorchamps: DTM Spa 2022 on September, 9-11, 2022, (Photo by Hoch Zwei)

Spa-Francorchamps: DTM Spa 2022 on September, 9-11, 2022, (Photo by Hoch Zwei)