Lemvard Stuns Germans with ADAC Procar Series Win

First time ADAC Procar Series participant, Jack Lemvard, stunned his German counterparts when he took the winning trophy at last weekend’s ADAC Procar Series at Oschersleben, Germany. The Asian Touring Car Series driver took to the wheel of Liqui Moly Team Engstler’s team owner, Franz Engstler’s BMW 320i E46 and placed it third on the starting grid for race 1.

“I got Franz Engstler`s car from last year, the champion car from ATCS in 2006, and ADAC Procar 2006 so the car was really good. We had 2 practice sessions, I’ve never been to this track before, I only played it on Playstation so everything was new to me. I didn’t have much time to learn the new track so, I walked it a couple of times to try learn it and looked at past race data. At the first practice session I was the fastest out of 35 cars and everyone was like who is this guy?” said Lemvard with a laugh.

“During the second practice my tires finished so we didn't get a good time and qualifying was not so good either because there were 35 cars out at the same time. I only managed to get 1 clear lap giving me 3^rd”.

The Thai driver got off to a brilliant race 1 start and took the lead into the first turn before getting a slight nudge by the Honda Accord of Peter Rikli behind him leaving Lemvard to go a little wide allowing Rikli to pass. Lemvard then chased him for five laps before out-braking him to reclaim the lead. From there, Lemvard had to defend his position from his fast charging teammate, Stefan Neuberger, and he held on for the remaining laps to claim the chequered flag.

“I got a perfect start. As we went into the first corner I was first, but then the Honda behind hit me in the back, and I went wide so he passed me back. After that I followed him, and on lap 5 I out braked him coming into the first corner and from then on I just stayed in first place all the way till the chequered flag. But it was tough because I had to fend off my teammate, who was faster than I was in this race so, I defended my lines for 8 laps”.

But things were not over as the first race only determines the starting grid of the second race and as Lemvard crossed the line in the first race, his engine ceased. The crew worked tirelessly and quickly for the next 10 minutes to put the car back on the grid.

“On the last lap after the chequered flag the BMW broke down! So it took a really long time for me to get it to the pits. They have different rules here, you are not allowed to touch the car until told so, and repair time is only 15 minutes. When our car got back we had 10 minutes left to change something that normally would take 1 hour, but we managed to do it in 8 minutes. Even our WTCC drivers, Franz Engstler and Andrei Romanov helped out, changing tires. It was amazing to have 20 people working on 1 car at the same time”.

The team’s efforts were rewarded when Lemvard made a brilliant start at the second race and held onto the lead to claim a pole to flag win, his first in the ADAC Procar Series.

“I really have to thank the team for preparing such a fast car! We have everything on video and it looks amazing. I started first, got a perfect start, and held my position into the first corner, then I pulled around 2 tenths of a second per lap on the 2nd placed driver, and after 10 laps I had a 5 second lead. Then I decided I didn’t need to push anymore and just cruised to victory. This is the first time a Thai driver has won in Germany and everyone was so surprised that an Asian driver did so well. On the podium, when the Thai National Anthem was playing, it was beautiful. It was the end of a perfect weekend”.

Prepared by Jack Lemvard