Güven wins the C1 at Zandvoort

The Turkish driver claimed his second victory of the season thanks to a fantastic strategic move by his Manthey EMA team, which fitted him with the right tires at the right time. He won ahead of Nicki Thiim and Maximilian Paul.

Published 07/06/2025 à 17:32

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Güven wins the Champions League at Zandvoort

©DTM media

The unpredictable weather over Europe came to play spoilsport on the famous Zandvoort circuit. On the starting grid, the majority of teams played it safe by fitting rain tires. The race got underway under the leadership of Jordan Pepper at the wheel of his Huracan GT3 Evo, ahead of his TGI by GRT teammate, Lucas Engstler. Further down the rankings, Jules Gounon (Mercedes AMG GT3- Winward Racing) is moving up to ninth place. Still weighed down, the Mercedes driver is fighting as best he can with the weapons at his disposal. At the back of the standings, some drivers decide to put on slick tires, the track begins to dry. Even though this stop is outside the refueling window, the teams are convinced they have a good chance to play. When the pit window opens, Jordan Pepper is still in the lead ahead of Engstler and Ayhancan Güven (Porsche 911 GT3 R- Manthey EMA). It was a bit of a mess, with several drivers making regrettable mistakes. Jules Gounon received a penalty for being released too quickly by his team and for running alongside another car while leaving the pits. The Franco-Andorran driver fell down the standings and finished this first race in 14th place!

Güven to strategy then to courage

At the front of the race, pit stops and another downpour have once again shaken up the standings. Güven now leads ahead of Nicki Thiim (Lamborghini Huracan GT3 Evo), who started from 16th place. The Danish driver benefited from the experience of Martin Tomczyk (now part of the Abt Sportsline team) to enable him to make this giant leap in the standings. He is followed by Maximilian Paul (Lamborghini Huracan Evo - Paul Motorsport). It is not the second off-track excursion of René Rast (BMW M4 GT3 - Schubert Motorsport) and the safety car that will jeopardize this unprecedented podium finish. In the championship standings, Denis Auer (Mercedes AMG GT3 - Team Landgraf) still leads by 11 points ahead of Ayhancan Güven, Jules Gounon is 4th overall, 15 points behind Auer.