The DTM races in Imola were sobering for the Munich team. In the first run, Laurens Vanthoor (BEL) and Dennis Olsen (NOR) were in the top 15. On Sunday they had to park their vehicles early.
Race 1
The third stop of the DTM season took place this weekend in Imola, Italy. The first free practice on Friday looked promising but qualifying showed that the field was still close together. Dennis Olsen started the race from 12th place, Laurens Vanthoor qualified for 16th starting position.
At the start of the race for the 28 vehicles, the #94 made up a few positions and was in eighth place during the first ten minutes. The crew of the Porsche 911 GT3 R decided to pit early. Both cars entered the pit lane during the first seven laps. With new tires it was back to the action on the 4.909 km long Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari. The green cars crossed the finish line on ninth and 13th place. Dennis Olsen thus collected two points for the championship.
Race 2
Sunday’s qualifying was sobering for the Porsches in the field. Dennis Olsen put the #94 car on P16, while his team-mate started the race from P19. A rival and the #92 had a hard contact, which ended Laurens Vanthoor’s race early on the first lap. Due to another accident that resulted in a safety car being called out, the decision was made to delay Dennis Olsen’s pit stop. After the stop, the Norwegian was on P21, but had to park his Porsche a short time later.
The next DTM weekend will take place from July 1st to 3rd at the Norisring, Germany.
Mario Schuhbauer, Team Principal SSR Performance
“We have a very tough race weekend behind us. Two DNF, a ninth place and a 13th – these are definitely not results that we are satisfied with and that do not live up to our own standards. However, we won’t let this discourage us. The whole team is working very hard to find a solution so that we can show the full potential of the team and the cars at our home race at the Norisring.”
Maike Frik, Team Manager SSR Performance
“Imola was a difficult weekend for us in many ways. Now it’s time for us to analyze the experience we’ve gained and fully attack at our home race at the Norisring in two weeks’ time.”
Laurens Vanthoor, #92 driver SSR Performance
“Qualifying was disappointing, although we were able to improve a bit. Running from behind always carries risks. Today, unfortunately, I was hit by an opponent in the early stages of the run. That ended our weekend early.”
Dennis Olsen, #94 driver SSR Performance
“We managed to collect a few points on Saturday, but we’re not where we want to be. It was a very difficult weekend for us. We have to find a solution so that we are in a better position at the Norisring.”
Race 1 results DTM Imola 1. #33 Rene Rast // Team Abt // Audi
2. #51 Nico Müller // Team Rosberg // Audi
3. #63 Mirko Bortolotti // GRT // Lamborghini
9. #94 Dennis Olsen // SSR Performance // Porsche
13. #92 Laurens Vanthoor // SSR Performance // Porsche
Race 2 results DTM Imola 1. #7 Ricardo Feller // Team Abt Sportsline // Audi
2. #12 Dev Gore // Team Rosberg // Audi
3. #11 Marco Wittmann // Walkenhorst Motorsport // BMW
DNF #92 Laurens Vanthoor // SSR Performance // Porsche
DNF #94 Dennis Olsen // SSR Performance // Porsche
Team championship after Imola 1. Schubert Motorsport // 101 points
2. Team Rosberg // 80 points
3. Abt Sportsline // 74 points
10. SSR Performance // 30 points
Driver championship after Imola 1. #31 Sheldon van der Linde // Schubert Motorsport // BMW
2. #63 Mirko Bortolotti // GRT // Lamborghini
3. #51 Nico Müller // Team Rosberg // Audi
14. #92 Laurens Vanthoor // SSR Performance // Porsche
18. #94 Dennis Olsen // SSR Performance // Porsche
Source. SSR Performance
PlanetPorsche 
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