Niels Langeveld delivered a strong and promising performance in the Porsche Carrera Cup Deutschland during the recent race weekend at the Imola circuit. During the prestigious WEC weekend, which drew some 60,000 spectators in summery conditions, the Dutch driver managed to fight his way to the front of the pack in a field of no fewer than 32 cars.
“It was an intense, but above all very educational weekend”
Niels Langeveld – Race driver at Laptime Performance
The weekend began with a single 60-minute free practice session on Friday. In warm conditions, with high temperatures in the cockpit, Langeveld immediately demonstrated his speed with a solid ninth-place time.
Qualifying, split into two 12-minute sessions, was a mixed bag. In the first session, which determined the starting grid for Race 1, Langeveld was unable to fully capitalize on his pace and had to settle for a disappointing 20th place. Between the two sessions, the team quickly made an adjustment to the car, which yielded immediate results. In the second qualifying session, Langeveld posted the 15th-fastest time, falling just 0.6 seconds short of pole position. With a margin of only two-tenths of a second, even a sixth starting position would have been possible, underscoring the fierce competition in the field.
The first race got off to a spectacular start. Right from the start, Langeveld managed to make up positions in the always chaotic first corner. With an excellent opening lap and several overtakes, he moved up into the top ten within the first three laps. The Dutchman then even climbed to ninth place and managed to hold his ground for a long time under pressure from competitors closing in from behind. In the very last lap, however, his strong race came to an abrupt end due to a technical issue, preventing him from securing a well-deserved result.
In the second race, Langeveld had another chance to show what he was capable of, starting from 15th on the grid. Once again, he got off to a strong start and quickly worked his way up to 12th place. With some impressive overtaking moves, he moved up to 11th and eventually 10th place, gaining five positions once again. The race was prematurely ended with a red flag and not resumed, resulting in Langeveld being classified in tenth place.
“It was an intense, but above all very educational weekend,” Langeveld reflects. “Given the limited testing time beforehand, I’m satisfied with the progress we’ve shown. The speed is there, and that gives us confidence. We’re now going to work hard to be even better prepared for the next race.”
With a test program scheduled for Tuesday and Thursday, Langeveld is already looking ahead. The next race weekend at the Red Bull Ring is just around the corner.
Despite the missed result in the first race, Langeveld can look back on a strong weekend in which he clearly demonstrated his speed and fighting spirit in one of Europe’s most competitive championships.
2026 Calendar
1 WEC Imola April 17–19
2 DTM Red Bull Ring April 24–26
3 GT OPEN Spa-Francorchamps May 15–17
4 DTM Zandvoort May 22–24
5 DTM Lausitzring June 19–21
6 DTM Norisring July 3–5
7 DTM Nürburgring August 14–16
8 DTM Hockenheimring October 9–11
