Second was a little surprisingly the Swiss Jérome Voutaz (149.36) who placed in the Top 3 for the first time in Stuttgart. Behind him in third was Dutchman Ijsbrand Chardon (153.29) who won the class 2007, 2016 and 2018. The best-placed German was Michael Brauchle. Given a wild card by the organisers, he finished sixth with a time of 165.82 seconds.
“Jérome had a super first round and it put pressure on Ijsbrand and myself. When the ball fell, I then had to push myself,” said the serial winner Boyd Exell when summing up after his brilliant drive, “Fortune favours the brave.”
The third-placed Ijsbrand Chardon was also satisfied saying, “I had two zeros. After Jérome’s fast round, it was clear to me that I had to drive safely as my new leader is inexperienced.”
In view of his somewhat difficult season, Michael Brauchle was nevertheless satisfied: “I don’t have so many horses as Boyd and Ijsbrand and would like to train up my young horses more over winter,” said the popular local driver.
Mark Wentein was full of praise for the course designer Jeroen Houterman: “It was the finest of finest courses for the world’s top drivers,” and then hit the nail on the head: “Stuttgart is simply the best!”
