ROWE RACING can be delighted about a successful debut in the ADAC GT Masters series. In its first outing in the ‘super sports car league’, the team from Worms in Germany convinced with two good races: in the Saturday race in the etropolis Motorsport Arena Oschersleben, ROWE RACING’s pairing of Maro Engel (Monaco) and Jan Seyffarth (Querfurt, Germany) finished fifth. In an action-packed race on Sunday that started with a dramatic crash and an aborted start, a stop-and-go penalty prevented another top five result. The SLS AMG GT3 with starting number 23 was classified a good 13th.
Team principal Hans-Peter Naundorf: “All in all, I am very happy with the season-opening weekend. Both in practice and in the races, we managed to make our mark in this incredibly strong field. Maro and Jan have done a tremendous job. On Saturday, Jan had a brilliant start which was the basis for our fifth place. Maro, who did the start on Sunday, also completed his duties very well. He remained unfazed in the turmoil at the start and thus managed to steer clear of the dramatic accident. The penalty for not having completed the minimum pit stop time was annoying and shouldn’t have happened to us. All in all, it was a satisfying debut for us, but we have also learned a lot. Now, we definitely are looking forward to a thrilling season.”
RACE 1: Saturday, 26 April, 2014
In ROWE RACING’s first-ever ADAC GT Masters race, Jan Seyffarth had the honour to mark the debut for the race team from Worms, Germany. The 27-year old started from a very good tenth position on the grid. With a courageous start, he managed to gain four places on the opening lap already. On lap four, Seyffarth even charged to fifth place with his gullwing sports car. After the driver change halfway through the race, Maro Engel flawlessly continued this performance. Just before the end of the race, a safety car intervention reduced the gaps in the field. The one hour duration of the race having been completed, the 28-year old crossed the finish line in fifth place, only 5.946 seconds down on the winners.
RACE 2: Sunday, 27 April, 2014
A heavy start-line crash that sidelined several cars from the front-running group cast a shadow over the race in the Magdeburger Börde region on Sunday. Starting from 15th place on the grid, Maro Engel managed to stay out of the turmoil at the start. After a longer interruption, the reduced field resumed the race with Engel now starting in sixth place. An exciting race unfolded, during which the former DTM driver managed to establish himself in the field just behind the front-runners. Then, bad luck struck during the mandatory driver changes: the required minimum stopping time was not met which resulted into a stop-and-go penalty being issued by the clerk of the course. As a result, Jan Seyffarth lost his top position, but still brought the car home without any issues. Eventually, he took the chequered flag in 13th place.
ROWE RACING’s next outing in the ADAC GT Masters will take place in The Netherlands from 9 till 11 May, 2014. The third and fourth race from the 16 races scheduled for this season will be held at the dune circuit in Zandvoort.