Audi has already celebrated the overall victory in the ADAC GT Masters three times: Christian Abt in 2009, René Rast/Kelvin van der Linde in 2014 and Connor De Phillippi/Christopher Mies in 2016. The two champions from last year will be looking to defend their title with team Montaplast by Land-Motorsport. Their team mate Jeffrey Schmidt will share a cockpit with Christopher Haase. In 2007, Haase wrote history as the first ADAC GT Masters champion. In the South African Kelvin van der Linde from the Aust Motorsport team, another former title-holder will be in action in an Audi R8 LMS. Furthermore, Frank Aust’s team will provide a cockpit for a rising star from the Audi Sport TT Cup. Dennis Marschall is the 2016 runner-up from the Audi one-make cup. Yaco Racing, as another Audi customer team, has already proven that it is capable of victories with two race triumphs in the ADAC GT Masters.

Three more teams will be relying on the Audi R8 LMS for the first time in this year’s ADAC GT3 racing series. The Audi Sport racing academy is giving a chance to the junior duo Mikaela Åhlin-Kottulinsky/Ricardo Feller, and is counting on Elia Erhart/Christopher Höher in the second car. The team BWT Mücke Motorsport has, among others, Markus Winkelhock and Frank Stippler in the cockpit – two established Audi Sport drivers who have already celebrated many endurance race victories. Marc and Dennis Busch also have endurance experience. The twins from Bensheim have already celebrated overall victories on the Nordschleife of the Nürburgring, and together face the challenge of the ADAC GT Masters for the first time with their family team Twin Busch Motorsport. The series has 14 rounds on seven weekends in Germany, Austria and the Netherlands and is considered one of the most professional and toughest national GT3 series. All races are broadcast live and in full-length by Sport1.

“Audi is represented the strongest out of all seven participating brands on a grid of 32 racing cars. Almost a third of the field are R8 LMS cars,” says Chris Reinke, Head of Audi Sport customer racing. “We are expecting a similarly tough title fight like last year, and we are eager to see whether the newcomers and junior drivers can hold their own with the established racers.”

Not only in the ADAC GT Masters is the Audi R8 LMS popular. In the German club sport racing series DMV GTC, six GT3 sports cars with the four rings are competing, as well as other customer teams in the VLN Endurance Championship Nürburgring. Also outside of Germany, Audi is represented in a national GT3 racing series in Europe: at the same time as the German opener in Oschersleben, the Italian GT Championship begins beyond the Alps. At Imola, Audi Sport Italia contests its ninth season in a row with the Audi R8 LMS. The Audi factory driver and three-time Le Mans winner Benoît Tréluyer and Vittorio Ghirelli are the confirmed drivers. Emilio Radaelli’s team has already won a drivers’ title, as well as two runner-up drivers’ titles and two team titles.

Audi Sport customer racing teams in the ADAC GT Masters:

Montaplast by Land-Motorsport

#1 Christopher Mies/Connor De Phillippi

#2            Christopher Haase/Jeffrey Schmidt

Aust Motorsport

#3            Kelvin van der Linde/Markus Pommer

#4            Dennis Marschall/Patric Niederhauser

Audi Sport racing academy

#8            Mikaela Åhlin-Kottulinsky/Ricardo Feller

#9            Elia Erhart/Christopher Höher

BWT Mücke Motorsport

#24         Filip Salaquarda/Markus Winkelhock

#25         Mike David Ortmann/Frank Stippler

Twin Busch Motorsport

#44         Dennis Busch/Marc Busch

Yaco Racing

#50         Rahel Frey/Philip Geipel

“After the successful era of customer racing programs, we are delighted to be taking the next step,” says Klaus Demel, Head of Audi driving experience. “Promoting young talent is now at the heart of our motorsport activities. Sepp Haider and his team of instructors will mentor the young drivers to prepare them for a professional career.” In addition to the 16-year-old Hungarian Vivien Keszthelyi, who has been promoted since 2016, 24-year-old Mikaela Åhlin-Kottulinsky from Sweden, 16-year-old Ricardo Feller from Switzerland and Austrian 19-year-old Chris Höher are also very pleased with the promotion. 28-year-old German racing driver Elia Erhart completes the squad, bringing his experience that will certainly be of benefit to the young drivers.

More than 1,000 customers have got to know the Audi R8 LMS since 2010 in the former Audi race experience – through individual training events and experiences, as well as through customer motorsport at the Nürburgring. In 2017, a new chapter begins, which will be defined by the promotion of young talent: the Audi Sport racing academy, launched last year, will select international aspirants with the aim of introducing them to professional motorsport. The program intends to develop the participants’ driving skills and optimize their physical and mental fitness. In addition, it will provide an introduction to racing technology and familiarize them with dealing with sponsors and the media. The training courses will take place on the premises of Audi Neuburg. They can eventually put their learned knowledge into practice by racing in the Audi TT cup and the Audi R8 LMS. Marc Klöppel and Gerd Lambert’s TKL Motorsport team, which has previously prepared and used the Audi race experience GT3 cars, will now enter two Audi R8 LMS cars from the Audi Sport racing academy in the ADAC GT Masters as well.

Topping the timesheets over the three test sessions on the track near Magdeburg with a fastest lap of 1:26.501 minutes was Porsche works driver Kévin Estre (28, FRA), who stepped in for Precote Herberth Motorsport despite not being a contestant in this year’s championship. Just behind on a time of 1:26.745 minutes was team-mate Sven Müller (25, GER) in another Porsche 911 GT3 R, which made him the fastest of this year’s registered ADAC GT Masters entrants.

“The day went well,” said Müller. “We quickly found a setup that suited me as well as my partner Robert Renauer. We are well prepared for the race weekend. Later in the day, we put in a few long runs, because we’ve been told it’s going to rain on Wednesday.”

The third best time of the day also went to a Porsche driver. Klaus Bachler (25, AUT) clocked a time of 1:26.989 minutes in the 911 entered by bigFM Racing Schütz Motorsport. After setting the fastest time in Session 1 during the morning, last year’s champion Connor De Phillippi (24, USA) in the Audi R8 LMS prepared by Montaplast by Land-Motorsport had to settle for fourth in the day rankings, 0.5 seconds adrift of Estre.

Daniel Keilwitz (27, GER) in a Callaway Racing Corvette C7 GT3 was fastest in the third session.

The Top Five at a glance

1. Kevin Estre (Porsche 911 GT3 R), 1:26.501 mins
2. Sven Müller (Porsche 911 GT3 R), 1:26.745 mins
3. Klaus Bachler (Porsche 911 GT3 R), 1:26.989 mins
4. Connor De Phillippi (Audi R8 LMS), 1:27.018 mins
5. Daniel Keilwitz (Corvette C7 GT3), 1:27.068 mins

bigFM Racing Team Schütz Motorsport intend to field two new drivers and a well tried and tested vehicle in the ADAC GT Masters. Klaus Bachler (25, A) and Alex MacDowall (26, GB) will share the drive in a Porsche 911 for the outfit managed by Team Principal Christian Schütz, who will be contesting their sixth year in the Super Sports Car League. The ADAC GT Masters will kick off the 2017 season on the weekend of 28th – 30th April in the Motorsport Arena Oschersleben. SPORT1 will broadcast all races live and in full.

Schütz Motorsport have fought for points and top positions in the ADAC GT Masters since 2012. Christian Schütz never doubted for one moment that they would take part again this season: “The ADAC GT Masters has been an integral part of our motor racing programme for many years now, and we decided early last year to enter again in 2017. The series has a very competitive field, and for us as a relatively small team, the effort required in terms of logistics with many races taking place in Germany itself is easily managed. The live TV presence is interesting for our sponsors, and we always see getting involved as a technical challenge.” As regards machinery, Schütz Motorsport will again deploy the Porsche 911 that they’ve used in the last five years.

Schütz will, however, be completely changing their squad of drivers. Klaus Bachler, who is well-known to the team, has rejoined the outfit. The Austrian took fourth place overall in the ADAC GT Masters with Schütz Motorsport in 2015. Alex MacDowall, on the other hand, is a new face. The British driver used to compete in the FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) and won the GTE class of the European Le Mans Series in 2016. Christian Schütz, speaking about his two protégés: “Klaus knows the team, is familiar with the car and has plenty of Porsche experience, and so on that score, definitely fits the bill. As far as driving a Porsche goes, Alex is making a sideways move, since he has already contested plenty of races in other GT3 cars.”

Klaus Bachler: “I’m really looking forward to the upcoming season. For me, the ADAC GT Masters is one of the strongest sports car series in Europe. I think the format with two sprint races and driver changeover is just great. I feel quite at home at Schütz Motorsport. We fought right up until the very last moment for the drivers’ title in 2015 and kept in touch last year. I hope we can perform well in 2017.”

Christian Schütz, also thinking about the future: “After some problems getting under way last season, we aim to be competitive right from the start in 2017. The first round of testing went very well. The field of drivers is again incredibly strong, and the teams representing other makes are well placed, so it’s going to be even more difficult to consistently be among the front runners. We’re not looking to achieve specific results. What’s important to us is to do a good job and have fun. We in the team don’t feel under any pressure.”

“It is great to compete in a full season in the ADAC GT Masters,” says Collard. “I was able to get some initial impressions of the BMW M6 GT3 in Bathurst. The car is fantastic. I am particularly looking forward to being with the BMW Team Schnitzer. It is legendary in motorsport. It is an honour for me to be able to compete with Phillip Eng for Charly Lamm’s team.” The 2017 ADAC GT Masters season gets underway with the first two races in Oschersleben (GER) on 29^th/30^th April. Collard, Eng and the BMW Team Schnitzer will be battling for points on a total of seven race weekends, before the season concludes with the finale in Hockenheim on 29^th September. “The ADAC GT Masters provides fantastic motor racing at an extremely high level,” says Eng. “I am really looking forward to making my comeback there in the BMW M6 GT3. In Ricky, I will have an extremely fast youngster alongside me. I am sure we will be able to cause a stir. For us to both be starting for Schnitzer really is the icing on the cake. This team is legendary.”

“We are delighted to have secured the services of another fast duo for our second cockpit,” says team principal Frank Aust. “With this exciting mix of three experienced and successful veterans and one promising young talent, we can look to the future with optimism.”

For former ADAC Sports Foundation protégé Marschall, who finished the 2014 Formel ADAC in sixth position, graduation to the ADAC GT Masters comes at just the right time: “I have seen my motorsport career in the world of sports cars for a long time. After two successful years in the Audi Sport TT Cup, I feel optimally prepared for this challenge. The car is obviously a great step up for me. I am definitely going to need a certain period of familiarisation to acquire a feel for it. Even so, my aim is to regularly feature in the Top Ten. A podium finish in my first year would be a great achievement, of course.”

Meanwhile, Swiss co-driver Niederhauser is excited about his first full season in the Super Sports Car League: “I’m really looking forward to the new challenge in the ADAC GT Masters. As early as the first test drives, we could see that the chemistry was just right. The whole team structure here, with highly motivated and capable people, fills me with confidence that good results are possible. What’s more, I have a very powerful car in the Audi R8 LMS.”

After a strong maiden season with the new Corvette C7, Callaway Competition are aiming to build on last year’s success in 2017. Daniel Keilwitz (27, DEU) and Jules Gounon (22, F) intend to cause a stir again with their sensational American muscle car in the Super Sports Car League and be championship contenders. The outfit, managed by Ernst Wöhr and Giovanni Ciccone, will field a Corvette C7 and work closely with customer team RWT on the deployment of another C7. The ADAC GT Masters will kick off the 2017 season on the weekend of 28th – 30th April in the Motorsport Arena Oschersleben. SPORT1 will broadcast all races live and in full.

No team has remained as faithful to the ADAC GT Masters as Callaway Competition, and hardly any outfit has been more successful. Their tally so far: 24 race wins – the most in the ADAC GT Masters – one drivers’ title and one team title. Once again last year, Callaway Competition fought for the driver’s crown with Keilwitz and Gounon right up until the season finale in Hockenheim. It was their first season with the new Corvette C7, specially developed in-house by the team led by Ernst Wöhr and Giovanni Ciccone at Leingarten to the north of Stuttgart. After taking three race wins last year, the two drivers ultimately placed third overall.

Callaway Competition will again rely on the services of their successful driver pairing in 2017. Daniel Keilwitz won the ADAC GT Masters back in 2013 and is the driver with the most wins in the series with 17 top rankings. His French team-mate, Jules Gounon, had a strong season last year despite being new to GT3: “It was incredible to be so successful with the new car in 2016 straight out of the box. We intend to be championship contenders again this year. We’re much better prepared than we were last year. We collected a lot of data last season, from which we can now benefit. We now know how the car functions.”

Callaway Competition Team Principal, Giovanni Ciccone: “Our goal is clear. We aim to fight for the title again this year. This year’s ADAC GT Masters will probably be more hard-fought than ever before, but we’ve done our homework and have a strong, proven pair of drivers. Daniel has been one of the fastest drivers in the series for many years now, and Jules has amazed us with the way he’s developed since making his debut last year.”

Gounon can hardly wait for the season opener in the Motorsport Arena Oschersleben (28th – 30th April): “I’m really looking forward to the start of next season. I now know all the circuits and am therefore much better equipped. I think we’ll do especially well at the tracks with fast corners like the Sachsenring and the Red Bull Ring where the Corvette is really excellent.”

Team Principal Dietmar Hirsch signed two new drivers in the shape of Florian Spengler (29, GER) and Christopher Zanella (27, CH). While Spengler has already competed in the ADAC GT Masters since 2011 and is familiar with the Lamborghini from last year, the car will be new to team-mate Zanella, who drove a Porsche 911 GT3 R during his debut season in the series, achieving his maiden podium at the season finale in Hockenheim.

The drivers of the team’s other ‘bull’ have already been announced. Norbert Siedler (34, A) and Lamborghini works driver Marco Mapelli (29, I) will share the drive in the outfit’s first ‘Lambo’.

“We want to do something different after many years in the VLN long-distance championship,” says team boss Harald Busch, explaining the switch from the grass-roots series to the Super Sports Car League. “We expect to find even more pressure to win and a highly competitive field in the ADAC GT Masters. There’ll be a great deal in a short time, but we’re up for that. Our previous successes show that we have class.”

Twin Busch Motorsport have already notched up a number of triumphs, including two overall wins at the Nürburgring-Nordschleife, with the current Audi R8 and its predecessor. The privateers are well established as a team. The twins understand each other totally, have shared a car since 2007 and have racked up many more successes in the years that followed. They have both competed in a GT3 sports car since 2012, but while the ADAC GT Masters is new to Marc Busch, his brother Dennis was a guest starter at the Nürburgring last year, finishing twice in the Top Ten alongside former champion Christopher Haase.

Any talk of the Nürburgring being a home race for Twin Busch Motorsport is directly contradicted by the team boss himself: “The ADAC GT Masters’ race schedule is very attractive, but we are especially looking forward to the races at the Hockenheimring which is less than half-an-hour away from team headquarters in Bensheim.”

After a promising debut season in the Super Sports Car League, Aust Motorsport intend to fight for podium finishes in 2017. To this end, team principal Frank Aust will be relying on a mix of experience and youth in the cockpit of their Audi R8 LMS.

Pierre Kaffer brings a wealth of experience from DTM, prototypes and GT sports. One of the ex-Audi works driver’s biggest achievements was his victory in the famous 12 hours of Sebring in 2004. The adoptive Swiss citizen is looking forward to the challenge: “The ADAC GT Masters goes from strength to strength. With cars from seven different manufacturers, the competition here is immense. We want to get ourselves established among the front-runners – that’s our stated goal.”

Kaffer will be sharing the cockpit with Markus Pommer, winner of the last ATS Formula 3 Cup in 2014. The 26-year-old from Heilbronn already has experience of the ADAC GT Masters, having contested six of the seven events last year in an Audi R8 LMS, two of them as a member of the Aust Motorsport squad, namely the Nürburgring and Zandvoort weekends.

As it prepares for its eleventh season, the ADAC GT Masters has opted for a tried-and-tested schedule. The seven weekends that make up the 2017 calendar will be staged by the same venues that hosted the successful anniversary season of 2016. The big attraction will once again be the Motorsport Festival staged jointly with the DTM at the Lausitzring. Throughout 2017, SPORT1 will again be broadcasting all the races live and in their entirety on free-to-air TV.

The season opener has been booked for the Motorsport Arena Oschersleben on the weekend of 28th – 30th April. Since the 2008 campaign, the first two ADAC GT Masters races of the year have traditionally been contested on the circuit near Magdeburg. Three weeks later (19th – 21st May), fans can look forward to a meeting of Germany’s two most popular motor racing series when the Lausitzring plays host to the ADAC GT Masters and the DTM on a single weekend. The equivalent fixture in 2016 was hailed as the highlight of the national racing calendar.

Midway through 2017, the ADAC GT Masters ventures beyond national borders to the Red Bull Ring in Austria (9th – 11th June). The series then takes a five-week break before heading to the North Sea coast at the peak of the summer holiday season (14th – 16th July) for a return visit to Circuit Park Zandvoort in the Netherlands. The Nürburgring will be staging rounds nine and ten of the campaign on the weekend of 4th – 6th August.

The ADAC GT Masters then enters its decisive late summer sprint to the finish when the main championship contenders will be seeking to build an impregnable lead at the Sachsenring (15th 17th September) prior to the final showdown at the Hockenheimring on the weekend of 22nd- 24th September. Also on the 2017 ADAC GT Masters calendar are the official pre-season tests at Oschersleben.

Registration for the 2017 season commences on 28th November 2016 and can only be performed online at www.adac.de/gt-masters.

On six of the seven ADAC GT Masters weekends in 2017, the up-and-coming youngsters of ADAC Formula 4 as well as the touring car drivers of the ADAC TCR Germany will again be vying for honours.

As in previous years, all ADAC GT Masters races will be broadcast live and in their entirety on the free TV channel SPORT1. You need not miss out on any of the action, as both the Super Sports Car League and its TV partners will be providing their usual comprehensive online coverage.

2017 ADAC GT Masters Calendar (subject to change)

28/04/17 – 30/04/17 Motorsport Arena Oschersleben
19/05/17 – 21/05/17 Lausitzring (with DTM)*
09/06/17 – 11/06/17 Red Bull Ring, Austria
14/07/17 – 16/07/17 Circuit Park Zandvoort, Netherlands
04/08/17 – 06/08/17 Nürburgring
15/09/17 – 17/09/17 Sachsenring
22/09/17 – 24/09/17 Hockenheimring Baden-Württemberg

Seven weekends, live broadcasts of all 14 races on SPORT1, EUR500,000 in prize money and a Motorsport Festival – these are the key points to emerge from the planning for the 2017 ADAC GT Masters. The calendar for the Super Sports Car League as it enters its eleventh season will comprise seven race weekends hosted by venues in Germany, Austria and the Netherlands. As has now become traditional, the season gets underway at the Motorsport Arena Oschersleben and stages its grand finale at the Hockenheimring. After the successful debut of the Motorsport Festival Lausitzring this year, a repeat of this joint event with the DTM is planned. EUR500,000 in prize money is to be made available for the 2017 season.

All five permanent racetracks in Germany – Motorsport Arena Oschersleben, Hockenheimring, Sachsenring, Nürburgring and Lausitzring – will once again feature on the itinerary. The series will also be hosted by two venues outside Germany – the Red Bull Ring in Austria and Circuit Park Zandvoort in the Netherlands. The season opener at Oschersleben is scheduled for the end of April; the dates of the seven rounds have to be firmed up.

The sporting regulations will remain essentially the same for the 2017 season, with only minor adjustments being made. SPORT1 will once again be showing all 14 races live and in their entirety on free-to-air TV.

Teams that sign up early for the 2017 ADAC GT Masters can benefit from attractive incentives. Registration for the 2017 season starts as early as October 2016.

“What we experienced this year, including the nail-biting climax to the title chase, has been worthy of an anniversary season,” said ADAC Sports President Hermann Tomczyk. “The new generation of supercars has thrilled the fans coming through the turnstiles or watching the races live on TV. With our new Junior classification, we have made the series especially attractive for younger drivers. In the coming season, we will be focusing on continuity and will change the basic concept only in detail. With prize money of EUR500,000 and the comprehensive broadcasting package which we have negotiated with our TV partner SPORT1, we probably have the most attractive platform for GT racing in Europe. We look forward to a season that will be every bit as exciting as this year.”

ADAC CEO Lars Soutschka: “We can now look back on ten successful years of ADAC GT Masters racing. When we first organised the ADAC GT Masters in 2007, little did we realise how well established the series would become. Our concept of an open and fan-friendly paddock at family-friendly admission prices has proved to be very popular. Consequently, we will stick with this winning formula for 2017. On the basis of the key points we have just announced, drivers and teams can begin to plan with certainty for the forthcoming season. Seven race weekends on racetracks in Germany and neighbouring countries as well as attractive prize money are the ingredients for the continued success of the ADAC GT Masters.”

Connor De Phillippi (23, USA) and Christopher Mies (27, DEU, both Montaplast by Land-Motorsport) are the new ADAC GT Masters champions. In a race that was on a knife-edge right up until the final seconds, the fans at Hockenheim (more than 20,000 spectators over the weekend) watched the Audi R8 duo finish in eighth place, which was enough to see them crowned champions. At one point, their main rivals Jules Gounon (21, F) and Daniel Keilwitz (27, DEU, both Callaway Competition) in a Corvette C7 seemed to be on course to pip them to the title, but a crash brought their race to a sudden end. “We are the champions – what a season!” said series newcomer De Phillippi. “This is definitely the best day of my motorsport career.” The race itself was won by Robert Renauer (31, DEU) and Martin Ragginger (28, A ,both Precote Herberth Motorsport) in a Porsche 911. Team champions were Montaplast by Land-Motorsport, while the title in the Trophy class went to Remo Lips (33, CH, RWT Racing).

Two races for the price of one

Spectators at the final race of the season had the thrill of witnessing two different contests – the battle for the race win and the championship decider. Martin Ragginger in a Porsche comfortably defended his lead after the start from fellow Porsche driver, Kévin Estre (27, F, KÜS TEAM75 Bernhard). Daniel Keilwitz, who was second in the standings, moved up two places in his Corvette C7 at the start and was in fourth place behind Christian Engelhart (29, DEU, GRT Grasser Racing Team) in the Lamborghini Huracán. Audi driver Christopher Mies hung on to his P7 starting position, which as it stood would have been enough to retain the championship lead. Then came the heart-stopping moment shortly before the round of pit stops when he went off into the gravel and dropped out of the points.

Things got even more dramatic after the driver handover. Connor De Phillippi was still outside the Top Ten, while Gounon was fourth and on course to take the title. While scrapping for third place with the Lamborghini of Rolf Ineichen (38, CH, GRT Grasser Racing Team), the Frenchman spun off track and hit the crash barriers. The race was then red-flagged. Gounon survived the crash unhurt.

Audi on tenterhooks

The two Porsches of Robert Renauer and Estré’s team-mate David Jahn (25, DEU) remained in the lead after the restart. Jahn still had a mathematical chance of lifting the title, but an eighth-place finish by De Phillippi and Mies was enough for the Audi duo to emerge triumphant. Jahn finished the race in P2, depriving Gounon and Keilwitz of the runner-up spot in the drivers’ championship. This was De Phillippi’s second title win of the weekend after securing victory in the Junior classification for drivers under 25 years on Saturday. Montaplast by Land-Motorsport also won the team title.

Robert Renauer and Martin Ragginger claimed the final race victory of the season and their second of the campaign. Taking the chequered flag behind second-placed Jahn and Estre were the Mercedes-AMG pairing of Nicolai Sylvest (19, DK) and Nikolaj Rogivue (20, CH, both AMG Team Zakspeed) for whom this represented a second podium finish of 2016. Rolf Ineichen and Christian Engelhart slotted into fourth place, giving Ineichen the race victory in the Trophy class. Yet another Porsche 911 with Marvin Dienst (19, DEU) and Christopher Zanella (26, CH, both bigFM Racing Team Schütz Motorsport) at the wheel finished fifth. Philip Geipel (29, DEU) and Rahel Frey (30, CH, both YACO Racing) were sixth in the best-placed Audi R8. Patrick Assenheimer (24, DEU) and Dominik Schwager (40, DEU, both Callaway Competition) came seventh in a Corvette C7. Jordan Pepper (20, ZA) and Daniel Abt (23, DEU, both Bentley Team ABT) in a Bentley Continental crossed the line behind De Phillippi and Mies to book P9. A very happy Remo Lips placed tenth in a Corvette GT3 Z06.R to take the Trophy for amateur drivers, ably assisted by team-mate Sven Barth (35, DEU, both RWT Racing).

Comments from the winners

Connor De Phillippi (Montaplast by Land-Motorsport, Audi R8): “What a race! This was definitely the best day of my racing career – and the most exciting as well. The situation kept changing for us. First we were heading for the title, then we weren’t, and then we were again. Over the radio, I was told that I needed to overtake two other cars. Totally frantic! My thanks to everyone who contributed to this triumph, and I’m delighted for every single team member.”

Christopher Mies (Montaplast by Land-Motorsport, Audi R8): “For quite a few laps at the beginning of the race, I was stuck behind a Porsche. If I’d been absolutely ruthless, I could have got past him, but I didn’t want to take any risks. Then, just before the pit stop, I made an unfortunate error. But the reactions of the team were brilliant, and they immediately called me into the pits. In the second half of the race, there was the accident involving Jules (Gounon). I wish him a speedy recovery. Towards the end, it got a bit tense again, but ultimately we did it. Now we can celebrate.”

After a disappointing first qualifying, Callaway Competition suffered two non-finishes in Saturday´s race. Patrick Assenheimer (GER), who had started from P23 in the #69 AutoArena Corvette, ended up in the gravel following a braking issues on lap ten. Unfortunately, a tiny stone had found its way into the wrong position within the braking disks. The Whelen Corvette, driven by the American Eric Curran and the local hero Loris Hezemans did not finish the first race, too. Only the championship´s title contenders, Daniel Keilwitz (GER) and Jules Gounon (F) came home in P8 after having started 12th on the grid in their #77 Roller/Valvoline Corvette. After the first race in Zandvoort, Keilwitz/Gounon shared first place in the rankings with competitors de Phillippi and Mies in the Audi.

The qualifying on Sunday morning was a true rain gamble and Callaway Competition secured the positions ten (#77), 13 (#69) and 21 (#31). Keilwitz celebrated his 100th ADAC GT Masters race on Sunday being the most successful ADAC GT Masters driver with a total of 17 race victories. Shortly after the start, rain started to drop again and Keilwitz was one of the first people on the pits to change to rain tyres. Due to a technically clever decision by the team, team-mate Gounon finished the race in P5. The AutoArena Corvette by Assenheimer/Schwager crossed the finishing line in 12th position with the Whelen Corvette in P16, having started from 21st on the grid.

“We limited the damage in Zandvoort and took every possible point. We are now looking forward to a great battle with Audi and Porsche for the title at the season final in Hockenheim”, say Giovanni Ciccone and Ernst Wöhr, Team Principals Callaway Competition. “We had a number of tests in Hockenheim at the beginning of the season and will do some further testing. Hockenheim is a track that suits the new Corvette C7 GT3-R. We are aware, that we lost out compared to our competitors in the last two championship rounds. We have also not forgotten, that Audi won both races in Hockenheim last year. We hope for an exciting season final and a fair battle for the title.”

The season final of the ADAC GT Masters will take place at the Hockenheimring from 30th September until 2nd October 2016. For more information, please visit http://www.callaway-competition.de.

Driver Quotes:

Daniel Keilwitz – #77 Roller/Valvoline Corvette C7 GT3-R:
„It was not an easy weekend but we took every point we were able to get and that is what counts in the end. We can live with having four points gap to the front. I won in Zandvoort my very first ADAC GT Masters race back in 2012 and it was great to celebrate my 100th race at the same circuit as well. Hockenheim will be a great showdown.”

Jules Gounon – #77 Roller/Valvoline Corvette C7 GT3-R:
„This was my first time in Zandvoort and I enjoyed driving on this traditional track. We continuously improved our Set-up and although we were not great over distance, we showed a good performance. Now it will all be decided in Hockenheim. I am also looking promising in the Junior Class. I am very excited about the season finale.”

Patrick Assenheimer – #69 AutoArena Corvette C7 GT3-R:
„In Saturday´s race, I had made up many positions coming from 23rd on the grid and was running in P19 after only a few laps until a breaking issue stopped us. But we were lucky to retire at that corner on the track, because you can have heavy crashes at Zandvoort.”

Dominik Schwager – #69 AutoArena Corvette C7 GT3-R:
„The race on Sunday was a gamble with the weather, but we had a good strategy and finished in P12. It was nice to see the chequered flag after the non-finish on Saturday, but we had hoped for a better weekend.”

Eric Curran – #31 Whelen Corvette C7 GT3-R:
„We had a few Set-up problems on Saturday and we were not able to attack as we wanted. On Sunday, Loris and I finished in 16th place and we are not happy with the weekend.”

Loris Hezemans – #31 Whelen Corvette C7 GT3-R:
„It was great to get the call early August and being asked to drive the Whelen Corvette on my home track in Zandvoort. But unfortunately, it was a disappointing weekend for our car, because we suffered a few issues during free practice. But it was still great fun to drive on my home track again.”

Things still looked much better when the team had a rather promising start into the weekend on Friday with Christian Engelhart and Rolf Ineichen topping both free practice sessions in their Lamborghini Hurracán GT3 number 63. “We were really hopeful then, the set-up was perfect, everything seemed to go well”, Ineichen stated when looking back. “But things already turned to the worse on Saturday in Qualifying when P16 was absolutely not what we had expected,” the Swiss driver said. The effort of making up some ground during the race was already hampered early by a collision with another competitor and the following extra pitstop “but the worst of all was later receiving a 10-place grid penalty for the Sunday race for the incident”, he was annoyed. “For us this was not understandable at all and we had long discussions with race control, as the collision had happened due to a technical problem, a loss of tyre pressure.”

Due to the penalty P3 after a great qualifying by Christian Engelhart in the rain on Sunday turned into P13 on the grid. And after Engelhart moving up to P10 already during the first lap of the race bad luck hit again. During a sefety-car period rain started to set in and GRT immediately called their two cars to the pits to change tyres. Actually the right strategy, as proven by the later winning Yaco Racing Audi, “but for us in this pitstop everything that could go wrong went wrong”, as team principal Gottfried Grasser had to admit. “First there was no working space in the suddenly crowded pitlane, then a wheelgun broke. We lost about one minute to the competition with both cars during this stop.” To make things worse during the later regular pitstop also a wheelnut broke, which meant Rolf Ineichen was again in getting back on track and even doing really competitive laptimes a place within the points was out of reach, even without a 30-second penalty towards the end due to “unsafe release,” which dropped the car back to P19.

Luca Stolz, who shared car number 16 with Mirko Bortolotti this time could not be happy about the weekend either. On Saturday after P17 in qualifying P11 in the race was at least not too bad, “it´s a pity that we just missed out on the points there. On Sundays Mirko did a really good job in Qualifying, we started P6 and managed to keep this position, but then the pitstop drama hit us. After that, the race was actually already lost, there is not much you can do in a bit more than half an hour”, he resumed after P14.   Bortolotti had to come to terms with Zandvoort in the beginning, racing there for the first time at all. “On Saturday we at least managed to gain some places due to a good strategy. On Sunday I did not get a completely clear lap in qualifying, otherwise we could have been even further up front. What happened at the pitstop is really a pity – but fore sure we don´t allow us to be beaten down by something like this.”

Gottfried Grasser apologized to his drivers “who did an excellent job once again and wer not at all to blame for not reaching a better result here at Zandvoort. I also feel sorry for our fans and sponsors, but it was really a weekend where all bad luck that can happen happened indeed. Of course we also have to analyse what we can do from our side to avoid something like this happening again. Nevertheless we are already looking forward to the future, the next race for us in the Blancpain GT Sprint Series at  Hungaroring at Budapest is already coming up next weekend..“

Pepper aims to continue his recent good form at the Austria’s pre-Alpine Red Bull Ring and the Nurburgring in Germany’s Eiffel Mountains over the past two races in the great the yellow #7 Deutsche Post Continental GT3 he shares with German co-driver Daniel Abt.

“Zandvoort is definitely one of the trickiest circuits on the calendar,” Jordan explained. “It has tight and twisty sections running up and down through the sand dunes and it’s also very narrow and old school, which makes it quite technical. “That also makes it one of the best and most enjoyable tracks to drive in our championship.

“A key feature to this track is however tyre wear, so the objective is to get the best out of qualifying so we can start as far up the grid as possible. “We will focus on coming to a set-up that works well in qualifying while also enabling us to manage the rubber properly through the hour-long races.

“Zandvoort should suit our Bentley very well – maybe not quite as well as Red Bull Ring did, but we should be right on it in Holland, although the Audis are also quick there.  “I want to keep our recent momentum going – we were delighted to end up second in Austria and while the Nurburgring last time was not quite what we wanted, I was happy to take the best we could out of that situation.

“We’d like to score strong points in Holland – a podium would really be good, but realistically a strong finish will do us just fine. “Daniel and I make a good team, the car is now well sorted and we are we are all set to make more good progress as the season comes to an end. ‘it would be fantastic to climb into the title top ten by the time it is all over, so we need to make the most of it.”

“I’m really looking forward to this one – it should be very good!”

Isaac Tutumlu had little good fortune at Nürburgring, which hosted race 2 of the ADAC GT Masters on Sunday. Early in the morning, Kelvin van der Linde secured 10th on the starting grid with the Car Collection Motorsport-entered Audi R8 LMS by posting a lap time of 1:27.765.

Unfortunately later in the race and following differential swap, car set-up wasn´t good at all and both drivers encountered extreme oversteer. Van der Linde lost several places at the beginning and Tutumlu managed to keep rivals at bay throughout his stint but he was hit no less than three times by cars right behind him. As a result, Tutumlu headed into the pit lane to retire the car in order to prevent additional damage to the Audi and as a good result was out of reach.

“Kelvin was in trouble at the beginning and lost several places because he couldn´t get the pace. After differential swap, our set-up wasn´t any good and it resulted in having massive oversteer. The car was almost impossible to handle and was constantly drifting. My lap times were similar to those set by Kelvin and I was defending our position. But then a Lamborghini hit me and a few moments later two other cars ran into me”, Tutumlu said. He underlined that “I´m annoyed about how aggressive drivers are in the ADAC GT Masters. But organization still has not taken this in hand in earnest, quite the reverse. I headed into the pit lane because our car was almost impossible to handle and had steering damage. We weren´t able to have a competitive car despite our result on Saturday was not bad. At the same time, I am extremely upset about other drivers´ aggressiveness in the ADAC GT Masters. In fact, there were loads of pieces of carbon fiber in the middle of the racing line at the end.”

The first free practice sessions showed that the 3,2 shortened Nürburgring was not a layout suitable for the Corvette C7 GT3-R. In addition, the Balance of Performance asked for a further penalty of 15 kg. However, Jules Gounon (F) and Daniel Keilwitz (GER) qualified the #77 Roller/Valvoline Corvette in a fantastic sixth place for the first race. The fifth place finish in the race was therefore a great achievement and the duo was able to extend their lead in the drivers’ championship.

The sister Corvette driven by Patrick Assenheimer (GER) and Dominik Schwager (GER) displayed a fantastic charge through the field in Saturday´s race. After a disappointing qualifying, which saw the #69 AutoArena Corvette down in 21st place, the two drivers fought their way back up to finish in P10, securing once more a great Top-10 finish.

The second race on Sunday was a disappointment for Callaway Competition. After the starting positions 14 (#69 AutoArena) and 18 (#77 Roller/Valvoline), the drivers pairing Assenheimer/Schwager were running in eighth place, but an overtaking move past a Lamborghini ended in a collision and the retirement for the #69 car. The leaders in the drivers’ championship did not take home any points on Sunday after contact in the opening lap for the #77 Corvette of Gounon and Keilwitz.

“The weekend did not go as planned, but we are pleased to have kept the lead in both championship standings”, say Giovanni Ciccone and Ernst Wöhr, Team Principals Callaway Competition. There are two very interesting and challenging tracks coming up with Zandvoort and Hockenheim, but we are positive to be competitive in the next race and to extend our points lead. It was once again a great performance by Patrick Assenheimer and Dominik Schwager this weekend.”

The next ADAC GT Master race will take place from 19th to 21st August 2016 in Zandvoort (Holland). For more information, please visit http://www.callaway-competition.de.

Driver Quotes:

Daniel Keilwitz – #77 Roller/Valvoline Corvette C7 GT3-R:
“We knew that it would be a hard race given the 30kg Ballast of Performance. It played in our hands that the other teams were fighting each other. It went well, we have kept the lead and extended it after the first race, which was our goal. We were not able to win at Nürburgring, but we took home the points we were given.”

Jules Gounon – #77 Roller/Valvoline Corvette C7 GT3-R:
„I knew the track that was not the issue. But our Corvette did not run as well as it did at the Red Bull Ring. It did not look too good on Friday, but the team prepared the car great for qualifying. We finished in P5 coming from six. We missed the podium but we kept the leading in the championship. Therefore we are happy with the weekend.”

Patrick Assenheimer – #69 AutoArena Corvette C7 GT3-R:
„We did not have an easy weekend, but the race on Saturday proofed the potential of the new Corvette. We started from a weak 21st place on the grid to finish in 10th, which was a great result for the whole team. Unfortunately, we were not able to repeat this on Sunday as I am sure another Top-10 result could have been able.”

Dominik Schwager – #69 AutoArena Corvette C7 GT3-R:
„This was an up and down weekend. The tenth position on Saturday was a strong performance by Patrick and myself and the whole team. We could have improved on that on Sunday. We are all looking ahead to the remaining rounds now. Zandvoort and Hockenheim should be good tracks for us and we will do everything to help the team win the title this year.”

It was not a good start to the weekend for Spain´s Isaac Tutumlu after hitting differential problems in qualifying early in the morning. After two productive free practice sessions on Friday, Tutumlu has taken qualifying duties in Q1 at the wheel of the Car Collection Motorsport Audi R8 LMS but his problems made impossible to improve 29th on the starting grid with a best lap of 1:29.099. The German team made the best effort to fix problems for race one and Tuutmlu put a brilliant recovery drive during his opening stint and passed no less than eleven cars before heading into the pit lane for his mandatory pit stop. South Africa´s Kelvin van der Linde came 12th after another strong performance in the second part of the race.

“It was such a pity our malfunctioning differential in the morning as I wasn´t able to set a proper qualifying lap time. But Car Collection Motorsport made a great effort to fix it for race one and, besides, we tried a new setup and it paid off. I really could push throughout my stint. I made a good start and I managed to overtake several cars”, Tutumlu underlined. The Barcelona-born driver stressed “after pitting when I had moved up to 18th, Kelvin completed another good stint to finish 12th and 3rd Audi classified. We could have gained more places but unfortunately a crash at the chicane and a couple of slow cars ruined our chances to improve our result. Despite problems, I feel happy with our performance. Let´s see if we have a problem-free qualifying session and to fight for a top-ten finish tomorrow”.

Sunday´s race 2 is due to start at 13.15.

Isaac Tutumlu heads to Germany to contest round five of the ADAC GT Masters to be held at Nürburgring. Car Collection Motorsport driver, sharing the Audi R8 LMS with South African Kelvin van der Linder, is feeling quietly optimistic ahead of the event taking place in the Eiffel Mountains. For the very first time this season, Nürburgring isn´t a new race track for Tutumlu unlike Oschersleben, Sachsenring, Lausitzring and Red Bull Ring. Nürburgring has been traditionally a good track for Tutumlu and he expects a competitive weekend.

“I was looking forward to competing at the Nürburgring because I won´t start from scratch this time. It is a shorter layout than usual but only a corner changes. Considering my experience at Nürburgring competing in series such as the International GT Open and the Lamborghini Super Trofeo, we look forward to a promising weekend”, Tutumlu explains. The only Spanish driver in the series adds “let´s hope for a better BoP. Our Audi wasn´t at its best at the Red Bull Ring as it involved top speed and torque but the series´ BoP wasn´t helpful at all either. Either Car Collection Motorsport or the drivers are working together in the same direction, so I´m sure we will make a qualitative leap pretty soon. Besides, Dennis Busch joins Christopher Haase in the second Car Collection-entered Audi. Dennis is a Nürburgring specialist, so he will help us to make even quicker progress with set-up”.

Both 60-minute long races will take place at 13.15 on Saturday and Sunday.

All three Corvettes C7 qualified in the Top-15 in the first qualifying. Gounon/Keilwitz did not give away their third place on the grid and finished on the podium, taking over the lead of the championship at exactly mid-season. Keilwitz put the Corvette C7 with the number 77 onto Pole Position in the second qualifying and was able to remain in the leading position until the pit-stop window in the second race. Whilst Keilwitz went slightly off the race line, Laurens Vanthoor took advantage in his Audi and drove past Keilwitz. In a heart-beating final that saw two Safety-Car periods, Gounon put pressure onto the front-runner Florian Stoll, but had to settle in second place when crossing the finishing line. However, Callaway Competition secured the race win in the end after all with the disqualification of Stoll/Vanthoor later that day.

The #69 AutoArena Corvette experienced a weekend with ups and downs. Following P10 in the first quali, Patrick Assenheimer (D) and Dominik Schwager (D) drove up into a great fourth place and secured a top-finish for the third time in a row. Unfortunately, the #69 retired in the second race having qualified in a strong P5.

The two Americans running in the Whelen Corvette, Boris Said and Eric Curran, had a very strong weekend as well. At their premiere at the Red Bull Ring, Said/Curran qualified the #31 Corvette C7 in 14th and 9th position. In the race on Saturday, the American duo finished in the Top-10.

„I am very pleased to see the development of this season, that all our hard work and our efforts are paying off and that all this is being reflected in us leading the championship now“, say Giovanni Ciccone and Ernst Wöhr, Team Principals Callaway Competition. „Daniel Keilwitz and Jules Gounon did a great job this weekend. But all our other drivers impressed with top performances as well and we can be proud of the whole´s team’s performance. But we should not rest on our laurels now, but come back at the Nürburgring strong again in two weeks.

The next ADAC GT Masters race takes place from 5th until 8th August 2016 at the Nürburgring. For more information, please visit www.callaway-competition.de

Driver Quotes:

Daniel Keilwitz – #77 Roller/Valvoline Corvette C7 GT3-R:
“Our goal was to take the lead in the championship and that is what we have done. It was not an easy race with the extra ballast of 30 km from the second race at Lausitzring. We tried to stay clear of everything. Other teams had to fight quite hard. During the pit-stop phase, we lost a position, but in the end it was not tragic. Our race ran as planned: I had a good start and was able to set the pace from the front. We are pleased with the result and have extended our lead in the championship.“

Jules Gounon – #77 Roller/Valvoline Corvette C7 GT3-R:
“Another race track that was new to me, but I found a good rhythm early on and I really liked the atmosphere and nature here. We are very happy about having taking over the lead in the championship. Big thanks to my team-mate Daniel (Keilwitz), who drove a fantastic race. P3 on Saturday was the maximum we could achieve. Both Porsche and Bentley were very strong. Now it is half-time and we are leading, it feels great. But the season is still long and we have to focus race by race.“

Patrick Assenheimer – #69 AutoArena Corvette C7 GT3-R:
“To start from 10th and finish in fourth is a great result. The car is great. We had a good start and did not lose a position. We managed to make up some ground during the race, also thanks to a few accidents of our competitors. Dominik (Schwager) drove a really good race.“

Dominik Schwager – #69 AutoArena Corvette C7 GT3-R:
“P4 was the best we could achieve. We were not quicker than the ones running in front of us in the end. Every team had a little off during the race. We took advantage of that and drove through the field. A great result for Callaway Competition. The team did a great job.“

Boris Said – #31 Whelen Corvette C7 GT3-R:
„We really enjoyed the weekend, the track is great and the team did a really good job. It was a good feeling to finish in the Top-10 and in overall, the whole weekend was a fantastic result for the whole team.“

Eric Curran – #31 Whelen Corvette C7 GT3-R:
„All in all, it was a good weekend, it was just a shame that we did not finish in the second race. We started from P9 and we could have had an even better result than in the race on Saturday.“

At Paul Ricard Rolf Ineichen (CH), his Swiss fellow countryman Adrian Amstutz and Jeroen Bleekemolen (NL) immediately settled in the top group after P6 in Qualifying, only to be soon thrown back to the end of the field of 51 cars due to a tyre failure. “Unfortunately the lifting system also broke down, which meant we lost 33 minutes or 16 laps in regard to the leading car during the pitstop”, team principal Gottfried Grasser was upset.

Even having to put up with two more tyre problems, the team managed to impressively catch up again:  P48 after two hours, P34 after four hours, P26 after six… At half time of the 24 hours the Lamborghini Hurracán GT3 number 963 was already running in ninth place again, after two thirds of the distance, at the 18 hour mark, in P3 and therefore on the podium. Until the 20th hour even P2 was reached – while the second fastest race lap at all only meant additional prove of the speed of the car. But then another blown tyre meant final retirement: “Parts of the blown tyre severed a fuel line, so the whole engine compartment suddenly burst up in flames”, Grasser recalled angrily, hot hiding his disappointment with the weekend: “Here all mid-engine cars suffered from two to six tyre failures. This is a clear hint that something was wrong with the tyre material. Sure, Paul Ricard is known to be a very challenging track, but something like this just should not happen, especially as it can also end up with much more serious consequences… But anyway what we are really proud of is our great fight back to the top and the very strong performance of our drivers”.

But now the home race of the ADAC-GT-Masters at Spielberg is already coming up. Last year Adrian Zaugg and Mirko Bortolotti took a surprise victory there as guest starters during the first appearance of Gracer Racing at the GT-Masters. This year the team is already established as part of the top group in the series. So expectations considering the three Grasser cars which will be racing at the Red Bull ring are rising quite high. “We never go to a race without trying to win it”, says Gottfried Grasser with a bit of self confidence, even if he would not want to go as far as claiming the title as his aim for the season: “That would be a bit too much in our first complete year in the series. Here in Austria we will also be confronted with an additional challenge, as the Red Bull Ring has been completely resurfaced with a different tarmac. It´s kind of a new racetrack, no comparisons to 2015 at all. But nevertheless for sure we will have the potential to be competitive again”.

There are also some news about the driver line-up:  Nicolas Pohler will get a new teammate with ADAC GT Masters newcomer Michele Beretta, Luca Stolz and local hero Gerhard Tweraser will team up together as they did during the first two race weekends, while Christian Engelhart will share the so far very successful Lamborghini number 63 with Rolf Ineichen as usual.

What´s very nice and special for the team during its home race is the fact “that the racetrack is only five minutes away from our factory base. 80 percent of our team members are from the region, partly they can sleep at home in their own bed during the race weekend. And of course many of them took the chance of inviting friends, family and sponsors. Each day we will have about 150 guests in our hospitality for greeting, entertaining and some wining and dining…”.

Stolz then managed to keep the lead from the beginning, even extending it again and again after the first few safety-car-periods. So victory seemed to be close, until at around half distance another safety car due to a slight off of Robert Renauer during the mandatory pit stop window caused havocs for the GRT Lamborghini juniors, as a few unlucky circumstances came together. Luca Stolz was a bit unsure about the situation in first place, “as during the drivers briefing we were told there would be no safety car in such circumstances, but only double waved yellow…” So he tried to get in contact with his race engineer, “but it just happened that we both pressed the “talk” button on the radio exactly at the same moment, so there was no contact possible. And in the whole mess I missed the pit lane entrance” – with fatal consequences. One lap later the safety car already come back in again, so that the necessary pitstop now cost a lot more time in comparison to the competitors, which led to Tweraser only returning to the track in tenth position. “I could improve to seventh in the end, but of course it is a bit disappointing knowing that so much more was possible”, the Austrian said.

For the second race qualifying had not gone so well with P13 and then Tweraser lost a few more positions at the start when being hit by a Porsche from behind. But then the bit catch-up began, which ended in fifth place in total and second in the junior class. “We really put the pedal to the metal from the beginning. Luca also did a great job again and the car was running very well the whole weekend which is very promising”, Tweraser is already looking into the future. “What is really impressive about GRT is the very special relationship and cooperation of all the team members. We specially have to thank Gottfried Grasser, who knows the Lamborghini inside out and together with us drivers worked out a perfect set up.”  Luca Stolz in the end was “really content with P5, considering from where we came from. When ‘I was in the car, I had a lot of fights to go through. The last two laps were really intense, but even under high pressure I did not do any mistakes.”

Things also did not really go to plan for Rolf Ineichen and Christian Engelhart, who at the start of the season in Oschersleben had climbed the highest step of the podium. “We were just unlucky all the weekend, even as the GRT team hat put up a great car for us”, Swiss driver Ineichen stated. “In the first race it was a safety car at the wrong time for us which dropped us back and stopped our rise through the field towards the podium” – which under normal circumstances still would have been possible from P10 on the grid.  So they had to settle in 12th – and things should take a turn to the worse in race two.

Coming from 4th on the grid this time, they were in a much better position to go for the podium this time, but then bad luck come their way again: “We were fifth  when we got hit from the back by the Abt Bentley. We suffered a puncture and managed to limp back to the pits”, Ineichen reported slightly angry about the at least doubtful action of his opponent. During the course of the race they managed to climb up through the field again and after taking over from Ineichen, team mate Christian Engelhart further managed to improve their position, leaving some other cars behind. But he also could not enjoy his great drive for too long. Another puncture, probably caused by some carbon debris on track slicing the side of the tyre, “made it impossible for us to fight for a decent position any more and so we retired the car with only a few more laps left to go.” Engelhart was adamant, “that we really seemed to be on our way to the podium again in the beginning, we were by far the fastest Lamborghini and the whole GRT Grasser Team did a great job as usual. It was just not our race.”

Team principal Gottfried Grasser tried to take as many positives as possible out of the weekend: “Once again we were able to prove how competitive the Huracan GT3 is. Pole position, fastest lap of the race – that says it all. But we simply had a lot of bad luck this time. Safety cars at the wrong time for us, the communication problem, the Bentley hitting us – a lot of things coming together. In race two, Rolf and Christian really did a great show. Normally a top three finish for sure would have been the reward.  But as a whole it was still a positive weekend where luck just was not on our side. But that´s racing – these things happen…”

There won´t be any real brake for the Grasser squad now. Already on Sunday night the cars had to be rebuilt at Sachsenring for a test day for Ineichen and Engelhart on Monday at Lausitzring.  Then the second round of the Blancpain GT Sprint series next weekend is already waiting at Brands Hatch. “I am really looking forward to that”, says Grasser. “Sachsenring and Brands Hatch are quite similar in their characteristics, so for the moment I am not really worrying about performance…”

The great success on Sunday could already be thought about following the good results on Saturday. In the first qualifying at the Sachsenring, Jules Gounon (F) set the fifth time in the #77 Roller/Valvoline Corvette. The sister car, the #69 AutoArena Corvette with Patrick Assenheimer behind the wheel (D), suffered bad luck following an off into the gravel, setting only the 17th best lap-time.

The Frenchman Gounon had a good start into the one-hour-race on Saturday and managed to secure second place after only a few corners. The Safety-Car was employed four times and made the racing flow difficult. Callaway Competition pitted the #77 first, but some positions were lost. Thanks to a great charge through the field by Daniel Keilwitz (D), the car crossed the finishing line in a well-deserved fourth position. The #69 AutoArena Corvette was penalised with a drive-through due to a collision with a Porsche and came home in 19th place.

Keilwitz only managed P9 in Sunday´s qualifying, but a breath-taking start from ninth to three was the first step towards the great success. The #77-driver overtook the Audi on lap two to take second place and only four laps later, he also managed to overtake Ludwig in the Mercedes. Keilwitz was able to put a gap between him and the chaser straight away and drove 0.5 seconds faster per lap then his competitors. Jules Gounon kept the lead after the pitstop and extended his lead by 1.5 seconds per lap. Unfortunately, a Safety-Car destroyed all the progress, but thanks to a perfect re-start, the young Frenchman took victory at the chequered flag with the #77 Roller/Valvoline Corvette C7 GT3-R.

The sister car suffered once again a tough qualifying with only P18. Dominik Schwager (D) lost a couple of positions at the beginning of the race, but found himself continuously in great fights for positions. A drive-through-penalty put the #69 AutoArena Corvette back into P13.

“We are very proud of our drivers”, say Giovanni Ciccone and Ernst Wöhr, Team Principals Callaway Competition. “Everything went absolutely perfect on Sunday! Daniel had an amazing start and Jules was able to control and manage his last stint without great effort. It feels fantastic to have the first victory with the new Corvette. The hard work over the winter has finally paid off.”

The team based in Leingarten is currently in third and fourth place in the drivers and team standings respectively.

The next ADAC GT Masters race will take place from 3rd until 5th June 2016 at the Lausitzring. For more information, please visit http://www.callaway-competition.de.

Driver Quotes:

Daniel Keilwitz – #77 Roller/Valvoline Corvette C7 GT3-R:
„I was on the throttle at the right moment and that was decisive. Of course, I was lucky that there were so many gaps to drive through and I decided to overtake at the outer line. That was the plan in my head and I am glad it worked out. We were able to pull away with the new tyres during the first laps. Jules did a great job in the end. The win is so well-deserved by everyone in the team for all their hard work over the winter. And it is a great birthday present for Giovanni.”

Jules Gounon – #77 Roller/Valvoline Corvette C7 GT3-R:
„It was just great! I don´t know how to describe it, but there are no words for Daniel´s start. He handed me a perfect car with good tyres at the pitstop, which made my job easier. I then really put my foot down and controlled the field, but then the Safety-Car came out and I had to do everything all over again. My strategy was to have three fast laps and then just try and manage the remaining laps and everything worked well. I am very pleased to have Daniel as my team-mate this year, because I can learn a lot from him.”

Patrick Assenheimer – #69 AutoArena Corvette C7 GT3-R:
„Unfortunately, we were one second too fast at the pitstop and got penalised. But I think, looking at the laps over the weekend, we had a decent performance. Without the penalties, we could have reached the Top-10. I had about eight overtaking moves in Sundays and Saturday´s race and it was a lot of fun. We just have to focus more on qualifying to ensure our pace is strong enough for a better starting position, so we can attack from further up the field during the race.”

Dominik Schwager – #69 AutoArena Corvette C7 GT3-R:
„It was a difficult weekend for us. Patrick and I did not manage to get it right in qualifying. We had two good races, but didn´t make the most of it. The penalty on Saturday was unfortunate but quite tough from our point of view. Sunday´s penalty was annoying. But we are very please, that the other car has won, because everyone does a really great job.”

Lady Luck keeps turning a blind eye to Isaac Tutumlu in the ADAC GT Masters but the only Spanish driver in the series fought for podium places on Sunday. Unfortunately, a number of factors spoiled what would have been a wonderful result at Sachsenring, only in his second start in the series.

South-Africa´s Kelvin van der Linde took seventh spot on the grid in the morning and delivered another strong performance later in the race. Van der Linde gained another place at the race start and after twenty-two minutes, he made two passes on the outside of Nicolai Sylvest and Daniel Abt moving up to fourth. He pitted from fourth handing over the Audi to Tutumlu. The latter showed his great defensive skills keeping his rivals at bay. But soon he struggled with rear tire´s low pressure and the safety car period compromised his race. Philip Geipel hit the back of Tutumlu´s car and a lapped Lamborghini failed to see his approach and, as a result, he lost several places. Finally, Tutumlu had to serve a drive through penalty as he went across the white line of pit exit by a few centimeters. Tutumlu finished 20th after completing 43 laps.

“It was another unlucky race as it was hindered by a number of issues. Kelvin made superb progress with our best qualifying effort. He moved up to fourth during his stint. In my stint, I noticed low pressure on the right rear tire, which it´s always the most important at Sachsenring, and it was getting lower and lower. Geipel hit me and a lapped car, which cost me a few places. But the drive through ruined our hopes again at the end of the race”, Tutumlu commented. But Sachsenring brought positive findings, as he added “I´ve learnt a lot, gaining valuable experience in the car and in the series. At the end, I was able to set competitive laps times despite our low pressure issues. I feel confident for future events. Let´s see!”

Van der Linde’s first race was compromised by the Safety Car delaying the second half of the field shortly after Kelvin took the car over from Spanish co-driver Isaac Tutumlu-Lopez for the second stint. “The Safety Car ruined the first race,” Kelvin pointed out. “Not sure why, but they failed to release us on time and the pack got away, which limited my progress to 25th.”

Kelvin then qualified is Car Collection Audi R8 in 7th for the second race and drove a storming first stint to hand the Aude R8 over to his young teammate in fourth position. But Lopez picked up a puncture to drop out of a promising sixth only to have to serve a drive-though penalty for a pit lane indiscretion to drop the duo out of contention for any of the slim pickings they may have come by following the puncture.

Still Kelvin was delighted with his result: “It was a fantastic stint for me,” German-based Dainfern driver explained. “I’d made my way up to fourth by the time we pitted, made a few good overtakings on the way and was involved in some great battles, so from my side it was a brilliant race. “It’s a pity we had the puncture and my teammate got the penalty — that’s life, but I’m very happy with my day.”

Van der Linde, Tutumlu Lopez and the ADAC GT Masters circus’ next appointment is at the Lausitzring 4-5 July