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ADAC GT Masters·13.8.2012

ADAC Masters Weekend at the Red Bull Ring: Great entertainment in Austria

The Red Bull Ring in Austria played host to the ADAC Masters Weekend from the 10th to 12th August. This was the second race weekend of the year to take place at a circuit outside of Germany. A total of 9,700 fans came during the weekend to watch the twelve races of the ADAC GT Masters and the support series: Formula ADAC, ATS Formel-3-Cup, the ADAC Procar and the MINI TROPHY.

ADAC GT Masters

The Porsche 911 was the car to beat in the ADAC GT Masters at the Red Bull Ring. No less than four examples of the iconic German sports car fought it out amongst themselves for victory in Race 1. Last year's winners, Christian Engelhart and Nick Tandy, finished in the lead, winning through by a whisker against Robert Renauer/Nicolas Armindo. Niclas Kentenich and Mario Farnbacher took a Porsche 911 to victory in the second race in Styria. It was also the maiden victory for ADAC Sports Foundation driver Farnbacher in the League of Super Sports Cars. Heinz-Harald Frentzen also had a very strong weekend. The Former F1 and DTM driver achieved his best result to date in the ADAC GT Masters together with team-mate Andreas Wirth, finishing in fifth place in the opening race. The Callaway Corvette pair went up one place in the second race, just missing the podium in P4.

Formel ADAC

A race weekend in front of one's home crowd is always a major happening for any racing driver, including Thomas Jäger. The Austrian driver had prepared thoroughly for the three races at the Red Bull Ring, but had a disappointing qualifying, unable to do better than grid positions 17 and 15 for the first two races. That did not discourage him, since he finished fifth and fourth after making two furious charges up the field. Jäger then secured the coveted podium finish at his home race in the third race by coming home in third place. Marvin Kirchhöfer has led the championship since his opening victory at Oschersleben, but the ADAC Sports Foundation driver had a tough weekend at the Red Bull Ring. A retirement and a seventh place were all he could muster in the first two races. On the other hand, championship rival Gustav Malja achieved two podium finishes, securing the lead in the overall standings for the first time. Kirchhöfer was happy in the end with his victory in the final race, but Malja now heads the championship and takes a two-point lead to the next race weekend at the Lausitzring.

ATS Formel-3-Cup

The sixth weekend of the ATS Formel-3-Cup at the Red Bull Ring was marked by two premieres, as British driver Tom Blomqvist celebrated his first victory in a major race and local favourite Lucas Auer achieved a maiden win in this particular series. In fact, the nephew of ex-Formula 1 driver Gerhard Berger pleased the home fans by making two podium appearances. Auer received the trophy for coming second in Sunday's race from the hands of his illustrious uncle. The 18-year-old took the opportunity to remind Berger of his own ten Grand Prix victories and no fewer than 48 Formula 1 podiums by including him in the champagne shower. Auer has 182 championship points and is currently in third place behind Jimmy Eriksson (281) and Kimiya Sato (203).

ADAC PROCAR

Jens Weimann and Guido Thierfelder are still setting the benchmark in the ADAC PROCAR series. Weimann was dominant in Division 1, cruising to victory in both races at the Red Bull Ring in Austria. He now leads the standings on a score of 100 points. Meanwhile, Thierfelder was not having such an easy ride in Division 2, where he had to see off various challengers. Nils Mierschke and Ralf Glatzel respectively joined them on the podium. The latter surprised and delighted the crowd when he used the occasion to propose to his girlfriend Luci. She accepted.

MINI TROPHY

Rounds seven and eight of the 2012 MINI TROPHY were contested in the context of the ADAC Masters Weekend at the Red Bull Ring in Austria. As usual, the drivers in this single-marque competition laid on a racing spectacular in their 211-horsepower MINI John Cooper Works Challenge cars. Ralf Martin went into the weekend leading the championship, but fifth place on Saturday and a retirement on Sunday meant that he had to cede top spot to Jürgen Schmarl who had a podium finish in Race 1. Perhaps the strongest performance of the weekend came from ADAC Sachsen e.V. driver Steve Kirsch who won the second race. The crowd was also glad to see Cora Schumacher back in action after a long absence through illness. The wife of ex-F1 and current DTM driver Ralf Schumacher enjoyed an impressive comeback to the series, with a P11 and a P8 finish.