"Absolutely fabulous!" - ADAC Sports Foundation protégé Lennart Marioneck could hardly contain his enthusiasm after the first test session in the ADAC GT Masters GT3 sports cars and was almost lost for words. The ADAC Procar Division 2 runner-up took out a Corvette Z06.R GT3 prepared by Callaway Competition at Hockenheim this week.

"It was a first test to see how I get along with a GT3 car and if my lap times are fast enough", said the 23-year German driver. "The first time I hit the loud pedal, wow! What an experience!" Initial testing in the Corvette went very well for the 2011 ADAC Cruze Cup champion, although the switch from Ford Fiesta 1.6 16V as used in the ADAC Procar was more than a big step up, considering that the American sports car pumps out roughly 530bhp.

"My lap times were okay for a first test, since I did better on every lap", said Marioneck after the test with much satisfaction. "However, I had a great deal of respect for the car in view of the fact that it´s such a big jump from Ford to Corvette." ADAC GT Masters runner-up Diego Alessi supported Marioneck during the test.

"Diego Alessi helped me hugely, particularly with finding the racing line in the Corvette; it is very different from the front-wheel drive Ford Fiesta. Consequently, I used my time in the car to good effect and learned a lot." The ADAC Sports Foundation protégé would like to move up into the ADAC GT Masters next season.

"I have followed the series extremely closely this year. You can learn a lot from the professional ADAC GT Masters drivers as you watch them dash past, even as a mere spectator at the track. My sincere thanks go to emotional engineering´s Axel Watter and Ernst Wöhr and Giovanni Ciccone at Callaway Competition, who fixed up this session for me. I very much hope that I will soon be invited to another test and get the chance to line up on the grid in the 2013 ADAC GT Masters."