ADAC GT Masters·9.6.2012

Sachsenring: What the drivers said after Race 1: Another perfect day for us

Diego Alessi (#28 Callaway Competition Corvette Z06.R GT3), race winner: "I got off to a good start, and after that, the distance to Dino Lunardi was so great that he didn't really pose a threat. The car was perfect, so I had it relatively easy during my stint. I concentrated on conserving the tyres, because I knew that this would be crucial in the second half of the race. Daniel was then just so incredibly strong and kept the Alpina at bay. Another perfect day for us."

Daniel Keilwitz (# 28 Callaway Competition Corvette Z06.R GT3), race winner: "In the second half of the race, I had the Alpina close behind, but not so close as to be dangerous. When he disappeared from my rear mirror, the Ford popped up. But I managed to maintain a sizeable gap, and I only had to drive as fast as was necessary. We certainly hadn't expected to win here."

Jesse Krohn (#38 Lambda Performance-Ford GT GT3), second place: "My start was actually as good as ever. I had a scrap with the black Mercedes, but I didn't get past. When the pit stop window opened, I just stayed out longer and posted a few quick laps. This was enough to overtake the Mercedes on the pit stop."

Nico Verdonck (#38 Lambda Performance-Ford GT GT3), second place: "We had a good pit stop and the car handled well. We have made another big step forward this weekend. I was very close to the Corvette at the end, and if I'd had a couple more laps, I would have had a go at him."

Maximilian Götz (#5 kfzteile24 MS RACING Team-Mercedes Benz SLS AMG GT3), third: "I got off to a good start, spotted a gap on the first corner and slotted into third. But the pressure from behind was enormous, and I got a bit stuck in traffic early on. We took our pit stop early but unfortunately lost a position - the Ford was quicker than us in the pits."

Sebastian Asch (# 5 kfzteile MS-RACING team Mercedes Benz SLS AMG GT3), third: "I tried to catch the Ford GT and kept closing on him. But every time I got close, I dropped back into the traffic. The speed we demonstrated in this race was highly respectable."

Toni Seiler (# 18 Callaway Competition Corvette Z06.R GT3), P10 race, P2 Amateur standings: "I had a good start and a good race - we're satisfied. Frank did a very good job at the end of the race. We changed the suspension setup once again for today - that was a huge step forward."

Kristian Poulsen (#33 Young Driver AMR-Aston Martin V12 Vantage GT3): "My start was good. I lost a position but got it back again. Fourth place overall is a great result. It's amazing just how fast we are here, because we seem to be lacking performance on the straights."

Luca Ludwig (# 37 Gemballa Racing McLaren MP4-12C GT3), DNF: "We had an engine failure in qualifying yesterday and yet again in today's race. There's no point in changing the engine, and in any case, our crew have already worked through the night. So we are packing up to go home already.

Christopher Mies (# 21 Prosperia uhc-speed Audi R8 LMS ultra): "This is one of the best ever ADAC GT Masters races for us. We worked our way up from the back to finish in ninth place; that was a lot of fun. The car was great. If we start from fourth tomorrow, I'm expecting great things."

Alexandros Margaritis (#10 SCHÖNER WOHNEN Polarweiss Team HEICO-Mercedes Benz SLS AMG GT3), 30th: "If you start from P20, you can't really expect much from a race. Then someone spun me around into the gravel. Apart from which, there is something wrong with the car; compared to our team-mates, we are far too slow. The engineers have a major job sorting this problem out."

Otto Klohs (#16 FACH AUTO TECH-Porsche 911 GT3 R), 24th: "We were well placed on the starting grid; Andrina performed really well in the first half of the race and showed that she can hold her own in this position. Andrina worked her way up to 19th, which was impressive. Shortly before the end of the race, I unfortunately spun the car round. That was annoying, because we lost a position in the amateur standings. But even so, we are still scoring points on a consistent basis."