Maximilian Götz (#26 HTP Motorsport, Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG GT3), winner: "Max had a fantastic start, which was the basis for our victory today. I was in the lead after the pit stop and had already prepared myself for a tough time with the Porsche behind me. But then we did very well over the distance and were able to drive consistently fast. It's the first race weekend that we're driving this brand new car; after the pile-up at the start of the Oschersleben race, we used a substitute vehicle at Zandvoort, so obviously to get an immediate win with a new car is really great."
Maximilian Buhk (#26 HTP Motorsport, Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG GT3), winner: "It was very difficult to begin with after the start, and I even ran wide a couple of times. Then during the pit stop, we again adjusted the tyre pressures, which improved things considerably for Maxi in the second half of the race."
Daniel Keilwitz (#1 Callaway Competition, Corvette Z06.R GT3), third place: "Our tactics at the start really paid off. I was on new tyres and went all out on the attack on Lap 1. Consequently, I was able to establish a bit of a gap. Ahead of the pit stop window, the pursuing bunch were closing in on me, so then I had to push harder. When the pit stop window opened, two back-markers emerged from the pit lane ahead of me. One of them failed to notice me and pushed me over into the dirt, which virtually eliminated the lead I had built up. Although we missed out on the race win, at least things are going better now after our recent run of bad luck and we are back on the podium."
Oliver Gavin (#1 Callaway Competition, Corvette Z06.R GT3), third place: "When I took over on the pit stop, the car was in third gear instead of first, and I didn't notice that until too late. By the time I'd engaged first gear, the Mercedes had already gone past. Then I had a spin; the rear end was twitchy and I lost it completely on a slow corner. That was quite frustrating, because we could have fought it out for second place with the Porsche. But there was no way we could have matched the pace of the Mercedes in the second stint. But at least we made it onto the podium; that's the best result the team has had so far this season, and we can see that we're heading in the right direction."
Robert Renauer (#8 TONINO Team Herberth, Porsche 911 GT3 R), runner-up: "At the start it was pretty tight, but then I made it through the first few corners OK. At times, I managed to close the gap on the Mercedes, but over the distance Buhk and Götz were too strong."
Norbert Siedler (#8 TONINO Team Herberth, Porsche 911 GT3 R), runner-up: "I tried to keep up with the Mercedes at the beginning of my stint, but it was just that bit faster, so I then concentrated on getting the car to the finish and eased up on the speed."
Sébastien Ogier (#12 Prosperia C Abt Racing, Audi R8 LMS ultra) P13: "Unfortunately, an opponent spun my team-mate round at the start, which put us very far back in the field. Actually, that didn't bother me too much, because I'd had hardly any opportunity to do any driving during free practice, and being under no pressure to battle for position, it meant that I could concentrate on gaining experience. This race was good practice for me, and I'm excited about the prospects for Race 2 on Sunday when I'll be driving the first stint."
Jaime Alguersuari (#22 ROWE RACING, Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG GT3), P8: "My first race in the ADAC GT Masters was great - it was a really good experience. Unlike me, my team-mate Nico Bastian already knows the car very well and has been giving me some fantastic support this weekend. I have to change my driving style for GT racing, because obviously the car drives very differently from a Formula 1 car. We were handicapped to a small degree in the race and had problems with second and third gear. That meant I couldn't defend my position against the Audi over the final laps. I had great fun in the race, though, and expect to finish even further up the field tomorrow."
Herbert Handlos (#7 TONINO Team Herberth, Porsche 911 GT3 R), winner of Gentlemen classification: "After a disappointing qualifying session, that was another good result today. At the start, I made sure I kept out of any trouble and survived the first lap OK. I then managed to drive a clean race up to the driver changeover, so all in all, I'm well pleased."
Remo Lips (#17 Callaway Competition, Corvette Z06.R GT3), third in Gentlemen classification: "My start was very good, I had a great race and was able to progress from P20 up to P13. The pit stop also went well, but unfortunately after the driver changeover, my team-mate Lenny Marioneck had a spin on track, which effectively meant that our race was over, but fortunately we were able to rescue the third podium spot."
Toni Seiler (#18 Callaway Competition, Corvette Z06.R GT3); runner-up in Gentlemen classification: "After experiencing a few problems with the car at Zandvoort, we've been able to iron a few of them out here. Apart from a spin on Lap 1, that was another good race for us."
Florian Spengler (#14 MRS GT-Racing, McLaren MP4-12C GT3), P17: "We're having a difficult time at the moment - we're massively adrift of the main field in terms of top speed. On the straights, almost all of our competitors are faster than us, and straight-line speed is supposed to be the strong point of the McLaren. We are in urgent need of finding a solution."
Florian Stoll (#100 kfzteile24 APR Motorsport, Audi R8 LMS ultra), P15: "On the first lap, I was in Markus Winkelhock's slipstream and he made a pretty poor exit from the final corner. I thought that he had seen me in his mirror and might leave the door open. But then he cut in and didn't leave enough room for us to negotiate the corner side by side, which unfortunately meant I couldn't avoid making contact. That wasn't good for either of us. After the drive-through penalty, the chances of picking up any silverware were nil."
Daniel Dobitsch (#100 kfzteile24 APR Motorsport, Audi R8 LMS ultra), P15: "When I took over the wheel of our Audi, our race was effectively over as a result of that collision on Lap 1 and the subsequent drive-through penalty. Towards the end, though, I had a great scrap with a Corvette and an Audi, which was a lot of fun."
Nathan Morcom (#5 Farnbacher Racing, Porsche 911 GT3 R), retired: "We got our setup slightly wrong for today's race, but we still only narrowly missed out on the Top Ten. We'll work on this for the second race and hope to finish in the points tomorrow . We didn't quite get the pit stop right either, which cost us a lot of time."
Martin Ragginger (#3 GW IT Racing Team Schütz Motorsport, Porsche 911 GT3 R), Sixth: "I got off the line pretty smartly at the start, but then two Mercedes came along with a lot of momentum and sailed past. I had to brake sharply on the second corner to avoid a collision with another Porsche, which cost me a couple more places. So suddenly I dropped down to P9."