The penultimate race weekend of the ADAC GT Masters at the Sachsenring (September 19th-21st) is the main highlight of the season for YACO Racing from Plauen. The Audi outfit has a home fixture in prospect at the track near Chemnitz and intend to strengthen their team by calling on the services of well-known driver Markus Winkelhock (34, Berglen-Steinach). The ex-Formula 1 driver will partner Philip Geipel (27, Plauen) in the two races (live on kabel eins, Saturday and Sunday, from 11:45 am onwards), since regular driver Rahel Frey (28, Switzerland) has other commitments at the weekend. In the following interview, Geipel talks about his home fixture in Saxony and the pitfalls of the challenging roller-coaster track.

How has your season in the ADAC GT Masters been so far?

"We had a strong start with two top-ten finishes at the season opener in Oschersleben, and that´s exactly what we were aiming for, top ten places, but then we had a lot of bad luck. Opponents took us out five or six times when we were very well placed. This is our second year with the Audi R8 and our speed is right. We are very pleased with it. We´ve made enormous progress compared to last year. Our lap times are good and prove it. I hope that with two clean races we can now have another decent showing in our home fixture."

The Sachsenring is said to really suit the Audi. Why is that?

"Circuits such as the Red Bull Ring and the Slovakia Ring recently are out-and-out power tracks for cars with lots of grunt. However, the Sachsenring has many challenging turns and large differences in height, which means that late braking, clean, sure-footed driving and good positioning on the exits to corners are important. Also, there are no long straights as at other circuits, which really suits the design concept of our Audi on the whole."

What makes the Sachsenring so tough?

"The Sachsenring is a very selective circuit, and finding your rhythm on the roller-coaster of a track is not easy. Not for nothing is the circuit also often referred to as the Green Hell of the East. It´s important that you get the car in a good position ahead of the turns, which is quite tricky, because you sit relatively low down in a GT car and differences in gradient also make it difficult to recognise where the entrance to the turn and the apex are in the extremely narrow corners at the Sachsenring. You have to drive as if you were in city traffic, really watching the road ahead, and be well positioned, especially on the exits to turns in order to post a decent time at the end of the lap."

Markus Winkelhock will stand in for Rahel Frey at the Sachsenring. What´s the reason for that?

"It´s a great pity that Rahel has another commitment with Audi and cannot be with us, especially as it´s our main highlight event. She was very keen to see that we find a top-class replacement for our home race. We now have Markus Winkelhock in the line-up, who is one of the best and most successful Audi R8 drivers around. Many thanks to all those who made it possible."