ADAC GT Masters·29.8.2015

ADAC GT Masters: Comments after the race: What the drivers had to say after the first of two races at the Sachsenring

Dominik Baumann (#80 BMW Sports Trophy Team Schubert, BMW Z4 GT3), winner: "Claudia was really flying in the first half of the race; her car was so good that I focused on hanging onto second place and giving Jens a good car for the second stint."

Jens Klingmann (#80 BMW Sports Trophy Team Schubert, BMW Z4 GT3), winner: "Immediately after the pit stop, I was able to make up ground on Uwe Alzen. He was weaker on the brakes, so I was able to get alongside him. Uwe played fair during the overtaking manoeuvre. This victory has certainly advanced our cause in the title race. If we´re not able to come first here, then we´re not able to anywhere. For us, the Sachsenring is the best track on the calendar, so we have to take maximum points here."

Claudia Hürtgen (#19 BMW Sports Trophy Team Schubert, BMW Z4 GT3), second: "After the Nürburgring weekend, this result was very important for the team. My stint was also immensely good. Then I saw the parked cars and I knew that my advantage had gone and that the safety car was coming out. In terms of the championship, the team have taken a big step forward. I´m hoping for another good result tomorrow. In recent years, we have always been very strong in the first half of the season. This time, I´m hoping for a strong second half to the season."

Andreas Wirth (#66 Callaway Competition, Corvette Z06.R GT3), third: "I started the race by fighting off a Mercedes quite well, but we probably got the air pressure wrong beforehand. I tried to conserve my tyres. That wasn´t easy under these conditions. The tactic of making sure that Daniel received a good car worked. You can see what we made of it. We can feel satisfied with third place here."

Daniel Keilwitz (#66 Callaway Competition, Corvette Z06.R GT3), third: "The safety car deployment helped us. It enabled us to close the gap. After the restart, I pushed for three laps and overtook two Mercedes in one move and then even managed to get past Patrick. I never expected us to finish on the podium here, so I´m very happy."

Andreas Weishaupt (#3 C.Abt Racing, Audi R8 LMS ultra), winner in Gentlemen class: "I wasn´t very happy with my performance today. After things went so well yesterday, I was struggling a bit this time. I had a nice scrap with Albert von Thurn und Taxis, but then had to let him go. In the second half, though, Christer drove a simply fantastic stint."

Dominic Jöst (#22 MRS GT-Racing, Nissan GT-R NISMO GT3), second in Gentlemen class: "Today´s race was the first time I´ve driven on a dry track in a Nissan at the Sachsenring. In the circumstances, it wasn´t easy to find the right pace straightaway. Even so, we acquitted ourselves well. I´m curious to see how qualifying goes tomorrow and hope that we will come out of it even better."

Marc Gassner (#23 MRS GT-Racing, Nissan GT-R NISMO GT3), third in Gentlemen class: "I came in to the pits ahead of the Corvette which subsequently finished in fourth place. Then the safety car came out, and Florian (Strauss) had to contend with a lot of understeer in the second half of the race. In a nutshell, we were not quick enough today."

Maximilian Buhk (#7 Bentley Team HTP, Bentley Continental GT3), DNF: "An ABS braking problem caused me to skid off into the gravel. The alternator was damaged as a result, and I had to park the car."

Kelvin van der Linde (#1 C.Abt Racing, Audi R8 LMS ultra), DNF: "We had a bump with our sister car on the first lap. We sustained a puncture and a broken wheel bearing. Consequently, I didn´t get to drive the car today."

Marc Basseng (#24 kfzteile24 MS RACING, Audi R8 LMS ultra), DNF: "Unfortunately, we had a broken drive shaft. Very annoying, because a podium today was a distinct possibility."

Diego Alessi (# 69 Callaway Competition, Corvette Z06.R GT3), fourth: "The start was not brilliant, but things were pretty good after that, as Patrick then drove a tremendously strong race. Keeping three opponents in check for the whole of a stint in a race has got to be a great achievement."

Klaus Bachler (# 36 GW IT Racing Team Schütz Motorsport, Porsche 911 GT3 R): ninth: "I´m actually speechless. We´ve got a lot of problems that were not really expected. They popped up in qualifying and continued in the race. We´ll just have to see how things go tomorrow."