In his first race in a GT3 sports car on the opening weekend of the ADAC GT Masters season at the etropolis Motorsport Arena Oschersleben, ADAC GT Masters newcomer Marc Gassner finished on the top rung of the podium. Last year´s winner of the Nissan GT Academy talent-spotting competition, supported by MRS GT-Racing co-driver Florian Strauss, claimed victory in the Gentlemen class driving a Nissan GT-R NISMO GT3. Dominic Jöst and Florian Scholze in the second MRS GT Racing Nissan GT-R made it a one-two victory, with another series newcomer Jakub Knoll (BMW Z4 GT3) joining them on the podium.

For a long time, it looked as if Jöst and Scholze had the victory sewn up in the first race of the season. Jöst took the lead immediately after the start, followed by Corvette driver Remo Lips (RWT Racing) and Gassner. Lips had to pit due to a loose wheel nut, and Gassner moved up to replace him. After the driver changeover, the two Nissans emerged still leading the class, but then Scholze was handed a drive-through penalty for speeding in the pit lane. This meant that the two Nissans swapped places, and the race then finished in that order. Jakub Knoll, ably assisted by Lennart Marioneck in the BMW Z4 GT3, crossed the line in P3 after the previously third-placed Audi R8 LMS ultra driven by Andreas Weishaupt and Christer Jöns (C.Abt Racing) had to retire with a technical problem.

Marc Gassner: "That was my first GT3 race, and I was driving the first stint. At the start, there was an Audi ahead going in the wrong direction, but fortunately I managed to steer clear of the incident. Then I tried to drive at a steady pace. Just before the driver changeover, I had a minor bump with an Audi. P9 and a class win in the first race is very satisfactory from my point of view."

Dominic Jöst was disappointed with narrowly missing out on victory: "After the start, I had to dodge a BMW, which cost me several positions and dropped me down the field. Then I had a scrap with Rahel Frey, but I managed to come out on top and put some distance between the two of us. That was also when I set the fastest lap. Unfortunately, we were a little too fast in the pit lane and we were hit with a drive-through penalty. Well, basically that ruined our race."

"Apart from the drive-through penalty, it was a good race and lots of fun," said Scholze. "We were competitive and the Nissan drives well – much easier than the Porsche last year."