Spielberg: David Jahn (25, DEU) and Kévin Estre (27, F, both KÜS TEAM75 Bernhard) gave World Sportscar Championship titleholder Timo Bernhard and his father Rüdiger something to smile about by winning the first of two races at the Red Bull Ring in a Porsche 911 entered by KÜS TEAM75 Bernhard. "That was a perfect race," beamed Jahn after claiming his second Super Sports Car League victory. "Thanks to the team for getting the setup just right." Fabian Hamprecht (21, DEU) and Christer Jöns (28, DEU) finished second in a Bentley Continental to give Bentley Team ABT their first podium of the season. Third place for the Corvette duo of Jules Gounon (21, F) and Daniel Keilwitz (26, DEU, both Callaway Competition) was enough to lift them into the top spot at this halfway point in the campaign.
Porsche driver Jahn seizes the lead
Lining up in pole position in the Bentley Continental, Hamprecht initially defended his lead at the start of this race, the seventh of 14 marking the mid-point of the 2016 ADAC GT Masters season. He had inherited the front of the grid from team-mates Jordan Pepper (19, ZA) and Daniel Abt (23, DEU), who were unable to start due to a technical problem. However, Hamprecht was unable to defend the top spot for very long. Jahn, who had started from third place on the grid in a Porsche 911, got past on the back straight of the opening lap and then led comfortably from Hamprecht and Corvette driver Gounon through to the halftime change of drivers.
The positions of the two leading cars remained the same after the round of mandatory pit stops. Estre took over from Jahn with a small lead on Hamprecht´s teammate, Jöns. Meanwhile, the third and fourth-placed cars were swapping position. Audi driver Laurens Vanthoor (25, B, kfzteile24 APR Motorsport) rejoined the track in front of the Corvette of Daniel Keilwitz but had to serve a drive-through penalty a quarter of an hour before the end of the race for exceeding the speed limit in the pit lane. Contesting their first common weekend in the ADAC GT Masters, David Jahn and Kévin Estre secured a maiden victory in the ADAC GT Masters for their team, KÜS TEAM75 Bernhard. Frenchman Estre, now resident in Austria, continued his impressive record of wins, clinching a third success in only his fifth ADAC GT Masters outing.
Jöns held on to second place through to the finish line and secured a first ever podium appearance for Bentley Team ABT. Third place for Gounon and Keilwitz was enough to see them wrest the championship lead from Connor de Phillippi (23, USA) and Christopher Mies (27, DEU, both Montaplast by Land-Motorsport), who had monopolised the top spot until now. Mies retired his Audi R8 after being involved in a collision with the Porsche 911 of Robert Renauer (31, DEU) and Martin Ragginger (28, A, both Precote Herberth Motorsport). The Corvette C7 of Patrick Assenheimer (24, DEU) and Dominik Schwager (39, DEU, both Callaway Competition) came home in fourth place to achieve a Top Five placing for the third consecutive time.
Two driver pairings hunting down the leaders in the championship standings – Sebastian Asch (30, DEU) and Luca Ludwig (27, DEU, both AMG Team Zakspeed) in an AMG-Mercedes and Rolf Ineichen (38, CH) and Christian Engelhart (29, DEU, both GRT Grasser Racing) in a Lamborghini Huracán – also achieved decent results by placing fifth and sixth respectively. The second Zakspeed Mercedes, with the two young drivers Nikolaj Rogivue (20, CH) and Nicolai Sylvest (19, DK, both AMG Team Zakspeed) at the wheel, came home in seventh place to secure points for the fourth time this year.
Completing the Top Ten were Daniel Dobitsch (32, A)/Edward Sandström (37, S, both kfzteile24 APR Motorsport) in the best of the Audi R8s, the Corvette Z06 duo of Remo Lips (33, CH)/ Sven Barth (35, DEU, both RWT Racing) scoring their first points of 2016, and the third Callaway Corvette driven by the Americans Boris Said (53, USA) and Eric Curran (41, USA, both Callaway Competition).
Second place in the general classification for Hamprecht and Jöns also meant victory in the Junior category. Winners in the Trophy class for amateur drivers were Ineichen /Engelhart.
Comments from the winners
David Jahn (KÜS TEAM75 Bernhard, Porsche 911): "That was a perfect race. I immediately caught up with the Corvette at the start and managed to get past on the first corner. After that, I put pressure on the Bentley and overtook him as well on the first lap. I strayed slightly onto the grass in the process, but it was enough. That´s what you have to do as a racer. After that, I controlled my lead efficiently. Thanks to the team for getting the setup just right."
Kévin Estre (KÜS TEAM75 Bernhard, Porsche 911): "I was able to defend the position that David won for us. It may look straightforward when you´re leading the field, but that´s by no means the case. Our pit stop went a bit better than that of the second-placed Bentley, so I had a slight cushion after the driver changeover. This is my first ADAC GT Masters race weekend of 2016, and it´s brought a personal victory and a first win for our team, so what more could you want? I hope it carries on in the same vein."
Fans wishing to experience the ADAC GT Masters live at the racetrack can purchase tickets for all fixtures for the price of 20 euros, which includes access to the paddock, from www.adac.de/motorsport.