The Porsche duo of David Jahn (25, DEU) and Kévin Estre (27, F, both KÜS TEAM75 Bernhard) celebrated their second victory of the 2016 ADAC GT Masters in the first of two races at the Nürburgring. "At the moment, things are going really well," said Jahn, who had already shared the top rung of the podium with Estre on their previous outing at the Red Bull Ring. "This is a success for the whole team. Our guys work so hard - a big thank-you to the entire crew." Robert Renauer (31, DEU) and Martin Ragginger (28, A, both Precote Herberth Motorsport) made the occasion even more of a triumph for Porsche by finishing as runners-up in their 911. The two young Mercedes-AMG drivers Nicolai Sylvest (19, DK) and Nikolaj Rogivue (20, CH, both AMG team Zakspeed) completed the podium party in their first ever Top Three result.
Both Porsches stay in front
The two Porsches of Robert Renauer and David Jahn that had lined up on the front row successfully defended their positions and fought a thrilling battle for the lead over the first few laps. The Mercedes-AMG of Nicolai Sylvest and the Lamborghini of Norbert Siedler (33, A, HB Racing WDS Bau) in third and fourth place shadowed them closely until the mandatory round of pit stops and change of driver, ready to seize the advantage.
Clever strategy then led to a change in the lead. Jahn stayed out one lap longer than Renauer and Ragginger before handing the Porsche over to Estre. That gave the Frenchman the chance to emerge from the pit lane and launch a thrilling overtaking move at the end of the main straight. Porsche works driver Estre defended P1 to the finish line and secured his team's second win of the season. Renauer and Ragginger, who had started on pole, took the chequered flag in P2 with a narrow deficit of 1.6 seconds. The youngest pair of drivers in the field, Sylvest and Rogivue, were jubilant about placing third; they secured their first podium finish and also won the Junior standings for drivers under 25 years.
After two podium appearances at the Red Bull Ring, Bentley Team ABT achieved yet another top result with fourth place for the Continental driven by Jordan Pepper (20, ZA) and Daniel Abt (23, DEU). P5 for Jules Gounon (21, F) and Daniel Keilwitz (27, DEU, both Callaway Competition) in a Corvette C7 was good enough for them to consolidate their lead in the drivers' championship. Visibly delighted with their best result of the season were new ADAC GT Masters entrants Aust Motorsport: Markus Pommer (25, DEU) and Xavier Maassen (36, NL) brought their Audi R8 home in sixth place.
P7 and P8 went to the two Lamborghini Huracáns driven by Norbert Siedler and Jaap van Lagen (39, NL, HB Racing WDS Bau) and by Rolf Ineichen (38, CH) and Christian Engelhart (29, DEU, both GRT Grasser Racing team); the latter paring made good 16 positions after starting from 24th on the grid, a result that also saw Rolf Ineichen win the Trophy classification. An even more spectacular charge up the field was staged by series newcomer Dennis Busch (28, DEU) and partner Christopher Haase (28, DEU, both Car Collection Motorsport) who made a gain of no fewer than 17 positions in their Audi R8 to finish ninth. The Top Ten was rounded off by another Corvette C7 driven by Patrick Assenheimer (24, DEU) and Dominik Schwager (39, DEU, both Callaway Competition).
Comments from the winners
David Jahn (KÜS TEAM75 Bernhard, Porsche 911): "We stayed out one lap more than the leading Porsche ahead of the pit stops - that was the key to success. I really stepped on the gas and set a lap time that was of qualifying standard. The plan worked. Kévin (Estre) emerged onto the track side by side with the other Porsche and ultimately managed to get past. After a difficult start to the season in this new team, things are going really well at the moment. But this is really due to the effort put in by everyone on the team. The guys work very hard and always think deeply about ways we can improve. I hope we can continue to ride this wave of success."
Kévin Estre (KÜS TEAM75 Bernhard, Porsche 911): "Our weekend got off to a pretty mediocre start with a series of problems. But then David (Jahn) had a great qualifying this morning. We are well satisfied with this victory. In the first half of the race, we could have gone faster than the Porsche ahead of us. Then we stayed out one lap longer and David clocked the decisive time which enabled me to take the lead when I took the car back out onto the track. Thanks to the team for a quick pit stop. In my stint, I concentrated on keeping my lead. Fortunately, that worked perfectly right through to the finish."
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.