Marvin Kirchhöfer (Callaway Competition, Corvette C7 GT3-R), race winner: "I'm absolutely delighted. We've had a pretty long fallow period until our next podium finish came along. The last time we managed to pull it off was at the Red Bull Ring. I knew that our car would be excellent in the race, so I was very pleased with third place in qualifying. As I was making an overtaking manoeuvre for first place, I moved to go through on the inside of the exit to the hairpin and then found myself ahead on the approach to the fast right-hander that follows. It's going to be real thriller tomorrow. We'll be giving it everything we've got again."
Daniel Keilwitz (Callaway Competition, Corvette C7 GT3-R), race winner: "It was clear to us before the race that we would have to win in order to still have a chance in the title fight. Marvin did a great job. He knew he had to attack at the start, and he did that really well. I had a fight on my hands towards the end, because the rear tyres were pretty worn. It wasn't at all easy."
Robert Renauer (Precote Herberth Motorsport, Porsche 911 GT3 R), P2 overall: "We're satisfied with second place. The Corvette was a bit too strong today. We still have some work to do in terms of race pace, but we were very strong in qualifying. And also at the beginning of the race, we were easily able to pull out a lead. We're hoping for rain tomorrow. That would deal us a good hand."
Mathieu Jaminet (Precote Herberth Motorsport, Porsche 911 GT3 R), P2 overall: "It was an almost perfect day for us. We were in pole position and got off to a good start, but the Corvette was simply faster than us today. It has a big engine with powerful torque. That's why we were overtaken on the exit from the hairpin. After that, I gave it everything I'd got and tried to catch up with Daniel, but it didn't work out. We have to score as many points as we can tomorrow if we're going to win the championship."
Sheldon van der Linde (Montaplast by Land-Motorsport, Audi R8 LMS), P3 overall and winner in Pirelli Junior class: "A very good race. Unfortunately, the Corvette overtook me on the first lap, but third place means a lot of points for us. We're hoping for rain on Sunday, because this will help us in the title fight. Winning the Pirelli Junior title is great. It's been a highly competitive championship this year, so we can take pride in having won it."
Kelvin van der Linde (Montaplast by Land-Motorsport, Audi R8 LMS), P3 overall: "It's forecast to rain tomorrow, so everything is still open. We have already done our rain dance. We were never going to get any more than we did today. But there were some great fights out there, and hopefully it will be just as fair again tomorrow."
Maximilian Götz (Mann Filter Team HTP, Mercedes-AMG GT3), P4 overall: "After our difficulties at the start, fourth place was the maximum we were going to get today. I gave it absolutely everything I'd got and took a lot of risks without thinking too hard about it. Some of the scraps out there were slightly borderline, but ultimately it was all fair. The Mamba was really fast again today, which should give us encouragement for the second and decisive race. I have no worries regarding the weather forecast, according to which it's going to rain tomorrow. We have to do a good job whether it's dry or wet. Then anything is possible."
Ricardo Feller (BWT Mücke Motorsport, Audi R8 LMS), P5 overall and winner in Pirelli Junior class: "The day started well, with fifth place in qualifying. However, I feel we could have done even better - we noticed that in the race. I could have been faster, but it's difficult to overtake an Audi if you're driving an Audi yourself. Christopher did a mega job and brought the car home in fifth place. It was a fair and an enjoyable contest. Now we can look forward to tomorrow."
Christopher Haase (BWT Mücke Motorsport, Audi R8 LMS), P5 overall: "I had fun out there. This was partly because the Audi went like a bomb. We had the fastest Audi in the field today. Ricardo showed that at the start of the race. Then I came up behind Kelvin and could have gone a bit faster than him. But closing a gap and overtaking are two completely different things. Then Maximilian Götz approached from behind. We had no chance against the Mercedes, which was a pity. Apart from that, though, it was an enjoyable three-way scrap."
Sven Barth (RWT Racing, Corvette C7 GT3), P6 overall and winner in Pirelli Trophy class: "We've had an extremely tough year with many setbacks. Now we have a sixth-place finish from 14th on the grid. It was a perfect race. Claudia brought the car home well. That was a hard job, because the car was deteriorating towards the end. But despite that, we still managed another win in the Pirelli Trophy class."
Claudia Hürtgen (RWT Racing, Corvette C7 GT3), P6 overall and winner in Pirelli Trophy class: "First of all, I have to compliment the team. They have rebuilt the car after a total write-off in the accident at the Sachsenring. I'm happy for the whole team that we were able to score points for sixth place. The race was pretty exhausting because the car alternated between understeer and oversteer. I had to pull everything out of my box of tricks at the end, because Luca Ludwig was getting closer and closer. We deserved this result, and I'm delighted after such a tough race."
Timo Bernhard (KÜS Team75 Bernhard, Porsche 911 GT3 R), P9 overall: "A great race after the disappointment this morning in qualifying. That was ultimately my fault. I tried to avoid some debris on the track and lost control over the rear of the car due to having cold tyres. That has never happened to me before. So the race was then a pleasant surprise. Coming from last place through to ninth and scoring points was mega. Thanks to our guys for repairing everything so fast. Kévin and I then drove a really good race. It was a pleasure to see how enthusiastic the whole team and our guests were. We could definitely have been up there on podium today - that's the only downside. But we did a really good job, and at the end of the day, that's what really counts."
Dominik Baumann (AutoArenA Motorsport, Mercedes-AMG GT3), P10 overall and P2 in Pirelli Junior class: "We started from 23rd and finished tenth, which was a big advance. We had a thrilling racing. Because all of the cars are on a similar level, we have some excellent battles out there. Our car felt good. We had a great pit stop in which we were only three tenths above the minimum time. That enabled us to gain some positions."
Patrick Assenheimer (AutoArenA Motorsport, Mercedes-AMG GT3), P10 overall and P2 in Pirelli Junior class: "We were lucky enough to make it through the start reasonably unscathed. Although I had a minor collision, our car was still quite good. I was able to stay in touch with the cars in front of me, but it was difficult to overtake. We had a great stop, and Dominik finished off the job very well."
Indy Dontje (Mann-Filter Team HTP, Mercedes-AMG GT3), P15 overall and P6 in Pirelli Junior class: "What a day! I haven't had a qualifying quite as disastrous as this all year. In the race itself, I was already inside the Top Ten after a brilliant start when an opponent decided it wasn't necessary to slow down and pushed me off the track. Words fail me. By the end of the race, Maxi and I showed that we had the speed today to be among the front-runners."