Mirko Bortolotti (Orange1 by GRT Grasser, Lamborghini Huracán GT3 Evo), P1 overall: "It was a tight situation on the first corner, as we all had full fuel tanks and cold tyres and no-one really knew where to brake. But I have to compliment the whole field on the way they went around it. I then tried to pull away and managed to open up a gap. We made the pit stop at the right time, which enabled us to increase our lead. So, all in all, a great performance and a perfect race for us."

Christian Engelhart (Orange1 by GRT Grasser, Lamborghini Huracán GT3 Evo), P1 overall: "The Nürburgring has always been tough on us in recent years. Now, apparently, the circuit suits us much more with the new car. It’s terrific to take another win so soon after Zandvoort. When I took over the car, I knew that I had Maro Engel behind me. In those circumstances, you can’t relax – you just have to keep pushing. And that’s what I did until three laps before the finish when the team told me that I had a lead of 5.2 seconds. So I eased off slightly and avoided the kerbs in the chicane to go easy on the tyres."

Luca Stolz (Toksport WRT, Mercedes-AMG GT3), P2 overall: "We secured a great grid slot in qualifying with P4. I got a really good start and then had a scrap with Luca Ludwig in the Ferrari. A little later, I had a slight contact with Patric Niederhauser in Turn 3. I can’t say it was a particularly great situation to be in, but from my perspective, there wasn’t much else I could do. I was in third position before the pit stop. Maro finished second, but we didn’t have a realistic chance of winning."

Maro Engel (Toksport WRT, Mercedes-AMG GT3), P2 overall: "Second place today was certainly the maximum for us. We can live with that. I want to say a big “well done!” to everyone in the team. We’ve settled down really well in the ADAC GT Masters. It’s not an easy series to join as guest entrants in the middle of the season, but they are very meticulous in their work and pay great attention to detail. These are very important qualities in such a highly competitive field. I hope things continue like this."

Patric Niederhauser (HCB-Rutronik Racing, Audi R8 LMS), P3 overall: "The start is always tricky at the Nürburgring. It’s a great achievement by everyone to have got cleanly round the first few turns. Of course, it was very special to have Dennis Marschall in front of me. When you’ve got two team-mates driving in front of you, of course, you don’t want to hinder them at the start and avoid contact, above all. We succeeded admirably. That was actually when we took our first big step in the direction of the podium. I had good pace initially and was able to keep up with the leaders. Luca Stolz attacked me a little later. It took some time, because I again had to drive to get rid of the rubber I’d picked up in the tyres. Afterwards, David Jahn put pressure on me over several laps, but I was able to defend myself."

Kelvin van der Linde (HCB-Rutronik Racing, Audi R8 LMS), P3 overall: "I'm very pleased. We had a very tough weekend at Zandvoort. It was very important for the whole team to fight back today. We’ve got the car back where we want it to be. My stint was actually quite boring. We didn’t have the pace of the Mercedes-AMGs or Lamborghinis, and there was actually no pressure from behind, so I just wanted to secure the position at the finish line. We’re only too happy to take the points. It would be great if it rained tomorrow. We were very strong in testing in the wet on Thursday, so that would be the best thing for the start tomorrow."

Sven Barth (RWT Racing, Corvette C7 GT3-R), P4 overall and winner in Pirelli Trophy class: "The start was really great, of course. David immediately gained two places. It was clear, of course, that the guys behind would push and that the ones in front would pull away a bit. He maintained fifth position. I then took over and passed Carry Schreiner. She did a great job and defended well. Christopher Mies pushed from behind towards the end. He had a small advantage over the infield while I was quicker towards the back of the track. To finish fourth overall in the end and first in the Pirelli Trophy class is just perfect."

Maximilian Götz (Mann-Filter Team HTP, Mercedes-AMG GT3), P6 overall: "The car was really great. Overtaking guys like Sebastian Asch and Dries Vanthoor is never easy. We desperately need to secure some big fat points, and it’s possible too. If you can move up from 13th to sixth in this strong field on this track and have, at times, the fastest car in the field, it soon becomes pretty obvious that a podium is even possible from further up front. And that’s the goal for tomorrow. We’ll try to burn a super-hot lap into the tarmac in qualifying, and then we’ll see."

Max Hofer (Montaplast by Land-Motorsport, Audi R8 LMS), P5 overall and winner in Pirelli Junior class: "We knew the race would be tough, so the start was really important. We didn’t quite have the pace to move much further up front but had the cars behind us firmly under control. We did a solid job again. We extracted the maximum and took solid points towards the championship."

Ricardo Feller (Montaplast by Land-Motorsport, Audi R8 LMS), P8 overall and P2 in Pirelli Junior class: "Of course, we’re satisfied. We started from eleventh on the grid and had a clean race."

Nicolai Sylvest (MRS GT-Racing, BMW M6 GT3), P10 overall and P3 in Pirelli Junior class: "The start was tough and a bit chaotic, and I lost a few places. Sorry to the team for that. At first, I had some problems getting the tyres up to temperature. The car’s rear end kept stepping out. Once the tyres were warm, the car was great to drive and I tried to gain places again. We would have liked to have pushed forwards after our performance in qualifying, but we got the maximum."

Timo Bernhard (Küs Team75 Bernhard, Porsche 911 GT3 R), P13 overall: "The race was disappointing. It looked like we could get ahead at times, but things just didn’t go well. We were stuck. Being positive, though, both cars remained in one piece and we secured a few points. We’ll start with a clear head tomorrow and attack again."

Matteo Cairoli (Küs Team75 Bernhard, Porsche 911 GT3 R), P18 overall: "That was a really tough race. I really struggled with the car right from the beginning. I had no chance to attack the car in front of me. What’s more, I was overtaken by a competitor who was much faster than me. We must try to improve the car and then see what we can do tomorrow."

Fabian Vettel (Mann-Filter Team HTP, Mercedes-AMG GT3), P29 overall: "The start and the first lap went pretty well at first, but then, two other competitors started scrapping in front of me. I had to take avoiding action through the gravel and promptly lost all the places I’d won. I overtook two more drivers before the handover and fought back. It was an altogether hectic race with some tough scraps that were not all clean. For example, an Audi forced me onto the grass at one point. But that’s just how it is when you start from so far back. And the penalty was more or less the icing on the cake. But we’re not moaning. Keep calm and carry on!"