ADAC GT Masters·29.9.2019

Comments on Sunday's finale at Sachsenring: What the winners and losers had to say about the race

Kelvin van der Linde (HCB-Rutronik Racing, Audi R8 LMS), P1 overall: "It’s so nice to round off the season with a victory. Winning the team championship is a well-deserved reward for the whole team. The effort they put in is reflected in our results on the track. Yesterday was made really difficult for us by that puncture, so today we set our sights on a fight-back, just as we did at Hockenheim. It worked out just as we had planned. It is always good to have an open track ahead of you at the Sachsenring. Christopher Mies was very strong initially, but I gradually managed to pull out a gap."

Patric Niederhauser (HCB-Rutronik Racing, Audi R8 LMS) P1 overall: "This morning, Kelvin booked a sensational pole position. The car was handed over to me with a seven-second lead, so all I had to do was maintain the pace. I was even able to extend the gap on the pursuing bunch. But despite that, it was by no means easy out there. The track was very dirty away from the racing line, so it required a lot of concentration to stay error free. In the end, though, it all worked out, and it’s great to have wrapped up the team championship with this victory. After winning the drivers’ championship at Hockenheim, we’ve had another special weekend here at the Sachsenring. Now, of course, we’ll be celebrating with the whole team. I’m really looking forward to that!"

Daniel Keilwitz (Zakspeed BKK Mobil Oil Racing, Mercedes-AMG GT3), P2 overall: "I’ve really missed being up there on the podium. Unfortunately, I was very slow off the mark, but our pace in the race was then really good. We had some luck at the pit stop and were immediately able to overtake some of our opponents. Jimmy [ Eriksson] brought the race to a close with second place. Overall, it was a great result for us. In any case, I’m very satisfied."

Jimmy Eriksson [Zakspeed BKK Mobil Oil Racing, Mercedes-AMG GT3), P2 overall: "Better late than never! The season has been really difficult for us but went quite well towards the end. I’m obviously happy for the team. My stint went really well. Unfortunately, we were on the outside of the track at the start and lost a couple of positions as a result. However, we had a good strategy that moved us back towards the front. We still had decent pace towards the end, but the gap was too big ultimately. Still, a podium is better than none at all."

Christopher Mies (Montaplast by Land-Motorsport, Audi R8 LMS), P3 overall: "Our start was quite good, but it never really entered my head to attack Kelvin. He had already been very fast earlier in qualifying, so it was obvious that we would it very tough in the race as well. What was much more important was simply to have a clean race, especially of course, with the Pirelli Junior standings in mind, in which Max [Hofer] was still a contender. Even though it went well, we now have a lot of work ahead of us. The ADAC GT Masters is getting stronger every year, so of course it’s important that we hang on in there so that we can be among the front-runners again next year."

Max Hofer (Montaplast by Land-Motorsport, Audi R8 LMS), P3 overall, winner of the 2019 Pirelli Junior championship: "Christopher [Mies] definitely laid the foundations for today’s success with a superb qualifying session. Things then looked quite good for us in the Pirelli Junior class – all I had to do was secure our position at the chequered flag, and fortunately, I was successful. Having won the Junior championship, I’m now looking forward to finding some promising openings in motorsport for next season. It’s a well-known fact that it’s not always easy in motorsport, so I’m grateful for all the chances I’ve been given in this year’s ADAC GT Masters and want to say a big thank you to my team, Montaplast by Land-Motorsport, to my sponsors, and of course, to Christopher."

Indy Dontje (Mann-Filter Team HTP, Mercedes-AMG GT3), P5 overall: "We did our utmost. I had to struggle a lot over the last eight laps. Unfortunately, more than fifth place was not possible today. Nevertheless, I’m still very proud of my team. The guys did a great job all year, and over the last three race weekends, we’ve shown we can compete up front."

Mike David Ortmann (BWT Mücke Motorsport, Audi R8 LMS), P9 overall and P2 in the Pirelli Junior classification: "Generally speaking, the race went quite well. Markus [Winkelhock] got away to a good start. In the end, we simply matched the pace of the others and allowed ourselves to be drawn along. I was then able to get the car safely over the line, so P9 is fine. We secured a good haul of points again. Second place in the Pirelli Junior stakes is real nice and it’s great to be taking another trophy home. We’re now looking forward to next year, because this season was a real roller-coaster. I think we managed to find our pace quite well again towards the end – but unfortunately, it wasn’t quite as good as we would have liked."

Nicolai Sylvest (MRS GT-Racing, BMW M6 GT3), P12 overall and P3 in Pirelli Junior classification: "I think Jens handed over the car to me in tenth place – which was excellent. He got away to a good start and his pace in the race was also good. As soon as I got in the car, I noticed relatively quickly how much the tyres had degraded, but of course, I did my best. Unfortunately, I lost two positions. We finished the race in P12. All in all, I’m delighted to have been part of MRS GT-Racing this season. Winning at the Red Bull Ring was our finest hour, definitely."

Sven Barth (RWT Racing, Corvette C7 GT3-R), P7 overall and winner in Pirelli Trophy classification: "Moving up from 19th to 10th was really great, of course. Yesterday’s race showed that our car can perform well. Ultimately, we’re delighted to have finished in the Top Ten twice – we would never have expected that at the Sachsenring before today. Of course, things could even have gone a bit better, but the season is now over. We’ve won the 2019 Trophy championship and finished twice in the Top Ten during this final weekend, plus, we finished seventh overall, which is absolutely outstanding for us."

Timo Bernhard (KÜS Team75 Bernhard, Porsche 911 GT3 R), P11 overall: "It’s not the end to the season we wanted, but then, life never turns out the way you want. We were down on pace all weekend. The car was not perfect. We’ll have to carefully analyse why not. The sister car functioned better. We couldn’t get it right and were not fast enough today. We’ll have to analyse all the data, as I said, but we’ll be back, for sure!"

Adrien De Leener (KÜS Team75 Bernhard, Porsche 911 GT3 R), P13 overall: "Matteo had a good qualifying, but unfortunately, we lost two places at the start. His pace was then good. However, he got stuck in traffic and couldn’t overtake. We lost another place in an undercut during the pit stop, and then I got shoved by another car and suddenly lost three more positions. While we ended up in the points, the Top Ten would have been much better."