The Sachsenring round of the German GT Championship provided plenty of fascinating facts and stories. Take a look at the notebook.

Valuable points

Although Ricardo Feller and Christopher Mies were not in contention for race wins at the Sachsenring, they did stand out as the best-placed Audi drivers and just managed to hold onto third and fifth place in the table. Their team, Montaplast by Land-Motorsport, is also still at the top of the Team standings. “The title race is getting closer with every race,” said team principal Christian Land. “We are up against the strongest teams and drivers on the GT3 scene here. It is important not to make any mistakes, but still to get the maximum out of every situation – and we did precisely that. The whole team earned that third place on Saturday and fifth on Sunday.”

Points and disqualification

After tenth place in the Saturday race – a small collision in the closing stages cost them two positions – Schubert Motorsport was determined to finish in the points again on Sunday at the Sachsenring. Nick Yelloly and Jesse Krohn took the chequered flag in seventh place, but shortly thereafter came the disappointment: the BMW works drivers were disqualified after the race for a technical irregularity. “As expected, the weekend was hard work,” said team manager Marcel Schmidt. “We knew it would be tough to finish in the top ten. Out on the track, we did everything we could have on both days. We were very happy with the results. The disqualification in race two is very disappointing for all of us. Careless mistakes like that should not happen to us. It was a moment of carelessness, as a result of which the engine’s boost pressure briefly exceeded the permitted upper limit.”

The breakthrough

Up until the Sachsenring, the season had not gone entirely to plan for defending champion Christian Engelhart and Porsche works driver Thomas Preining. The duo had previously only managed one top-ten finish. However, their form improved significantly at round five of the season. After fifth place in the opening race, they achieved their first podium of 2021 courtesy of a third place the following day. “It is obviously fantastic to clinch that long-awaited podium in the final corner,” said team principal Timo Bernhard. “There was a real explosion of joy in our garage. Everyone shared the excitement, just as they had shared the suffering at times. I jokingly said beforehand that our last podium in the ADAC GT Masters was the one I achieved at the Nürburgring in 2019 – it was now time to finally add another chapter to that story. I would like to say a big thank you to everyone. Thomas and Christian were super strong. Long may it continue this way. This is where we belong.”

Showing potential

T3 Motorsport lined up for the first time with a new duo of regular driver Maximilian Paul and Lamborghini works driver Marco Mapelli at the Sachsenring ¬– and immediately produced their strongest performance of the season. Eighth place on Saturday was the Dresden-based team’s best result to that point in the ADAC GT Masters, but there was even better to come in race two: Mapelli started from fourth on the grid and handed over to Lamborghini Junior Paul in third place. However, their pit stop was slightly too short, resulting in a drive-through penalty. Instead of the podium they had hoped for, they eventually had to settle for 15th place and one point. “All in all, it was a very positive weekend with Marco,” said Paul, summing up the event. “I was able to learn a lot from him, as he has a lot of experience with the car. He also delivered on the track. Thank you to Lamborghini for allowing him to race for us. I was also able to improve a bit and had a good qualifying with P10 on Saturday. And the race went well too. Unfortunately, we received the penalty in Sunday’s race. During the driver changeover, the timer failed and we did not quite spend enough time in the pits. That was a shame, as the race pace was good again. With a bit of luck, we could have been looking at a podium. I hope we will have Marco in the car again in the coming races, and that we can go on the attack again.”

Still optimistic

Maximilian Buhk and Raffaele Marciello trail the championship leaders by 16 points after fourth place in race one and an early retirement in race two at the Sachsenring. However, the two Mercedes-AMG works drivers refuse to give in: “There are still 112 points up for grabs, so nothing is done and dusted yet. We don’t want to wish ill on the others, but anything could happen. In such a close championship, the tide can sometimes change very quickly.”

Lesson learned

Lamborghini works drivers Franck Perera and Rolf Ineichen from the GRT Grasser Racing Team produced a strong display on Sunday. Perera narrowly missed out on pole in qualifying by just a few thousandths of a second. In the race, he handed over to his Swiss partner in second place. Ineichen defended that position until the final lap, but then fell back into the thankless fourth place. “It is very frustrating to be overtaken in the final corner,” Ineichen admitted. “I always try to be fair, but sometimes I need to make myself a bit wider if the others are going to try to crowbar their way past. I see this as a lesson, and will look ahead.” Small consolation: Ineichen took his 43rd victory in the Pirelli Trophy competition.

Successful stand-in

Audi Sport driver Mattia Drudi made his ADAC GT Masters comeback with Rutronik Racing by Tece at the weekend, when he stood in for regular driver Pierre Kaffer alongside Elia Erhart. And he did so successfully: On Sunday, they fought back strongly from 20th on the grid to finish eighth – the best result of the season so far for the number 11 Audi. “At the start, we were a little fortunate that I was not caught up in the crash that unfolded right in front of me,” said Drudi. “After that, we had very good pace, which allowed us to work our way through the field. Elia also deserves special praise. He managed to leave some big names behind him in the second part of the race. On the whole, I really enjoyed the weekend, it was really good fun to be racing in the ADAC GT Masters again.”

Double start

ADAC Stiftung Sport driver Hugo Sasse had an exciting weekend. The 17-year-old, who was the youngest driver in the field, not only made his debut for the GRT Grasser Racing Team in the German GT Championship, in which he shared a Lamborghini with Tim Zimmermann, but he also lined up alongside Mike David Ortmann in ADAC GT4 Germany, taking victory in the Saturday race. “At first, I had to get used to the new team and the car. However, the cooperation with Tim Zimmermann went very well and we were within striking distance of the top ten, particularly in the Sunday race. I am already looking forward to the remaining races,” said the youngster from Aschersleben.

Lead melting away

Kim-Luis Schramm and Dennis Marschall (Rutronik Racing by Tece) continue to lead the Pirelli Junior competition after the event at the Sachsenring. However, the Audi drivers’ cushion at the top of the standings shrunk significantly from 48 to 17 points at round five of the season. Their closest rival is fellow Audi racer Ricardo Feller. Mercedes-AMG driver Igor Waliłko lies third.

Trophy hunters

Florian Spenger almost doubled his lead in the Pirelli Trophy in Saxony. The Car Collection driver led the class by 22 points ahead of the weekend, but left the Sachsenring with an advantage of 39 points over fellow Audi driver Elia Erhart.

Big-name support

Porsche works driver Michael Christensen visited the German GT Championship at the Sachsenring. The Dane, who dives for the Swabian manufacturer in the FIA WEC, was looking after his young compatriot Alexander Hartvig, who was making his ADAC GT4 Germany debut in the Porsche of the Allied Racing team. In 2011 and 2013, Christensen himself made several guest appearances in the ADAC GT Masters.

Ex Formula 1 driver at the circuit

Former Formula 1 driver Tomáš Enge was also at the Sachsenring. The Czech, who won an ADAC GT Masters race at the Red Bull Ring in 2015, was overseeing the guest start of RTR Projects in ADAC GT4 Germany, as team principal Tomáš Miniberger was unable to attend the event.

Successful trip

In Precote Herberth Motorsport and Rutronik Racing by Tece, two teams from the German GT Championship started at both the Sachsenring and the 12 Hours of Budapest – and with success. The Herberth team, whose drivers included ADAC GT Masters team principal Alfred Renauer, won the endurance race. Rutronik Racing finished third overall at the circuit near the Hungarian capital. Among those at the wheel of the Audi from the Remchingen-based team: ADAC GT Masters race winner Pierre Kaffer. “We are all super happy with the result. It is obviously a shame that the schedule clashed with the ADAC GT Masters at the Sachsenring, which is why Elia Erhart and I had to split up this time,” said Kaffer.