Notes from the final weekend of the ADAC GT Masters

The final round of this season’s German GT Championship produced many fascinating facts and stories. We take a look at the Nürburgring notebook.

Milestone

Former champion Robert Renauer of Precote Herberth Motorsport contested his 150th race in the ADAC GT Masters on Sunday.

Precote Herberth Motorsport ended the season on a high in the Eifel Mountains © Photo: ADAC

Positive finish

A pole position from Klaus Bachler and multiple points finishes was the record for the two Porsche 911 GT3 R of the Precote Herberth Motorsport team in the Eifel Mountains. “We have had a lot of bad luck this year. As such, it is nice to have come up with the goods at the finale and ended the season with a good final race,” said team principal Alfred Renauer. “That was very important for the team. Everyone has worked hard all season – often without the reward they actually deserved.”

Rolf Ineichen claimed ten victories in the Pirelli Trophy class this season © Photo: ADAC

A round ten

Lamborghini driver Rolf Ineichen claimed wins number nine and ten of the season in the Pirelli Trophy class at the Nürburgring.

Farewell

Schubert Motorsport said goodbye to the BMW M6 GT3 with two top-ten results. Works drivers Nick Yelloly and Jesse Krohn ended the year in eighth place in the table. “It was fantastic to bid fare well to the BMW M6 GT3 with two top-ten results, particularly as the Nürburgring is traditionally not a happy hunting ground for us,” said Yelloly. “That just goes to show how hard the team has worked all year. Despite a lot of misfortune and some unlucky retirements, it has been a successful season. The whole team, Jesse and I can be proud of what we have achieved. We are now looking forward to having an even stronger package next year with the new BMW M4 GT3.”

Despite narrowly missing out on the title, the GRT Grasser Racing Team is happy with its season © Photo: ADAC

Satisfying record

The GRT Grasser Racing Team led the Team competition ahead of the season finale. In the end, they came up just six points short of winning the title. Mirko Bortolotti and Marco Mapelli’s failure to finish on Saturday was particularly painful for the Austrians. Despite this, team principal Gottfried Grasser could still look back on the season with positivity, and a degree of self-criticism: “On the whole, we are really happy with our season. The whole team has produced a huge performance in recent races. If we had shown that kind of form from the word go, anything could have been possible. On the other hand, we have to be honest with ourselves – we made mistakes, and worthy champions do not fail to finish races.”

Pole treble

Newly-crowned champion Ricardo Feller secured his third pole position of the season on Saturday – more than anyone else this season.

SSR Performance drivers Michael Ammermüller and Mathieu Jaminet scored a record number of points at the Nürburgring © Photo: ADAC

Fighting to the finish

SSR Performance drivers Michael Ammermüller and Mathieu Jaminet scored 47 points at the Nürburgring – the biggest total ever at one race weekend for the team from Munich. Despite this, the team still came up just short of successfully defending its titles: both the two drivers and the team finished runner-up in the overall standings. “We fought right down to the final corner,” said team owner Stefan Schlund. “We gave it our all and got the maximum out of the Porsche 911. I am incredibly proud of the whole team! I do not feel like a loser, but like a winner. We can be very proud of the result.”

Successful in the Pirelli Junior competition: Jusuf Owega © Photo: ADAC

Highs and lows

Series newcomer Jusuf Owega claimed his first class victory in the Pirelli Junior competition, courtesy of a battling performance on Sunday. Phoenix team manager Jean-Luc Tille was full of praise for his driver: “Jusuf has learned a lot and has also taken a lot from any set-backs. He demonstrated that with his results in the latest round of races. Victory is the icing on the cake at the end of an impressive season.” His brother Salman was less fortunate: the 16-year-old damaged the second Phoenix R8 so severely on Friday that it was no longer able to take part in the weekend.

T3 Motorsport impressed at the Nürburgring © Photo: ADAC

Impressive outing

T3 Motorsport enjoyed its best race weekend so far in the ADAC GT Masters, with sixth and ninth place for Maximilian Paul and Luca Ghiotto. On Saturday, the duo impressed as the best-placed Lamborghini drivers. “You could tell once again at the Nürburgring that we are on an upward trend. In terms of race speed, we were among the fastest, with the fifth-best lap in both races. That was reflected in Max’s overtaking manoeuvres on Sunday, in particular, when we made it into the top ten from well down the field,” said team principal Jens Feucht.

Four wins

SSR Performance drivers Michael Ammermüller and Mathieu Jaminet claimed victory in the Sunday race at the Nürburgring, taking their tally for the season to four – more than any other drivers in this year’s German GT Championship.

Podium debut

Porsche drivers Marco Holzer and Joel Eriksson made it onto the podium for the first time this season at the Nürburgring. This means that 29 different drivers finished in the top three in 2021.

The volunteer marshals were rewarded for their efforts with a barbecue © Photo: ADAC

Nice gesture

Without the support of the volunteer marshals, an ADAC GT Masters race would be inconceivable. To say thank you, the SSR Performance team, last year’s champions and runners-up this season, the ADAC GT Masters and eBay invited all the volunteers to a barbecue in the eBay Box at the Nürburgring.

Party time

There was a great atmosphere in the lounges of the championship-winning Montaplast by Land-Motorsport team and runners-up SSR performance last Sunday evening. Celebrations to mark the end of the successful season ran until well into the night.