Reactions from the paddock after the Saturday race at round five of this season’s German GT Championship.
Mathieu Jaminet (SSR Performance, Porsche 911 GT3 R), 1st overall: “It is great that we claimed the first victory for Porsche here,” said Jaminet. “It was a perfect day: thanks to pole position and the win, we picked up 28 points. They are very important in the title race, as it is very close with several cars in with a shout again this year. Being at the front of the field is a big advantage here, as you lose a lot of downforce in the fast corners if you are behind another car. I tried to open as much of a gap as possible before handing over to Michael. Our goal for today was to win, as we could not afford another poor weekend like we had at the Lausitzring in the battle for the title. As such, our approach was ‘all in’. We are closing in on the top of the table all the time. The title race is going to be interesting.”
Michael Ammermüller (SSR Performance, Porsche 911 GT3 R), 1st overall: “We are still in the race for the championship. Today was an important day for us. Mathieu did a superb job in qualifying and in the first stint. We both got the maximum out of the car. In the end, it was a close affair – as always in the ADAC GT Masters. Our goal is to be champions again. With our performance today, that goal is looking really good. Hopefully it will continue this way. That was a perfect race for us today.”
Maro Engel (Team Toksport WRT, Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo), 2nd overall: “That was a great race for us, and we are super happy to be on the podium again. If we continue to finish runner-up, that will not be the end of the world. The Porsche was simply too fast and too strong today. Second place was the best we could have hoped for today. On the whole, however, we are very satisfied with today. We hope to be able to start from the front row again after qualifying tomorrow, and to have a solid race.”
Luca Stolz (Team Toksport WRT, Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo), 2nd overall: “Starting from P2 is not so easy. I tried to attack early on, but soon noticed that we did not have a chance of passing the Porsche in front of us today. Ricardo tried to pull off a spectacular overtake against us at the start, with a very low chance of it coming off. Fortunately, it all worked out okay. Tyre wear here is always relatively high. We tried to stick to our plan and maintain a good pace.”
Ricardo Feller (Montaplast by Land-Motorsport, Audi R8 LMS), 3rd overall, winner Pirelli Junior competition: “Before the race, we did not expect to be on the podium, and we are super happy to still be leading the championship. I had a good start and immediately tried to overtake Luca Stolz. Fortunately, we were both still in the race after the slight contact. The battle with Mirko after the safety car was really exciting and fair. Unfortunately, they then had a technical issue.”
Christopher Mies (Montaplast by Land-Motorsport, Audi R8 LMS), 3rd overall: “That was a great battle with Maxi Buhk, we were just as quick as each other in many places and, fortunately, I was able to pull clear a little. The air turbulence means it is not so easy to follow a car round here. We are pleased with the podium, but tomorrow is sure to be tough again.”
Maximilian Buhk (Mann-Filter Team Landgraf – HTP/WWR, Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo), 4th overall: “I could have gone a little faster than the Audi in front of me, but not so much faster that I could have overtaken it. At the winding Sachsenring, that is virtually impossible. As such, I tried to apply pressure and wait for a mistake from the man in front. However, he did not make any and was very well positioned in all the sections, in which I could perhaps have had a go. That meant I would have had to try to crowbar my way past, which would have left us with nothing at all if it had gone wrong. We have scored good points again and remained in touch with the top of the table. That was the goal, and we achieved it. The grid position is more important at the Sachsenring that it is at other racetracks. Lello gained a position at the start, and we then benefitted from the retirement of the Lambo. We could do no more from sixth on the grid. That makes my objective for tomorrow’s second qualifying session quite clear ...”
Christian Engelhart (Küs Team Bernhard, Porsche 911 GT3 R), 5th overall: “The race went very well today. We came through from ninth on the grid to finish fifth, so we are very happy. We had very good pace in the race and were able to go on the attack. Overtaking is traditionally difficult here, but we were able to work our way through the field with a good strategy, an overcut and a few really quick laps. We are happy and optimistic ahead of race two tomorrow.”
Joel Eriksson (Küs Team Bernhard, Porsche 911 GT3 R), 12th overall: “To be honest, it was a bit tough for us. We struggled with the balance of the car, particularly with a lot of understeer. That obviously did not help, and is why we simply did not have the pace. We have some work to do before tomorrow. Then we will hopefully be in a better position for my qualifying. Tomorrow is a new day and I am looking forward to it.”