Reactions from the paddock after the Sunday race at round six of this season’s German GT Championship.

Franck Perera (GRT Grasser Racing Team, Lamborghini Huracán GT3 Evo), 1st overall: “That was a perfect day for us, but also a fantastic weekend for the GRT Grasser Racing Team and Lamborghini. Winning in such a competitive series is always special. The race was not easy, the start was crucial. I tried, successfully, to get as far in front of the chasing pack as possible. The car was really good today. Rolf also did a great job and brought the win home. The season has not been the easiest so far for the team, so I am delighted with today’s result.”

Rolf Ineichen (GRT Grasser Racing Team, Lamborghini Huracán GT3 Evo), 1st overall and victory in the Pirelli Trophy: “Hockenheim has always suited me since my time in the Porsche Carrera Cup, and I have done an awful lot of testing here. Our car has a very good package, which works particularly well here. I knew that my half of the race would be very important for the team – we have repeatedly had to cope with setbacks this year, so it was very important to get this success. There was a lot of pressure after qualifying, but Franck gave me a good car with solid tyres and I was able to secure the win without making any big mistakes. The low sun made the light conditions difficult – in some corners, you could not see where you were going.”

Maximilian Buhk (Mann-Filter Team Landgraf - HTP/WWR, Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo), 2nd overall: “Perera was a bit too fast out in front today, but I had the cars behind me under control at all times. The Mamba was impeccable today, and after the cut and thrust of the opening laps, the field soon calmed down again. We will not give up in the title race. After all, we made up twelve points on the leaders today. If we could have held onto the eleven points from yesterday, we would be right in there. No matter, anything can happen at the finale – particularly in a race in the Eifel mountains at the start of November. As always, we will give it our all and see what happens.”

Raffaele Marciello (Mann-Filter Team Landgraf - HTP/WWR, Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo), 2nd overall: “The battle with Igor Waliłko was not so difficult, as he had just rejoined from the pits. After the overtaking manoeuvre, I tried to close the gap to the Lamborghini. However, he was simply too quick for us today. As the race progressed, there was no longer any threat from behind. This track is easy to defend on, so we focussed on what was going on in front of us. We are very pleased with second place and hope to be this competitive at the Nürburgring too.”

Maro Engel (Mercedes-AMG Team Toksport WRT, Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo), 3rd overall: That was a very good race for us. The battles were great fun again. The team and Luca did a super job. I tried to get through the start okay, and was then able to climb into P3. That is a very good result for us. The start was very turbulent today, and the restart was also fiercely contested. Fortunately, I benefitted from the contact between the BMW and the Audi. Unfortunately, we were not quite fast enough to launch an attack on Maxi.”

Luca Stolz (Mercedes-AMG Team Toksport WRT, Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo), 3rd overall: “I benefitted from the battle between Igor Waliłko and Raffaele Marciello. I was then able to accelerate better as we approached the Parabolica, and passed the Zakspeed car. I then hoped that we could close the gap to the Lamborghini, but there was no chance of that today.”

Christian Engelhart (Küs Team Bernhard, Porsche 911 GT3 R), 4th overall: “We got a good result today, from a worse starting position than yesterday. Thomas got us off to a super start, then pulled off a great manoeuvre and gained another position after the safety car. With the pit stop, we wanted to try a different strategy to make some progress through the field. That did not work out. As a result, I was stuck behind a Mercedes. The car was very good, but it was very difficult to stay with them. I simply waited for the right moment and then pulled off a good move to take fourth place for the team. I am very grateful for the progress we have made. After a few tough races, we have pulled ourselves together. I am very proud of the team for that.”

Igor Waliłko (Team Zakspeed Mobil Krankenkasse Racing, Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo), 5th overall and winner of the Pirelli Junior competition: “I am quite happy with the weekend, even if it was obviously not as good as the recent Sundays at the Lausitzring and the Sachsenring, where we took overall victory. We came through to fifth place from eighth, which is not so bad – although a podium might have been possible. We rejoined the race in second place after the pit stop, but I then dropped back behind Raffaele Marciello and Luca Stolz. I perhaps should have defended a little more aggressively. Later on, I lost another position to Christian Engelhart, but I was struggling with a lack of grip by that point. We scored a lot of valuable points, so I am really satisfied.”

Dylan Pereira (Küs Team Bernhard, Porsche 911 GT3 R), 6th overall and 2nd in the Pirelli Junior competition: “Joel had a good start and gained a lot of positions. And it was tough – two safety car phases tells you all you need to know. He did more than a good job of staying clear of trouble, and still managed to make progress. We worked well at the pit stop and gained a place. I then had to defend hard to hang onto that position immediately after exiting the pit lane – I had hardly any time to find my feet. I was under attack immediately. The pace was really good. It was not easy to avoid mistakes. However, we did it. We finished sixth and I made it onto the Junior podium, so I am happy.”

Robert Renauer (Precote Herberth Motorsport, Porsche 911 GT3 R), DNF: “We won the championship here in Hockenheim in 2018. That was one of our greatest successes. This year, we are not challenging for the championship, but we would at least have liked to be battling for the podium places. Unfortunately, we are not where we need to be at the moment.”