Here’s what the drivers had to say after the first two practice sessions of the penultimate round of this season’s German GT Championship.
Raffaele Marciello (Mann-Filter Team Landgraf - HTP/WWR, Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo): “First place obviously feels good. When you are the fastest, it generally means that everything is going well. However, it only really counts tomorrow in qualifying. The goal is to qualify as near to the front of the grid as possible. When it comes to the title race, the key this weekend is to score more points than our rivals. We will do our best.”
Florian Spengler (Car Collection Motorsport, Audi R8 LMS): “Yesterday, during the tests, we felt a little bit lost. Today, I am really happy with my performance. Markus has obviously upped the ante with his super lap, and we have taken a big step forward. It remains to be seen where we finish up in qualifying. However, a lot can happen tomorrow. I would be satisfied with a top-15 position in qualifying.”
Pierre Kaffer (Rutronik Racing by TECE, Audi R8 LMS): “The Hockenheimring is the home circuit of Rutronik Racing, so I am pleased that it went really well today. The team and Audi have put together a fantastic car. I think it is great that fans can join us in the paddock again.”
David Jahn (Team Joos Sportwagentechnik, Porsche 911 GT3 R): “After yesterday’s test and the practice sessions today, we feel pretty good so far. There is still some work to do. I believe we still need a bit more performance, particularly over the race distance. We should be looking at a good position in tomorrow’s qualifying.”
Marvin Kirchhöfer (Callaway Competition, Corvette C7 GT3-R): “We don’t feel 100 percent after the test day yesterday and today’s practice sessions. We have had big issues since the Sachsenring, and don’t seem to be able to overcome them at the moment. We still have some work ahead of us and have, unfortunately, not yet rediscovered our old pace. Our team has pretty much been working every night for us since the Sachsenring.”
Patric Niederhauser (Phoenix Racing, Audi R8 LMS): “Unfortunately, yesterday’s test was a bit short. We are actually really well prepared and are just sorting out the last few things. We are looking forward to tomorrow, when it counts. We go into qualifying with high expectations. As you know, it is always very close in the ADAC GT Masters.”
Kim-Luis Schramm (Rutronik Racing by TECE, Audi R8 LMS): “The fact that we only had one session yesterday meant it was a rather difficult test day. Nevertheless, we got to do some driving today. WE are not quite where we want to be, and still have some work ahead of us. The balance of the car is not perfect yet, but I hope we can take another step forward tomorrow. At the Hockenheimring, you need a good flow and a lot of speed on the straights for a good lap.”
Franck Perera (GRT Grasser Racing Team, Lamborghini Huracán GT3 Evo): “It has been a good day. It is quite cold, so we had to make adjustments to the set-up we used for yesterday’s test. However, the team has done a good job. We are quite happy. The opposition is very tough again, but we want to achieve the best result possible, in order to help Lamborghini in the title race. My goal is to challenge for pole position again.”