Here’s what the drivers had to say after the first two practice sessions of the final round of this season’s German GT Championship in the Eifel Mountains.
Maro Engel (Mercedes-AMG Team Toksport WRT, Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo): “The conditions here are tough, we are doing our best to adapt to them. The care has been good so far and I think we will be up there at the front. We will only find out how strong we and the other cars really are in qualifying tomorrow. We have tried to prepare our car as well as possible for the temperatures and circuit, and to find a good balance.”
Jesse Krohn (Schubert Motorsport, BMW M6 GT3): “After the practice sessions, it unfortunately does not look great for us. We know from last year that this track is always difficult for us. The corners here do not really suit the M6. We will try to make the best of the situation and hopefully make it into the top ten. I have fond memories of the M6, but the whole team and I are already really looking forward to the new M4 GT3. The new car is on a different level and should run superbly at many circuits.”
Dries Vanthoor (Team WRT, Audi R8 LMS): “It went pretty well in the second practice. I had a little incident in FP1, so it is good to bounce back and go fastest. However, it is obviously still early in the weekend. We don’t often drive in such cold conditions, but it is the same for everyone. We have had rather a difficult season, but we have been on an upward trend of late. Our goal is to end the season with a win.”
Christopher Mies (Montaplast by Land-Motorsport, Audi R8 LMS: “I am happy. We did not use any new tyres, so I am satisfied with the time. Ricardo is a good qualifier. I hope we are in the top three tomorrow. Mercedes and Porsche tend to have a slight advantage here, so I would say that a top-five finish would be good.”
Jules Gounon (Team Zakspeed Mobil Krankenkasse Racing, Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo): “We are confident after the first test day and the practice sessions. The balance of the car is really good. The Porsche and Audi are fast here, we believe SSR will be our fiercest rival. However, you can never afford to underestimate Lamborghini and Audi. We are working hard, and tomorrow is when it really matters. We hope to start in the front five.”
Igor Jakob Walilko (Team Zakspeed Mobil Krankenkasse Racing, Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo): “Driving in these weather conditions is a new challenge for me. It is pretty cold, and was raining at times. We hope to be challenging for the win again. We tested a lot of things on the car during the practice sessions. It is particularly important to get the rear axle up to temperature here.”
Markus Winkelhock (Car Collection Motorsport, Audi R8 LMS): “At the moment, it is really hard to say where we really stand. P4 in practice with new tyres is a good result, but it is sure to be far more difficult tomorrow. Only after qualifying will we really know how we compare to the others. The car was quite okay, we had a little understeer with the new tyres. We will try to get as much temperature into the front tyres with this set-up tomorrow.”
Maximilian Paul (T3 Motorsport, Lamborghini Huracán GT3 Evo): “After the first sessions, we feel far more experienced. We have tried a few things out on the car and now know how to react to the track here. The cold conditions are rather challenging for the car, but we have a good package and are confident about tomorrow.”
Franck Perera (GRT Grasser Racing Team, Lamborghini Huracán GT3 Evo): “It is really cold here. We invested a lot of time in the car and the set-up over the past few days. The weather here is once again a unique challenge.”
Luca Stolz (Mercedes-AMG Team Toksport WRT, Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo): “We are still looking for our first win of the season, so it would be cool to finally get a victory here at what is the home circuit for the team and me. However, it will not be easy in these low temperatures. In this weather, it is hard to predict how things will develop. The goal for the title race has to be to finish ahead of the Land Audi. However, Land is always strong here, and so is the SSR Porsche, of course.”