First pole position of the season for Christian Engelhart (Starnberg) from Team Joos Sportwagentechnik. The Porsche driver set the fastest time of 1:35.596 minutes on a wet track in qualifying on Saturday morning. He now starts the opening race from the front of the grid for the first time this season. The 35-year-old and his partner Ayhancan Güven (24/TR), who lie third in the championship table in the #91 Porsche 911 GT3 R, now have a great opportunity to make more progress in the overall standings.
“We are very happy with the first pole position for ourselves and Team Joos Sportwagentechnik. It was quite nerve-racking at first. We had a few issues with the car early on, but the team soon solved them. That was also the first time this season that we have been out on wet tyres. It was a huge challenge for us all, and I am proud of the whole team,” said Engelhart, who picked up the Pirelli Pole Position Award and three bonus points. Patric Niederhauser (30/CH) from the Rutronik Racing team ended qualifying in second place in the #15 Audi R8 LMS GT3 Evo II. He will start race nine of this season’s ADAC GT Masters from the front row.
Local favourite Maximilian Paul (22/Dresden), who starts alongside Marco Mapelli (35/I), backed up his good performances in free practice and was third fastest in the #71 Lamborghini Huracán GT3 Evo. Fellow Lamborghini driver Albert Costa Balboa (32/E) from Emil Frey Racing took fourth place in the #63 Lamborghini Huracán GT3 Evo. The best-placed Mercedes-AMG driver was Marvin Dienst (25/Lampertheim), who ended the session in fifth place on his return to the series in the #8 Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo run by Mercedes-AMG Team ZVO. On a wet track, the drivers started cautiously in Saturday morning’s qualifying session, initially content to get a feel for the ideal line. Marvin Dienst was the first to dip under 1:36.000 minutes on lap five. Two laps later, Christian Engelhart set the fastest time, which remained unbeaten for the final five minutes of the session.
Race nine of this season’s ADAC GT Masters starts at 13:00. The race action can be followed live on Motorsport.tv or accessed later in the Mediathek.
