The first race weekend in the German GT Championship provided some fascinating facts and stories. Notes from Oschersleben.
Perfect debut for the new Audi
Reigning champion Ricardo Feller and his partner Jusuf Owega ended the opening race of the 2022 season in first place. The Montaplast by Land-Motorsport duo guided the new Audi R9 LMS GT3 Evo II to victory in the car’s first race in the ADAC GT Masters. The German sports car manufacturer is now just one win away from 50 victories in the German GT Championship.
Successful start
Fabian Schiller and Jules Gounon presented their team Drago Racing Team ZVO with its maiden victory at its first ADAC GT Masters weekend: Starting Sunday’s race from second place on the grid, Gounon overtook pole-sitter Patric Niederhauser on the opening lap. After the pit stop, Schiller defended the lead through to the finish, and took the chequered flag in first place. Team principal Philipp Zakowski: "The victory on Sunday was really important for us as a new team. I am very proud of every one of them. The success shows what is possible with hard work, an outstanding team spirit, strong drivers and a competitive car like the Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo.” The team from Mendig is not the only one to achieve its first win in Oschersleben: a-workx (2010), Engstler Motorsport (2011), Schütz Motorsport (2012), Prosperia C. Abt Racing (2013), Schnitzer Motorsport (2017) and Mann-Filter Team Landgraf – HTP/WWR (2021) also claimed their maiden ADAC GT Masters victories in the Magdeburg Börde.
Thin line between luck and misfortune
The podium at the season-opener once again featured a duo from Mann-Filter Team Landgraf: Raffaele Marciello and rookie Jonathan Aberdein ended Sunday’s race in third place. It was a very different story for team-mates Frank Bird and Elias Seppänen. The two drivers had to wait until Sunday to make their debut in the German GT Championship, after Bird crashed in qualifying on Saturday. The pair finished 19th in race two.
Madpanda not “mad” at all
The first Spanish team in the German GT Championship would certainly have hoped for a rather different outcome from their ADAC GT Masters debut: They eventually had to settle for 20th place in both races. However, that only served to make them an even bigger favourite with the fans: With the panda mascot, which entertained fans and posed for selfies during the grid walk, the team raced straight into the hearts of the spectators. “It was a learning weekend for us,” said team principal and driver Ezequiel Perez-Companc. “We gathered a lot of data. We will now analyse that calmly and come back stronger at the Red Bull Ring. It was great to feel the support of the fans in Oschersleben and see the packed grandstands.”
Strong field
The season-opener showed the strength in depth among the drivers, teams and manufacturers in the ADAC GT Masters. In the first two races, twelve different drivers from six teams and four manufacturers took their place on the podium.
Joos Porsche: Looking ahead
Fans in Turkey can also follow this year’s ADAC GT Masters live on TV. However, the Turkish fans were not yet able to celebrate a podium for local favourite Ayhancan Güven at the opening round of the season. He and former champion Christian Engelhart finished sixth in Joos Porsche on Saturday. They were then denied a good result on Sunday by a drive-through penalty. Michael Joos, team principal: “The whole team did a top job and everything worked like clockwork. We made absolutely no mistakes, which is something I am very proud of! Unfortunately, circumstances prevented us getting better results. On Saturday, we were unlucky in qualifying, but then had a good race. We must simply forget about Sunday and focus on the coming races.”
Schubert happy with home premiere
Eighth place in race one, fourth in race two after a battle with the Mann-Filter Mercedes-AMG: Schubert Motorsport were quite happy with the way the season started for BMW works drivers Jesse Krohn and Nicky Catsburg, as the BMW M4 GT3 experienced a baptism of fire in the ADAC GT Masters. Team manager Marcel Schmidt: “The opening round of this season’s ADAC GT Masters went entirely to plan for us. Firstly, it is obviously nice to have performed so well on our own doorstep. However, it was also an important test for us. We had prepared perfectly for the first race with the BMW M4 GT3, and the results provided evidence of our good work. It was extremely important to start with Nicky and Jesse this weekend, in order to orient ourselves with the new car. The whole crew did an outstanding job, from the set-up to the strategy. Ben and Niklas can be really proud of their result in Saturday’s race. The second race was a bit of a setback, but that is part of the learning process. On the whole, we are very happy with our performance. That is something we can build on.”
World first delights TV viewers
180 km/h, state-of-the-art lightweight parts, and pit stops lasting around five seconds – it may sound like a new racing series, but was in fact a world first of a different kind. For the first time, a high-speed drone was used in the TV coverage of a race at a racetrack. The size of a hand, just 900 grams, and equipped with the latest technology, the “little marvel” provided spectacular and previously unseen images for those watching on TV partner NITRO.
Next stop Great Britain
A number of drivers and teams headed straight from Oschersleben to Brands Hatch: the British circuit hosted round two of the GT World Challenge Europe the following weekend. In Christopher Haase, Mattia Drudi, Patric Niederhauser, Christopher Mies, Christian Engelhart, Klaus Bachler, Jules Gounon, Raffaele Marciello and Dennis Marschall, the grid also featured many drivers from the German GT Championship.
