Reactions from the paddock after Saturday’s race in the German GT Championship in Lusatia.
Albert Costa Balboa, Emil Frey Racing, Lamborghini Huracán GT3 Evo #63 “This second place keeps us in the championship. Our car is good, the team is working hard and we are progressing well. In the race, I was suddenly hit by Markus Winkelhock, which sent me into a spin. Fortunately, I was able to catch the car and get back on the track. I did not lose so much time, and was immediately able to push again. However, I was a little fortunate to be able to continue after a collision like that.”
Jack Aitken, Emil Frey Racing, Lamborghini Huracán GT3 Evo #63 “I had good pace and was able to catch Ayhancan. As I was trying to overtake him, I suddenly saw a yellow flag being waved. That caused me to lose concentration and spin. Fortunately, however, I only lost a little time and was able to hold onto the position. It was frustrating, because we were close to getting the win. Unfortunately, we made too many mistakes. However, they are good points for the championship and we will push hard again tomorrow.”
Maximilian Paul, Paul Motorsport, Lamborghini Huracán GT3 Evo #71 “We have found a good package, the team is doing a focussed job and this third place was another step forward after the Nürburgring. We were very fast in dry conditions in the free practice, which led me to be a little sceptical this morning when I saw the rain. Our performance in the race was good, and Marco finished well with a nice overtaking manoeuvre. The first podium is always rather special. We have waited a long time and that is now a great relief for all of us. The move to Paul Motorsport has seen a turnaround in form and brought some fire into the team. We want to take that with us into the coming races.”
Marco Mapelli, Paul Motorsport, Lamborghini Huracán GT3 Evo #71 “I am happy for the hard-working team that we have finally made it onto the podium. We had problems at the start of the season and found ourselves in no man’s land. We are now in a position to challenge for the podium and must keep doing what we are doing. The car was very fast this weekend, but there are actually no circuits in the ADAC GT Masters, at which our Lambo does not perform well. It took me a long time to overtake the Audi in front of me, and I lost a lot of time as a result. Maybe we could otherwise have been looking at an even better result.”
Adrien De Leener, Dinamic Motorsport, Porsche 911 GT3 R #11 “It is nice to be back in the ADAC GT Masters. It was here, two years ago, that I had my last wet race, and it took me a little time to get used to it at first. Unfortunately, I had a collision with another car during my stint, after which I lost my rhythm. Klaus then took over, set some superb lap times, and made up several positions. He did a great job.”
Jesse Krohn, Schubert Motorsport, BMW M4 GT3 #20 “That was a very, very difficult race. We had issues with the tyres from the word go, and only had very little grip. As a result, our lap times were significantly worse than those of the opposition. Our tactic then became to stay clear of trouble and avoid mistakes. We climbed from 21st to 12th that way, but that was not so much down to us as the fact that the drivers in front of us made mistakes. However, the car is not damaged, we scored a few points, and we are hoping for dry conditions tomorrow. Then we can get the tyres working and a far better result should be possible with our fast car.”
Thierry Vermeulen, Car Collection Motorsport, Audi R8 LMS GT3 Evo II #33 “The track was a bit wetter in the race than it was in qualifying in the morning. I was very nervous, as it is exactly two years to the day that I began my motorsport career, and this was my very first wet race. All the drivers did a good job at the start and drove fairly. After that, I had to gradually work my way up to the limit. In the car, you could hardly see anything for the water. However, I am sure the race was a great show for the fans. I really liked the battles out on the track. We once again learned a lot and must remain positive. If it is dry tomorrow, we want to finish in the top ten.”
Simon Reicher, Eastalent Racing Team, Audi R8 LMS GT3 Evo II #54 “They were very tough conditions. All that spray meant you could hardly see anything on the track, but it was the same for everyone. We did manage to climb from 20th on the grid to finish 14, so we are happy with the result but not our performance. We have to improve, but will be better equipped to cope, should it rain again tomorrow.”
Florian Spengler, Car Collection Motorsport, Audi R8 LMS GT3 Evo II #69 “The race started well and we made up a few positions at the start. After three or four laps, the tyres started to wear, grip deteriorated and I somehow ended up in a gravel bed. After that, I could do nothing – and there was even less that Markus could do. We then tried a few things out, in terms of tyre pressure and set-up, in order to be ready for a possible wet race tomorrow.”
