Reactions from the paddock after the Saturday race in the German GT Championship at the Nürburgring.
Raffaele Marciello, Mann-Filter Team Landgraf, Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo #48 “I am obviously very happy today and delighted with the win. However, there is always room for improvement. We must also perform well in the coming races. I am very happy to share the cockpit with Maro. He is definitely one of the best GT drivers in the world, if not the best.”
Maro Engel, Mann-Filter Team Landgraf, Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo #48 “Raffaele did a mega job today. He handed the car over to me with a good lead and good tyres. We are determined to win as many races as possible, and today was a good start. The team worked superbly together. I am at the wheel for qualifying tomorrow, and will obviously be going flat-out.”
Joel Sturm, Allied Racing, Porsche 911 GT3 R #22 “I had a good start and immediately climbed two places. After the first safety car phases, I was able to overtake another rival. When the pit stop window opened, our engineers decided to try an undercut, which was exactly the right tactic and gained us another two positions. In the end, the strategy was spot on.”
Sven Müller, Allied Racing, Porsche 911 GT3 R #22 “We worked very well tactically. I knew the podium was a possibility and told the team so. That obviously gives everyone a boost. Our pit stop was perfect. The time monitor for the minimum stationary time showed 0.0 – it cannot get any better. The car was a dream today and really enjoyable to drive. That obviously gives you the best basis, with which to secure pole position or make it onto the podium.”
Jules Gounon, Drago Racing Team ZVO, Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo #4 “After some tough weeks, I am thrilled to be back on the podium with Drago Racing Team ZVO. We are heading in the right direction again and just need to keep taking it one race at a time. This series is very evenly matched and a really high standard.”
Fabian Schiller, Drago Racing Team ZVO, Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo #4 “The start was tough, but fair. Raffaele drove away at the front, and we unfortunately had no chance of staying with him. However, our car was good and I was actually able to manage everything easily. I hope we can continue this good trend on Sunday. Let’s see where this journey takes us.”
Ayhancan Güven, Team Joos Sportwagentechnik, Porsche 911 GT3 R #91 “I had a good start and a fierce battle with Schiller, who I was unfortunately unable to shift from second place, even though I was a little faster than him. Raffaele Marciello was then able to pull clear at the front. When it came to the pit stop, our rivals opted for a better strategy than we did, and we dropped back to fifth place. However, fifth place earned us a lot of points – although we were hoping for a podium from third on the grid. We will push hard again tomorrow and try to score a lot of points. That is the key to success in the ADAC GT Masters.”
Maximilian Paul, Paul Motorsport, Lamborghini Huracán GT3 Evo #71 “Our qualifying was not actually that bad, with ninth place. The start went well and we made a bit of progress. Unfortunately, I made a mistake while battling for sixth place with Jack Aitken and damaged my bumper in the process. That affected the aerodynamics. It is frustrating, because it ruined my race. Marco had no chance of attacking with the damaged car after the driver changeover. We must now reset, stay calm, and go for it tomorrow.”
Kim-Luis Schramm, Rutronik Racing, Audi R8 LMS GT3 Evo II #27 “The start was very turbulent, there were a few contacts here and there, but ultimately nothing over the top. Unfortunately, Salman Owega drove into the back of my car at the restart after the first safety car phase. Fortunately, the pit stop window opened immediately after that. On the whole, we are not satisfied with 13th place – we have loftier goals. However, it was simply not to be today.”
Jesse Krohn, Schubert Motorsport, BMW M4 GT3 #20 “It took us a bit of time to get the tyres up to temperature. After that, we had good pace, were running eighth and were faster than the cars in front of us. Unfortunately, there were then a few collisions and the debris on the track caused a puncture and meant we had to retire. We have had a lot of bad luck in the last three races, but that has to end sometime. We have a good package and I will push hard in tomorrow’s qualifying to give us a good basis for the race.”
