Reactions from the paddock after the Saturday race in the German GT Championship in Spielberg
Raffaele Marciello, Mann-Filter Team Landgraf, Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo #48: “Third place was not what we expected of ourselves, but the points are valuable with regard to the championship. The BMW was simply faster. We need a little more top speed to win here.”
Jonathan Aberdein, Mann-Filter Team Landgraf, Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo #48: “I came out behind Christian in my stint and was not able to attack him. The gap just kept getting bigger and bigger, so I focussed on looking after the position I was in, in order to score important points for the championship. I couldn’t do any more.”
Joel Sturm, Allied-Racing, Porsche 911 GT3 R #22: “We had slight issues at the start and were twice hit by another car. We consequently lost a few positions. In the end, we were able to fight back. Sven did a great job and managed to climb into fourth place. We go into Sunday with plenty of confidence. It should be another good day for us.”
Dennis Lind, JP Motorsport, McLaren 720S GT3 #88: “It was a good race at the start. We worked our way into fifth place, but were then unable to keep pace and fell back a little. We must be fast for the whole race on Sunday, as the standard is extremely high in the ADAC GT Masters. Every mistake is punished immediately, but that is motor racing and I love these challenges.”
Patric Niederhauser, Rutronik Racing, Audi R8 LMS GT3 Evo II #15: “It was a very entertaining race, but we are used to cool action here at the Red Bull Ring. I made a good start and had a great fight with the McLaren. All of a sudden, something was not right with the car and I had problems. In hindsight, it turns out that I had a puncture. It was a huge struggle to finish the race, but fortunately we managed it.”
Arthur Rougier, Emil Frey Racing, Lamborghini Huracán GT3 Evo #19: “We had great pace, but lost a lot of time as a result of our rather chaotic pit stop and the subsequent penalty. We were then able to make up some positions and finish in the points. We want to go on the offensive again in qualifying on Sunday, although it will be tough, as it is incredibly close.”
Leon Köhler, ID Racing, Porsche 911 GT3 R #44: “That was my first race in the ADAC GT Masters and in a GT3 car. You have a rolling start, instead of a standing start, and that takes a bit of getting used to. However, I did manage to gain a few places and had a lot of fun on the track.”
Tim Zimmermann, Montaplast by Land-Motorsport, Audi R8 LMS GT3 Evo II #1: “The start was difficult and we lost a lot of positions. I found it hard to find my rhythm in the early laps and was skidding a lot on the rear axle. I then found myself behind Fabi Schiller’s Mercedes, but he had slightly more top speed and I was unable to attack. We have a second chance on Sunday.”
