Reactions from the paddock after Sunday’s race in the German GT Championship in Lusatia.
Albert Costa Balboa, Emil Frey Racing, Lamborghini Huracán GT3 Evo #63 “Tim was very strong on the first two laps after the pit stop, and a bit faster than me. I pushed in the closing stages and tried to force him into a mistake. However, he did not make any. Tim and Chris have waited a long time for that win, and they deserve it. I am very happy with our second place. The Sachsenring, the venue for the next round, is new to our team. However, that was also the case with the Lausitzring.”
Jack Aitken, Emil Frey Racing, Lamborghini Huracán GT3 Evo #63 “I was surprised by Christopher at the start of the race. I was about to attack Sven Müller when Chris came out of turn one like a rocket and I could not prevent him from passing me. After that, we had roughly the same pace, but it was very difficult to overtake. On the whole, it was a very entertaining and eventful race for the spectators. Fortunately, we were not involved in any of the turmoil. It was a great weekend for us.”
Raffaele Marciello, Mann-Filter Team Landgraf, Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo #48 “You cannot win every race, and I was not expecting so much after qualifying. When the chaos unfolded in front of me shortly before the finish, I was in exactly the right position. I stayed clear of the trouble and was able to climb into third place. That was more than we could have expected.”
Daniel Juncadella, Mann-Filter Team Landgraf, Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo #48 “Third place is my best result in the ADAC GT Masters. After the poor results in qualifying, with tenth and 13th place, we did not expect to finish fifth and third in the races. We were a bit fortunate today, but you have to be on the spot to take advantage of that luck. I took a bit of a risk at the start and made up a few positions. However, the Audis in front of me were very fast. We then had a good pit stop, gained two positions, and Marciello did the rest. These podiums are the best, because you are not expecting them.”
Ben Green, Schubert Motorsport, BMW M4 GT3 #10 “After the poor result in qualifying, meaning we started from 16th, there was only one direction. Up. I pushed and was able to make a bit of progress through the field. On the whole, it was a chaotic race with many battles and contacts. Ultimately, ninth place is a satisfactory result.”
Klaus Bachler, Dinamic Motorsport, Porsche 911 GT3 R #11 “Qualifying was very difficult in the mixed conditions. Unfortunately, we bet on the wrong horse and started the race from 18th. I had a good start, but had to evade other cars on several occasions to avoid collisions, and dropped back through the field. But that’s just the way it is. When you are not at the front, it is all a bit like a casino. We had very good pace at times this weekend, but the standard is very high in the ADAC GT Masters. We have learned a lot and take a lot with us.”
Luca Engstler, Rutronik Racing, Audi R8 LMS GT3 Evo II #15 “It was a crazy race. We had good pace and both cars would have deserved to be on the podium. Then Fabian Schiller braked too late and cleaned everyone out. I don’t want to comment on that. Everyone lost it a bit in the final ten minutes. We must now bounce back at the Sachsenring.”
Jan Marschalkowski, Mercedes-AMG Team ZVO, Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo #8 “The whole race was a bit chaotic, but on the whole it was not so bad – although Marco Mapelli did almost drive straight through me and the car. I had to make quite an adjustment from the wet yesterday to today’s dry conditions. Unfortunately, I was not able to attack at the front, as Ricardo was simply faster than me. Then I handed over to Marvin.”
Marvin Dienst, Mercedes-AMG Team ZVO, Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo #8 “We stopped early to give me a clear lap and allow me to push. Unfortunately, a few cars then came back out in front of me and held me up a little. On the whole, a top-ten finish is a good result after the poor qualifying, and Jan just missed out on the podium in fourth place in the Pirelli Junior competition. The double workload in the Prototype Cup Germany and the ADAC GT Masters is not physically tiring, just the tight schedule is demanding. It is quite stressful making it to appointments on time and chatting to the various different engineers. I will definitely be back to full power at the Sachsenring.”
Arthur Rougier, Emil Frey Racing, Lamborghini Huracán GT3 Evo #19 “It was a difficult weekend for us at the Lausitzring. We definitely had the pace, but fortune was never on our side this weekend. We know that motorsport can be tough at times, but the rest of the season has to be better for us, as we have had a lot of bad luck so far. We are already looking forward to the next round.”
