Reactions from the paddock after Saturday’s race in the first event of the German GT Championship season.

Ricardo Feller, Montaplast by Land-Motorsport, Audi R8 LMS GT3 Evo II #29: “The new fuel worked well. We are racing drivers, we want to race and the cars need to sound right. If you can achieve that with a sustainable fuel, like we are now doing in the ADAC GT Masters, that’s a good thing.”

Franck Perera, Emil Frey Racing, Lamborghini Huracán GT3 Evo #19: “That was a positive start. Qualifying was great, the new tyres worked well. However, we knew it would be tough in the race. There are plenty of fast cars and drivers in the ADAC GT Masters, anything can happen. Overall, second place is a good start, but we have plenty of work ahead of us.”

Arthur Rougier, Emil Frey Racing, Lamborghini Huracán GT3 Evo #19: “Unfortunately, the battle with Ricardo took me into a dirty part of the track and I had to briefly take the car off the road. That was a shame but, all in all, second place in the first race is a good result. This is my first time in Oschersleben and I like the circuit. I would like it even more if we had won.”

Joel Sturm, Allied-Racing, Porsche 911 GT3 R #22: “It is a great feeling to stand on the podium in my first race in the ADAC GT Masters. We worked hard, did a lot of testing and were well prepared. That paid off. At the start, I was squeezed onto the grass by a Lamborghini and had to go through the gravel. Luckily, it all went well and the car wasn’t damaged. After that, I was fully focused and went easy on the tyres a bit for Sven.”

Sven Müller, Allied-Racing, Porsche 911 GT3 R #22: “My last year in the ADAC GT Masters was a tough one. That is why it feels good to reach the podium in the first race of the season. Our team is young, competitive and ambitious. We have developed well and closed the gap to the other teams. I was able to call on my experience from past years. When Joel left the track at the start, I caught my breath. The way he rescued the car was great. It’s superb to have to a team-mate like that. Oschersleben is a good circuit for Porsche with regard to acceleration and traction. I am looking forward to tomorrow.”

Jonathan Aberdein, Mann-Filter Team Landgraf, Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo #48: “We have rounded off the season-opener in the ADAC GT Masters with a solid fourth place. That was OK for now and a decent start to the German GT Championship. Tomorrow, we’ll be aiming for the podium in the second race of the weekend.”

Robert Renauer, ID Racing by Herberth, Porsche 911 GT3 R #44: “Fifth place and championship points, that was the best we could have achieved today. It is a very balanced field, you can see that already. Each constructor has a competitive car. We had to work hard for the position in the race. It’s a new ball game tomorrow and the second qualifying session will be interesting. That will be tough again, as will the entire season, I’m sure of that.”

Mick Wishofer, Emil Frey Racing, Lamborghini Huracán GT3 Evo #14: “I tried to overtake Jonathan Aberdein on the inside. Unfortunately, there was contact as we exited the turn and that took him off the track a bit. Of course, that was not my intention. It’s a shame that race control then ordered us to swap places. Before this decision, I had been able to pull away a little. But that is just part of racing.”

Luca Engstler, Rutronik Racing, Audi R8 LMS GT3 Evo II #15: “I was really nervous before the race. I was quite worked up about my first flying start. But it went well, the speed was great and the car was amazingly good. I was able to move up four places and hand over to Patric Niederhauser in twelfth place. He then made it into the top ten. We’ll go back on the attack tomorrow.”

Nicky Catsburg, Schubert Motorsport, BMW M4 GT3 #20: “We started from tenth place, after the red flag in qualifying left us no time to record our fastest lap. Jesse was able to overtake a few rivals during the first stint and then handed the car over to me in seventh. I then lost a few seconds in the pits due to some technical difficulties and then I struggled a bit with the tyres. I didn’t manage to overtake the Lamborghini ahead of me, but I was able to stay ahead of the two Audis behind me. Eighth place is not a bad result, but we just have to do better in qualifying tomorrow.”