Leader Raffaele Marciello arrives at the Sachsenring with a ten-point cushion. All-out attack in qualifying for title contenders Christian Engelhart and Ayhancan Güven. FIA ETCR eTouring Car World Cup set for its German debut on support programme.
The ADAC GT Masters enters the finishing straight at the Sachsenring this weekend (23rd to 25th September). The penultimate round of the German GT Championship will demand nerves of steel from the teams and drivers. There is little to separate the front-runners in the championship. Every point counts, and any mistake could crush any title aspirations. The stage is set for a thrilling race weekend at the demanding circuit in Saxony, which Germany’s fastest GT3 series takes at even higher speeds than the motorcycle aces in MotoGP. There will also be a first at the Sachsenring: the FIA ETCR eTouring World Cup will make its first appearance in Germany, where the first electric touring car world champion in motorsport history will be crowned at the Sachsenring, which hosts the final round of the season. All the action from the ADAC GT Masters will be shown live on NITRO. The exclusive TV partner of the German GT Championship will broadcast races eleven and twelve, live from 12:30 on Saturday and Sunday.
Key facts, Sachsenring, Hohenstein-Ernstthal, races 11 and 12 of 14
Circuit length: 3,645 metres
Layout: 14 corners (four right, ten left), driven anticlockwise
2021 winners, race 1: Mathieu Jaminet/Michael Ammermüller (SSR Performance, Porsche 911 GT3 R)
2021 winners, race 2: Igor Jakob Walilko/Jules Gounon (Team Zakspeed Mobil Krankenkasse Racing, Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo)
Top three poised to pounce
In pole position in the title race is championship leader Raffaele Marciello (27/CH), who lines up alongside fellow works driver Daniel Juncadella (31/E) in the #48 Mercedes-AMG GT3. The Mercedes-AMG is traditionally strong at the undulating track in Saxony. Marciello’s goal for the Sachsenring is to extend his lead at the top of the table ahead of the finale, having recently seen his advantage shrink at the Lausitzring.
Lurking ten points behind Marciello are Christian Engelhart (35/Starnberg) and Ayhancan Güven (24/TR) of Team Joos Sportwagentechnik. The duo in the #91 Porsche 911 GT3 R claimed its first win of the season in Lusatia and is determined to pile the pressure on the championship leader. “Our tactic will be the same as ever, nothing else works in the ADAC GT Masters: all-out attack in qualifying, in order to secure a good starting position. However, the Sachsenring has shown in the past that, despite being a difficult circuit to overtake at, tyre wear means that a lot can change in the second half of the race. You have to be perfectly prepared for qualifying and the races,” says Christian Engelhart. He knows he can count on his strong partner at the wheel. “As a newcomer, Ayhancan has found his feet quickly in the ADAC GT Masters and is doing a sensational job. He has produced some top qualifying performances and does not make any mistakes in the races. It is a pleasure to drive with him. We want to score more points than the opposition at the Sachsenring, in order to be well positioned ahead of the finale in Hockenheim,” says the 2020 champion.
Jack Aitken (26/GB) and Albert Costa Balboa (32/E) are also still in the title race, following their strong displays at the Lausitzring. Two second places in races nine and ten catapulted the Emil Frey Racing duo in the #63 Lamborghini Huracán GT3 Evo into third place in the table, making them one of the favourites at the Sachsenring.
Paul Motorsport is hungry for more
After the event in Lusatia, the Paul Motorsport team can now look forward to a second home outing in the ADAC GT Masters, although the Sachsenring is a little further from the team’s headquarters in Dresden. “It is mega that the track is just around the corner for the second event in a row. It makes the logistics easier and makes preparations a little more relaxed. You don’t need to set off a few days in advance, but just jump in your car and there you are,” says Maximilian Paul (22/Dresden), describing the home comforts. From a sporting perspective, the team is looking to back up its success at the Lausitzring, where Paul and his team-mate Marco Mapelli (35/I) were third and fifth in the #71 Lamborghini Huracán GT3 Evo, and the young man from Dresden won the Pirelli Junior competition in both races. “I like the Sachsenring. It is a motorcycle circuit with a lot of fast sections, and you can both gain and lose a lot of time up on the crest. Last year, I drove there for the first time with Marco, and I learned a lot from him. After our first podium of the season at the Lausitzring, the team is hungry for more. We want to win a race, or at least be in contention at the front,” says the local favourite.
Strong support programme – German debut and season finale for electric touring cars
The FIA ETCR eTouring Car World Cup will start in Germany for the first time at the ADAC GT Masters event at the Sachsenring. The German premiere is also the final round of the innovative series, in which the likes of FIA World Rallycross Champion, Mattias Ekström, and former ADAC GT Masters drivers Bruno Spengler and Maxime Martin line up in cars generating up to 680 hp. As well as the electric cars, the support programme for the German GT Championship also features a further three spectacular racing series at the Sachsenring. The drivers in ADAC GT4 Germany and ADAC TCR Germany will be looking to set themselves up nicely for the finale in Hockenheim. The same goes for the drivers in the Porsche Carrera Cup Deutschland, as the Sachsenring hosts races 13 and 14 of the 16-race season.
All ADAC GT Masters races start at 13:00. International viewers can watch the qualifying and the races live on adac.de/motorsport, the new ADAC Motorsports YouTube channel youtube.com/ADACMotorsports and motorsport.tv.
