Ralf Aron (EST/Haupt Racing Team) has his first pole position in the ADAC GT Masters. The 25-year-old, at the wheel of a Mercedes-AMG GT3, clocked the fastest time of 1:38.033 minutes in qualifying for the final race of the season at the Hockenheimring Baden-Württemberg. Marco Mapelli (I) underlined his title ambitions with second place in the Grasser Lamborghini on Sunday morning.
Bright blue sky, sunshine and eleven degrees Celsius: the final qualifying of the 2023 ADAC GT Masters season took place in ideal conditions. After a steady start, the international field really put pedal to the metal in the closing stages. Mapelli and Aron battled it out for first place on the grid. Ultimately, however, there was no beating Mercedes-AMG Junior Aron, who clocked the fastest time of the 20-minute session. “That was a fantastic lap. It is nice to get the pole position and confirm the good form we have shown this weekend. I know the Hockenheimring very well from my time in Formula racing. The circuit suits me. I am very happy to start the ADAC GT Masters finale from the front of the grid in these great conditions. Haupt Racing Team is still in the race for the title in the Team Championship. I will do my best,” said the winner of the Pirelli Pole Position Award.
Mapelli took second place, 0.168 seconds slower than Aron. The Lamborghini works driver picked up two points for his efforts and thus improved his position in the title race. Mapelli and team-mate Benjamin Hites (CHL) now trail the championship leader by just eight points ahead of the final race of the season. The third fastest lap came courtesy of Nico Bastian (Ludwigsburg/Team Joos by Racemotion) in a Porsche 911 GT3 R (+0.268 seconds). Maximilian Götz (Uffenheim) guided Haupt Racing Team’s second Mercedes-AMG GT3 to fourth place (+0.336 seconds). Ben Green (GBR) rounded out the top five in the Schubert BMW (+0.367 seconds).
Championship leader Elias Seppänen (FIN/Landgraf Motorsport) starts the twelfth race of the season from seventh place in his Mercedes-AMG GT3 (+0.416 seconds). Four driver pairings are still in with a shout of winning the ADAC’s iconic GT series. The grand title showdown takes place on Sunday afternoon. TV partner Sport1 is showing all the action from 15:00. The finale will also be streamed live on the free YouTube channel @adacmotorsports.
