For the new Lexus RC-F GT3 prototype, its first race couldn’t gone any better, with a well thought strategy and constantly fast laps, Mario and Dominik Farnbacher secured the overall victory in the DMV 250-Meilen Rennen, the ninth VLN round of the 2016 season. From the start of the race, which occurred under a slightly damp track, until the fall of the chequered flag, the two brothers were always in contention for a podium spot.
“Winning the first race with our new car, which has almost no carried over parts from the old one, is of course fantastic. We also got Yokohama’s development tire from the Japanese Super GT Series, which certainly helped us, “said Mario Farnbacher after the race. “At the beginning of the race, we were on the safe side with the strategy. Actually this should only be a test race today and then we realized we had a chance of winning it. We didn’t think about the Balance of Performance and raced just flat out. ”
In the second place went to Alexander Sims and Stef Dusseldorp in the BMW M6 GT3 entered by ROWE Racing. At the beginning of the race, which was turbulent because of the various time points the teams had to change from rain to slick tires, the BMW crew took it to the Farnbacher Lexus in the fight for the over all lead. In the second half of the race, they lost ground and crossed the line half a minute behind the victorious duo.
“Alexander had a great opening stint, which was the basis for our podium finish. Over the length of the race, the Lexus was slightly faster then we were so they deserve the victory, especially after all their struggles with the car. During the final laps the rain returned and I decided to secure the second place for the team,” explained Stef Dusseldorp after the race.
The newly crowned ADAC GT Masters champions Christopher Mies and Connor de Phillippi took home a third place finish. The Land Motorsport Audi R8 LMS lost the connection to the leading group after two contacts with the armco, and even a very fast final stint by Christopher Mies couldn’t bring a position improvement.
“We missed two races this year, so we are missing some data on our cars performance in changing conditions,” said Mies. “Something light this can be decisive in such a tight field, nevertheless we are happy with a podium finish. »
Anders Fjordbach and Frank Stippler in the Phoenix Racing Audi R8 LMS barely held off the Walkenhorst Motorsport BMW M6 GT3 of Jesse Krohn, Victor Bouveng and Christian Krognes, holding a quarter of a second advantage at the end of the race. Nico Menzel and Jens Klingmann took sixth place in the BMW M6 GT3 entered by the BMW Team Schnitzer, while the pole sitting Porsche 911 GT3 R of Norbert Siedler and Patrick Huisman finished seventh.
Alexandre Imperatori and Phillip Eng took the Falken Motorsport BMW M6 GT3 to an eight place finish. The last places in the top 10 went to two SP7-Porsche, with the duo Alex Toril / Tim Scheerbarth finishing ahead of «G. Tonic »/ Felipe Fernandez Laser.
The KTM X-BOW GT4 also had a successful first VLN outing, dominating the class SP10 for GT4 cars. Christopher Haase and Arne Hoffmeister crossed the finish line one minute of their teammates Johannes and Ferdinand Stuck. The Aston Martin Vantage GT4 from AVIA Racing finished third. The two KTM X-BOW GT4s also benefited from an advantageous Balance of Performance, Christopher Haase recorded the fastest lap time, an 8:41 Minutes putting the KTM well into the group of SP7-cars, which hold a power advantage, and well over 20 seconds clear over its next class competitor.
Despite a DNF resulting from a damaged cooler, the Haribo Racing Team – AMG is still at the top of the VLN Speed Trophy, the championship order for the overall winners. With the VLN season finale approaching in two weeks time, the Mercedes-AMG GT3 holds 12 point advantage over the BMW M6 GT3 of Walkenhorst Motorsport. Phoenix Racing and Land Motorsport, with their Audi R8 LMS’, and the Porsche 911 GT3 R of Manthey Racing also have a chance of still taking the crown.
The 41. DMV Münsterlandpokal takes place on October 22nd and is also the season finale of the championship.
