28,000 visitors made the trip to Oschersleben for the opening weekend of the ADAC GT Masters, setting a new attendance record.
On Sunday, after a flawless performance, the spectators saw Fabian Schiller and Jules Gounon take the win in their #8 Drago Racing Team ZVO Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo the debuting team gaining its first success in the German GT Championship on its first racing weekend.
Pole setter Patric Niederhauser and Luca Engstler from Rutronik Racing took second place in the #15 Audi R8 LMS GT3 Evo II.
Jonathan Aberdein and Raffaele Marciello from Mann-Filter Team Landgraf in the #48 Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo secured third place on the podium.
“It’s a great feeling to be able to celebrate my first win right at the start of my debut in the ADAC GT Masters. But Jules also did a great job,” said Fabian Schiller, who also won the Pirelli Junior classification.
Right from the start Gounon showed that he didn’t want to stay in second place for long. He immediately attacked pole setter Niederhauser and was able to overtake the Swiss on the first lap.
The Frenchman kept his rival at a distance until the mandatory pit stop and handed the Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo to Schiller while he was in first place.
He had to survive a near miss when exiting the pits when he almost collided with Luca Engstler.
After that though, there were no problems on the track for the 24-year-old, who confidently defended his lead and celebrated his debut victory in the ADAC GT Masters with a lead of 2.735 seconds over Engstler. Third went to Jonathan Aberdein, who struggled with deteriorating tires during his stint.
Behind them, Jesse Krohn and Nicky Catsburg from Schubert Motorsport finished fourth in the #20 BMW M4 GT3. Despite several attacks, Jesse Krohn was unable to overtake Aberdein in front of him in the second part of the race.
Fifth went to the #63 Lamborghini Huracán GT3 Evo #63 from Emil Frey Racing team with Jack Aitken and Albert Costa Balboa, which set a new lap record in the championship.
Saturday’s winners, Jusuf Owega and Ricardo Feller, in their #29 Audi R8 LMS GT3 Evo II, finished sixth, but still, leave Oschersleben as the championship leaders.
Behind them, Kim-Luis Schramm and Dennis Marschallfrom Rutronik Racing finished seventh in the #27 Audi R8 LMS GT3 Evo II .
Jan Marschalkowski and Daniel Juncadella finished eighth with the #8 Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo. Thierry Vermeulen and Mattia Drudi finished Sunday’s race in ninth place in the #33 Car Collection Motorsport Audi R8 LMS GT3 Evo II.
Simon Reicher and Norbert Siedler secured the last top ten place at the wheel of the #54 Eastalent Racing Audi R8 LMS GT3 Evo II.
Fabian Schiller: “Jules did a great job in qualifying and in the race. In the second stint I was able to control the race from the front. I didn’t see Luca at first when we exited the pits, fortunately, nothing happened. I’m really happy about this debut win. It can go on like this.”
Jules Gounon: “It’s a great feeling to have clinched the first win for our Drago Racing Team ZVO. Fabian brought the race home confidently and drove calmly. It was a great opening weekend, I love this championship, thanks to all the fans and I want to get my second title this year after 2017.”
