The opening race of season 17 of the ADAC GT Masters started with one overwhelming reality – just 11 cars formed the grid after a messy run-in to the season during which ADAC absorbed the troubled DTM and attempted (hugely unsuccessfully) to persuade its GT Masters teams to go along with their vision of ‘DTM Endurance’ which would have seen the GT Masters and Prototype Cup grids combine.
The failure of consultation and delivery for that ideal has then seen the current grid drop to around 30% of that of recent times.
New Zealander Jaxon Evans and Tim Zimmerman from Langenargen took victory in the opening race at the Hockenheimring in their debuting Huber Racing Porsche 911 GT3R, this also the maiden victory for the Type 992 911 GT3 R.
Evans was beaming in the post-race interview: “I am overjoyed to be able to celebrate our first victory in the ADAC GT Masters. The closing stages were very wild and dominated by a lot of battles. The decisive overtaking manoeuvre allowed me to leave all that behind me and take the win. Tim did a great job of preparing the groundwork and looking after the tyres, which meant I was still able to go on the attack at the end of the race.” Eduardo Coseteng (Philippines) and Ben Green (Great Britain/both Schubert Motorsport) in the BMW M4 GT3 and Jannes Fittje/Nico Menzel (both Huber Motorsport) in another Porsche 911 GT3 R completed the podium.
In glorious sunshine Pole-setter Benjamin Hites kept a cool head at the wheel of his Lamborghini Huracán GT3 Evo2 and was first into turn one. However, the Chilean had to come in for an early pit stop after suffering a puncture, dashing his hopes of victory. Kim-Luis Schramm benefitted from this situation and gained his first kilometres at the head of the field for the newcomers from FK Performance Motorsport. Following the mandatory pit stop, his team-mate Igor Walilko rejoined the race in first place in the Bremen-based team’s BMW M4 GT3.
A safety car phase on lap 24 added extra excitement. After the re-start, the drivers continued to deliver the best possible advert for the ADAC GT Masters and produced a very entertaining finish. Second-placed Evans, at the wheel of a Porsche 911 GT3 R, overtook the leader Walilko when the racing resumed and went on to take the chequered flag. The runners-up from Schubert Motorsport, Eduardo Coseteng and Ben Green, impressed with a spirited fightback. Coseteng started the 60-minute race from eighth place and had climbed to fifth by the time he handed the car over to his team-mate. Green, a two-time ADAC GT Masters race winner, followed on where Coseteng had left off, launching one successful attack after another. “A big compliment goes to Eduardo, who had an impressive debut. In the closing stages, I used all the power of our BMW M4 GT3, which allowed me to gain an advantage after the corners. I am very happy with the result. Second place is a super start to the season for the team,” said second-placed Green.
Huber Motorsport was also pleased with third place and a spot on the podium on the team’s first outing in the ADAC GT Masters. The German pairing of Jannes Fittje and Nico Menzel worked their way from fifth place on the grid into the podium places over the course of the 25-lap race. “The safety car phase did not help us, and meant we had to battle hard for our position again. It was really heated out there in the closing laps. I then took my chance and overtook on the outside in the Motodrom. That was definitely a great debut for the whole team,” said Porsche driver Menzel. Schramm and Walilko came home fourth after the eventful conclusion to the race. Finn Gehrsitz and Sven Müller (Team Joos by RACEmotion) were fifth in the third Porsche 911 GT3 R.
Race 2
Finn Gehrsitz (Stuttgart) and Sven Müller (Bingen) won race two of this season’s ADAC GT Masters at Hockenheimring in their Team Joos by RACEmotion Porsche.
18-year-old Gehrsitz was delighted with his first winner’s trophy: “It is absolutely unbelievable to be celebrating my first win in the ADAC GT Masters. Sven and I are a great team, and we have proven that. To cross the finish line in first place was an incredible moment. I have worked hard to achieve this, and am very proud to have made the breakthrough so early in the season,” said Gehrsitz, who also won the Pirelli Junior competition. The Porsche 911 GT3 R was followed over the line in second place by the Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo of Petru Umbrarescu (RO) and Arjun Maini (IND/both Haupt Racing Team). Third place on Sunday went to Cologne’s Salman Owega and Elias Seppänen (FIN/both Landgraf Motorsport) in a second Mercedes-AMG.
The weather in the Schwetzinger Hardt forest was at its best again on Sunday: the drivers were greeted by ideal conditions, with glorious sunshine and temperatures around 28 degrees Celsius. Pole-sitter Maini was fastest off the mark. The AMG driver opened a gap at the front of the field early in the 60-minute race, and was still leading when he came in for the mandatory pit stop. His team-mate Umbrarescu returned to the 4.574-kilometre track at the head of the field, but the decisive moment in the race had already happened during the pit stop. The Mercedes-AMG duo was penalised with a penalty lap for an infringement during the driver change-over, and consequently fell back into second place. Gehrsitz, who had taken over from Müller, benefitted from the situation and went on to take the chequered flag. Umbrarescu held on to second in the closing stages. His team-mate Maini was still pleased with the trophy for second place. “Despite the outcome, which was somewhat turbulent for us, there were more positives for me. I am happy with the new lap record in qualifying, the pole position and the trophy for second place – and, above all, I am proud of the whole team,” said Maini.
Third place went to Owega and Seppänen. The two youngsters proudly held their first ADAC GT Masters trophies aloft at the podium ceremony. “I am very happy with the podium. It feels great to be taking my first trophy home with me. I gave it everything again at the end, but the tyres were degrading due to the hot weather,” said Owega. Eduardo Coseteng (PHL) and Britain’s Ben Green were rewarded for their efforts with fourth place. The BMW duo from Schubert Motorsport started race two of the 2023 ADAC GT Masters from sixth place. Behind them, the spectators in the grandstands at the former Formula 1 circuit witnessed some thrilling duels and many battles for position. A successful overtaking manoeuvre in the closing stages saw Tim Zimmermann (Langenargen) take fifth place in a Porsche 911 GT3 R. He and Jaxon Evans (NZ) had previously celebrated the first ADAC GT Masters victory for Huber Racing in Saturday’s race.
Jannes Fittje (Langenhain) and Nico Menzel (Kelberg) fought back strongly to finish sixth in their Porsche 911 GT3 R. The Huber Motorsport duo gained four positions over the course of the race. Seventh place went to Chilean Benjamin Hites and Marco Mapelli (I/both GRT Grasser-Racing-Team) in a Lamborghini Huracán GT3 Evo2. They were followed home in eighth place by Kim-Luis Schramm (Meuspath) and Igor Walilko (PL/both FK Performance Motorsport) in a BMW M4 GT3. Alain Valente (CH) and Ralf Aron (EST) were ninth in the second Mercedes-AMG run by Haupt Racing Team. The final place in the top ten went to 17-year-old Dylan Yip (MAC) and Kwanda Mokoena (ZAF/both Liqui Moly Team Engstler) in an Audi R8 LMS GT3 Evo2.
