Jules Gounon (21, F) and Daniel Keilwitz (26, DEU, both Callaway Competition) have won the second of two races at the Sachsenring in the 2016 ADAC GT Masters. The new Corvette C7 has thus secured its maiden win in the Super Sports Car League. In a dramatic late burst of action, Philip Geipel (29, DEU) and Rahel Frey (30, CH, both YACO Racing) finished second ahead of Florian Stoll (34, DEU) and Laurens Vanthoor (24, B, both kfzteile24 – APR Motorsport). The second and third placed cars were both Audi R8. “My first win in the ADAC GT Masters, and a first victory for the Corvette C7,” said a delighted Gounon. “What more could I want from today?”
Daniel Keilwitz ploughs his way through the field
After the lights on the gantry went out, pole-setter Luca Ludwig initially held on to the lead. Meanwhile, Keilwitz had made a lightning start, moving up from ninth to third. On the second lap, he also left Laurens Vanthoor trailing behind. After starting from P2, Daniel Abt (23, DEU, Bentley Team ABT) in a Bentley Continental settled back into fourth. The leading group in the first stint consisted of four supercars with different badges on their grilles. Keilwitz continued to display superb racing form. On the seventh lap, he staged a smart overtaking manoeuvre to get past Ludwig and then put several seconds between himself and his closest pursuer. On the 13th lap, Ludwig also had to cede position to Vanthoor.
After the mandatory pit stop, Jules Gounon held on to the lead inherited from team-mate Keilwitz. The seven-second lead they had built up was eroded when the safety car was deployed after Andreas Weishaupt (43, DEU, Bentley Team ABT) spun off track. But even this setback did not faze the young Frenchman, who is contesting his first season in the ADAC GT Masters. He ultimately crossed the line four and a half seconds ahead of the field. First place in the overall standings also gave him victory in the Junior classification.
Philip Geipel had the crowds in the stands at the Sachsenring in raptures of delight. Following team-mate Rahel Frey’s fine preparatory work during the first stint of the race, the local favourite from nearby Plauen went on an impressive charge to cross the finish line in second place, securing the first podium of the season for his team, YACO Racing. Florian Stoll and Laurens Vanthoor achieved their second Top Three finish of the season in a thrilling battle for third place over the last two laps.
Christer Jöns (28, DEU) and Daniel Abt secured the best result of the season for Bentley Team ABT by finishing fourth. Luca Stolz (20, DEU) and Gerhard Tweraser (27, A, both GRT-Grasser-Racing Team) gained almost as many places as Geipel and Frey and booked the best-placed finish for a Lamborghini with P5. Audi drivers Connor De Phillippi (23, USA) and Christopher Mies (26, DEU, both Montaplast by Land-Motorsport) placed eighth behind fellow Audi entrants Daniel Dobitsch (31, A) and Edward Sandström (37, S, both kfzteile24 – APR Motorsport), thereby narrowly defending their lead in the standings on reigning champions Sebastian Asch (29, DEU) and Luca Ludwig (27, DEU, both AMG Team Zakspeed). Norbert Siedler (33, A) and Jaap van Lagen (39, NL, both HB Racing WDS Bau) in another Lamborghini Huracán and Christiaan Frankenhout (34, NL) partnered by Christopher Haase (28, DEU, both Car Collection Motorsport) in an Audi R8 completed the Top Ten.
Rahel Frey : « I had overheated my tyres a bit, but that’s due to the high level of performance in the ADAC GT Masters. Then we had a perfect pit stop – that was the reason for our success. Philip overtook some opponents by outbraking them, and we also benefited from a few penalties incurred by others. It’s great to be standing on the podium. »
Trophy victory for Rolf Ineichen
Sebastian Asch (29, DEU) and Luca Ludwig (27, DEU, both AMG team Zakspeed) opened the second race weekend of the 2016 ADAC GT Masters with their second win of the season. In the first of two races at Sachsenring, the defending champions brought their Mercedes-AMG home ahead of the two Audi R8s driven by Connor De Phillippi (23, USA) and Christopher Mies (26, DEU, both Montaplast by Land-Motorsport) and by the pairing of Daniel Dobitsch (31, A) and Edward Sandström (37, S, both kfzteile24 – APR Motorsport). “It doesn’t get much better than this,” said Asch. “I’ve often tried my luck here at Sachsenring, and today it finally came together for us with this race win.”
Pole-setter Luca Stolz defends lead in first half of the race
From the off, Luca Stolz (20, DEU, GRT Grasser Racing Team) in the Lamborghini Huracán successfully converted his pole position into the race lead. Sebastian Asch, starting from second place, lost three positions and dropped back to fifth. Christer Jöns (28, DEU, Bentley Team ABT) was unable to enjoy his temporary second place for even a full lap, as a technical problem with his Bentley Continental demoted him to the rear of the field. Shortly before the 25-minute mark and the commencement of the ten-minute pit stop window, Asch regained two positions on the track.
But a spin by the Porsche of Robert Renauer (31, DEU) and Martin Ragginger (28, A, both Precote Herberth Motorsport) towards the halfway mark brought out the safety car. As some of the teams had already completed their mandatory stops, the field was thrown into disarray. When all the driver changes were complete and a clearer picture emerged, Luca Ludwig, team-mate of Sebastian Asch, was in the lead, while Gerhard Tweraser (27, A), team-mate of Luca Stolz at GRT, was way back in tenth.
Ludwig defended his leadership with aplomb through to the finish, thereby securing the first ever ADAC GT Masters win for a Mercedes at the Sachsenring. The remaining podium positions went to two Audi R8s driven by Connor De Phillippi and Christopher Mies and by Daniel Dobitsch and Edward Sandström who were likewise beneficiaries of the pit stop reshuffle. De Phillippi and Mies were winners in the Junior class and also defended their lead in the drivers’ standings. For Dobitsch and Sandström, these were their first points of the season.
Behind the best-placed Corvette of Jules Gounon (21, F) and Daniel Keilwitz (26, DEU, both Callaway Competition) in fourth came Fabian Hamprecht (20, DEU) and Guy Smith (41, GB) who brought their Bentley Continental home in P5 despite a five-second pit-stop penalty and were pleased to secure their first points of this season. Stolz and Tweraser, who had been in P1 at the mid-way point in another Audi R8, managed to salvage P7 at the finish line just behind Markus Winkelhock (35, DEU) and Markus Pommer (25, DEU, both Phoenix Racing) in sixth. David Jahn (25, DEU) and Klaus Bachler (24, A, both KÜS TEAM75 Bernhard) in the best-placed Porsche 911, local driver Philip Geipel (29, DEU) and Rahel Frey (30, CH, both YACO Racing) in the Audi R8 and the Lamborghini pairing of Florian Spengler (28, DEU) and Emanuele Zonzini (22, RSM, both Bonaldi Motorsport) booked the remaining points-scoring positions eight to ten.
Race 1 Standings Press release ADAC GT Masters]]>
