The second race weekend of the German GT Championship provided some fascinating facts and stories. Take a look in the notebook from Austria.
Another record
25,000 fans flocked to the Red Bull Ring to watch round two of the ADAC GT Masters – a new record for the series in Austria! After the record crowd at the season-opener at Motorsport Arena Oschersleben, this is already the second spectator record of the year.
Wins number one and two for rookies
Ben Green and Niklas Krütten claimed their maiden win in the German GT Championship at the Red Bull Ring on Saturday. This was also the first success for the new BMW M4 GT3 in the ADAC GT Masters. Starting from third on the grid, the Schubert Motorsport rookies fought their way to the front of the field and went on to claim the top spot on the podium. The duo followed this on Sunday with a lights-to-flag victory to claim a brace of wins for the 19th time in the history of the series.
Dazzling guest start
JP Motorsport lined up with a McLaren 720S GT3 as a guest starter in both races at the Red Bull Ring, as the cult car returned to the ADAC GT Masters for the first time since 2014. Former Formula 1 driver Christian Klien and Dennis Lind shared the driving duties and actually set the fastest time in the FP2 at the wheel of the gold McLaren. Their best result was ninth place in the Sunday race. “The guest start with JP Motorsport at the Red Bull Ring was great. The ADAC GT Masters is a cool and mega-strong series. All in all, it was incredible fun,” said local favourite Klien.
Almost a new record
The two races at the Red Bull Ring were the second and third fastest in the history of the series, with an average speed of 165 km/h. Niklas Krütten and Ben Green completed Saturday’s race distance in 1:02:40.683 hours, and were only about 0.4 seconds slower on Sunday. The fastest race was won by Christian Engelhardt and Rolf Ineichen in 2017. At the wheel of a Lamborghini Huracán GT3, they were roughly 30 seconds faster than this year’s victorious BMW duo.
Action on the ground and in the air
Before the start of Sunday’s race, the Red Bull Rotorwings provided plenty of action in the air above the racetrack. During the grid walk, the three gyrocopters flew over the circuit in formation, drawing the Austrian national colours in the sky above Styria. After all, Red Bull does give you wings.
Most successful team
The two victories at the Red Bull Ring were wins number 12 and 13 for Schubert Motorsport in the ADAC GT Masters. This makes the Austrian team the outfit with the third most victories in the series, behind Callaway Competition and Reiter Engineering, and the most successful team still active. The Schubert crew has already been more successful with the new BMW M4 GT3 than it was with its predecessor the M6 GT3, with which Schubert only managed one win. The team had previously claimed ten victories between 2012 and 2015 with the Z4 GT3.
No work for the safety car driver
Not once has the safety car been required to take to the track and lead the field in a dangerous situation. The Audi R8, which has sported the pink look of series partner BWT since 2021, and its driver Ronald Dobmeier have now gone four races without being called into action.
The Green Hell is calling
Some drivers and teams headed straight to the Nürburgring, which hosts the 50th edition of the ADAC TotalEnergies 24h Nürburgring this weekend. Among them was the victorious Schubert Motorsport team. On the way, however, the team stopped in at its home circuit, Motorsport Arena Oschersleben, to use its own workshop to prepare Nicky Catsburg and Jesse Krohn’s car for the Eifel marathon.
Old acquaintances
Diego Alessi, 2013 ADAC GT Masters champion, is contesting a full season again for this year for the first time since taking a break for several years. The Italian starts in the Fanatec GT2 European Series alongside Luca Pirri in an Audi R8 LMS GT2 for the LP Racing team. The GT2 series made its debut on the support programme for the German GT Championship at the Red Bull Ring.
