Hantke and Bulatov claim their maiden ADAC GT Masters victory in the Audi R8 LMS GT3 Evo2. Jonas Karklys and Emil Gjerdrum triumph in the Pro-AM Cup. Championship leaders Owega and Wiebelhaus extend their advantage.
Scherer Sport PHX faced a mammoth task, but produced a sensational effort at the Red Bull Ring. Nico Hantke (21/Hürth) and Denis Bulatov (26), at the wheel of an Audi R8 LMS GT3 Evo2, won the Saturday race in the ADAC GT Masters – the first victory in this prestigious series for the team that was once formed from Phoenix Racing, and also the first Audi success since 2022 in the ADAC’s GT3 series. This was a remarkable performance, given the fact that the team had completely reassembled the car body following a crash last week. “It feels incredible to be stood on the top step of the podium for the first time. I am delighted for the whole team that their hard work for nights on end has paid dividends,” said a beaming Hantke. “Our goal was to win here, and we realised as early as Thursday that this was a real possibility.” His equally thrilled team-mate Bulatov added: “This win goes to our team, as this success would not have been possible without them. I am very pleased that it has finally worked out. Nico handed over to me with a good lead, but we had a few issues with the tyres towards the end. I was just hoping that there would not be a safety car and was counting down the laps.” The remaining places on the podium were shared between the drivers from Haupt Racing Team. Championship leaders Salman Owega (20/Cologne) and Finn Wiebelhaus (19/Obertshausen) were second in their Ford Mustang GT3, ahead of team-mates Max Reis (18/Ramstein) and Niklas Kalus (20/Duisburg).
Right from the world go, pole-sitter Hantke left nobody in any doubt as to Scherer Sport PHX’s ambitions: to win the race. Lap after lap he consistently pulled further away from the rest of the field, and at times led by nearly ten seconds. The Audi team eventually crossed the finish line with a 5.841-second lead. Behind them, Kalus and Owega were initially battling for third place, with Kalus eventually gaining the upper hand. The tide changed after the driver changeover, with Wiebelhaus now attacking his team-mate Reis. The two of them were embroiled in a fierce battle for the podium, with Wiebelhaus ultimately coming out on top. They both now set off in pursuit of twins Sandro and Juliano Holzem (21/Polch/Schubert Motorsport), who were running second at this point. Wiebelhaus was the first to find his way past Juliano Holzem and take second place. “Salman had a few difficulties with tyre pressure at the start, but the tyres were still in good nick when he handed over to me for my stint,” said Wiebelhaus. “I knew I was going to have to battle for position as soon as I left the pit lane. Our car was running superbly and I was able to show good pace and some nice overtaking manoeuvres. I am very happy with this result, especially with regard to the championship.”
Team-mate Reis was delighted with his podium, having also found his way past Holzem and into third place after a thrilling battle. “I am very happy. I would obviously have liked to have won, but the final few laps were really tough,” said the Mustang driver. “I was struggling with the car, but managed to stay calm and keep it under control.”
The Holzem twins eventually had to settle for fourth place in the BMW M4 GT3 Evo. Fifth place and victory in the Pro-AM Cup went to Jonas Karklys (36/LIT) and Emil Gjerdrum (18/NOR/Liqui Moly Team Engstler by GRT) in a Lamborghini Huracán GT3 Evo2, ahead of the fellow Lamborghini pairing of Finn Zulauf (20/Königsstein) and Simon Connor Primm (20/Großschirma/Paul Motorsport). Local favourites Leo Pichler (23/AT) and Simon Birch (18/DNK/Razoon – more than racing) came home seventh in a Porsche 911 GT3 R, followed by guest starters Ernst Kirchmayr (69/AUT) and Fabrizio Crestani (37/ITA/Baron Motorsport) in a Ferrari 296 GT3. Rounding out the top ten were BMW drivers Eduardo Coseteng (21/PHL) and Julian Hanses (28/Hilden/FK Performance Motorsport), and the Porsche duo of Alexander Schwarzer (36/DEU) and Alexander Fach (23/CHE/Fach Auto Tech).
Ford duo pulls clear at the top of the table
Second place in Saturday’s race was a big step forward in the title race for Owega and Wiebelhaus. With 152 points to their name, they now hold a 21-point lead over Tim Zimmermann (29/Langenargen) and Leyton Fourie (19/RSA/FK Performance Motorsport), who had to settle for eleventh place in the race, after a host of battles and incidents. Pichler and Birch still lie third, but now trail the championship leaders by 42 points.
Saturday’s ADAC GT Masters race will be replayed in full on Sky Sport Mix at 21:15. Qualifying for race two of the weekend begins at 08:15 on Sunday and will be shown live at youtube.com/ADACMotorsports.
