Paddock Radar from the Dekra Lausitzring

The ADAC GT Masters season-opener at the Dekra Lausitzring delivered some new records and some interesting stories. The paddock radar from the first weekend of the ADAC’S proving ground for young GT3 drivers.

Newcomers dominate the season-opener

Off to a flyer: rookies Simon Birch and Leo Pichler won both races at the weekend. Niklas Kalus also finished the top 3 on Saturday, ensuring that 50 percent of the racers on the podium were rookies. The driver from the Haupt Racing Team also secured pole position in Sunday’s race with his Ford Mustang GT3 – also making a first appearance in the ADAC GT Masters. He followed the example set by Finn Zulauf from Paul Motorsport, who had put his Lamborghini Huracán GT3 Evo2 into the top spot on the grid in his very first qualifying session in the ADAC’s competition for young GT3 drivers.

Niklas Kalus from the Haupt Racing Team put the new Ford Mustang GT3 in pole position © Photo: ADAC

First pole for Ford

Fans of the Ford brand had been forced to wait 3521 days to enjoy another pole position for the US carmaker in the ADAC GT Masters. Niklas Kalus posted a time of 1:20.250 minutes to claim pole position at the Dekra Lausitzring with the Ford Mustang GT3. A Ford car had not topped the grid in the ADAC GT Masters since 2015, when Frank Kechele from Lambda Performance set the best time in qualifying in the Ford GT at the Hockenheimring. A car from the same brand had also claimed top spot in the past at the Dekra Lausitzring: Marc Hennerici raced the Ford GT from Matech GT Racing to pole position in 2008, lapping in 1:23.471 minutes. Seventeen years later, Haupt Racing driver Kalus posted a lap time that was 3.221 second faster.

Maximum yield

Simon Birch may well have had some luggage issues when leaving the Lausitz, as the 18-year-old Dane had to cram a host of trophies into his suitcase. The two cups from the overall wins in the ADAC GT Masters were joined by another two for victories in the Silver Cup. The Razoon driver also won the Road to DTM. Five trophies after his debut weekend - you can’t beat that.

Home race for Paul Motorsport

The team from Dresden were looking forward to their big home race with numerous fans, partners and friends. The team headquarters are just 60 kilometres from the Dekra Lausitzring. The omens were promising: Finn Zulauf claimed pole position on Saturday and dominated the race with team-mate Simon Conor Primm, only to tumble back to last place due to tyre damage just before the finish. The local heroes endured worse luck on Sunday, retiring on the first lap.

The drivers in the ADAC GT Masters 2025 © Photo: ADAC

2025 class photo

It was time to “say cheese” before the second qualifying session on Sunday. The 28 drivers in the ADAC GT Masters gathered for the traditional group photo for the 2025 season.

Best newcomer in the history of the ADAC GT Masters

Razoon – more than racing made ADAC GT Masters history at the Lausitzring. The Austrian team marked their series debut by celebrating two wins in two races, an achievement that has not been matched by any other team making a maiden appearance in the ADAC’s competition for young GT3 drivers. Only Toksport WRT made a similarly good start, competing in a full ADAC GT Masters season for the first time in 2020. Maro Engel and Luca Stolz claimed first and second places in that year’s season opener at the Lausitzring. Up to now, there had only ever been one double victory on the first race weekend: In 2009, Marc Hennerici and Luca Ludwig won both opening races in the Corvette Z06.R GT3 for Callaway Competition.

Successful endurance debut

Fans and drivers alike were delighted with the introduction of the endurance format last year. This event at the Lausitzring saw both races take place using the endurance format for the first time. A long service that included a tyre change, combined with a short pit stop to refuel, gave the teams plenty of options for various strategies. These resulted in plenty of thrilling duels and tactical tweaks for the 52,000 spectators at the track and watching at home on Sport1, Joyn or ServusTV ON to enjoy, as the lead changed hands on numerous occasions.

The birthday cake for Salman Owega © Photo: ADAC

Birthday party at the Lausitzring

There was a party atmosphere on Sunday in the Haupt Racing Team pit box. Salman Owega celebrated his 20th birthday on the second day of racing. The driver from Cologne was presented with a specially decorated chocolate cake in the pits. However, the 2023 ADAC GT Masters champion made his own birthday present on the track: He put his Ford Mustang GT3 onto the front row of the grid in qualifying.