The first pole position of the 2026 ADAC GT Masters season at the Red Bull Ring goes to Finn Zulauf (21/Königstein im Taunus) and Liqui Moly Team Engstler Motorsport. The 21-year-old set a time of 1:28.563 minutes in his Lamborghini Huracán GT3 Evo 2. Zulauf, who shares the car with Felix Hirsiger (27/CHE), secured the third pole of his ADAC GT Masters career and, like last year, when he also finished top of qualifying, will start the opening race of the season from the front of the grid.
“I thought we might be looking at a top five result, and am very happy that it is actually the pole. I am really pleased for the team, who did such a great job throughout the whole winter. This is a super way to start the year,” said a delighted Zulauf, who presented Engstler Motorsport with its first pole position in the ADAC GT Masters since 2011. “The car felt very good, but I needed a few laps to adapt in the cooler temperatures. The balance was a bit different, but fortunately everything came together in the end, and I was able to secure the pole. Our car also felt super during the practice sessions on Friday, when it was warmer, so I am very confident ahead of the race.”
With ambient temperatures as low as 1.8 degrees, and the track temperature a lowly 10 degrees, the Red Bull Ring may have been cold, but it was also bathed in glorious sunshine. No clear favourite materialised in the 20-minute qualifying session, as the lead changed hands on a regular basis. With the session drawing to a close, Jamie Day (GBR/20/Comtoyou Racing) in the Aston Martin Vantage GT3 looked set to take pole. However, he was relegated to second place in the final moments of qualifying, and ultimately missed out on pole position by 0.020 seconds. “I am really happy with the result. This is the first time in the ADAC GT Masters for the team and me, so to put the car on the front row at the first attempt is super,” said a happy Day.
Third place on the grid for Saturday’s race went to Colin Bönighausen (21/Isernhagen). The rookie in the Porsche 911 GT3 R crossed the line 0.091 seconds down on Zulauf’s time at the home event for his team Razoon – more than Racing. He will take his place on the second row, next to another rookie in Kiano Blum (18/AUT/Haupt Racing Team). The Austrian was 0.206 seconds off the top time in his Ford Mustang GT3. Rounding out the top five is his team-mate Max Reis (19/Ramstein), who was 0.415 seconds slower than the pole time.
The whole ADAC GT Masters field was very closely matched at the Red Bull Ring. 13 drivers ended qualifying within one second of each other. As such, it promises to be an exciting opening race with many battles for position. Race one starts at 15:10 and will be streamed live on Joyn, ServusTV On and Youtube.com/ADACMotorsports.
