Second win of the season for Liqui Moly Team Engstler Motorsport in Zandvoort. Double podium for FK Performance with Zimmermann/Fourie and Gjerdrum/Rauer. Leyton Fourie wins Road-to-DTM classification in Zandvoort.
Victory for ADAC GT Masters championship leaders in the Netherlands. Felix Hirsiger (28/CHE)/Finn Zulauf (21/Königstein im Taunus/both Liqui Moly Team Engstler Motorsport) in the Lamborghini Huracán GT3 Evo won the second race in Zandvoort. They crossed the finish line 7.799 seconds ahead of the previous day’s winners Tim Zimmermann (29/Langenargen)/Leyton Fourie (20/ZAF/both FK Performance Motorsport) in the BMW M4 GT3 Evo. Their team-mates Storm Gjerdrum (16/NOR)/Fabio Rauer (19/Stolberg) in the second BMW completed the podium. “It was a perfect race. We weren’t expecting to win at all, which makes it feel even better,” said a delighted Zulauf. Team-mate Hirsiger added: “It was incredibly difficult standing in the pit watching Finn, but he stayed so calm and composed and did a fantastic job. We got everything we could out of this weekend and are hoping that the Lausitzring will continue in the same way.” Their second win of the season sees the duo extend their lead in the table.
At the start of the race, polesitter Kiano Blum (19/AUT/Haupt Racing Team) in the Ford Mustang GT3 initially retained his lead. Behind him, Fourie and his team-mate Jan Duran (18/ESP) settled into second and third place, while Hirsiger had to make do with fourth place. “At the start, it was crucial to take only calculated risks and keep up with the pack to allow us to react to the strategy of the cars ahead of us,” explained Hirsiger. After a safety car phase, a three-way battle for third place unfolded between Hirsiger, Duran and Pavel Lefterov (28/BGR/Razoon - more than Racing) in the Porsche 911 GT3 R, before Hirsiger pitted for the driver changeover. “Our strategy worked even better than expected,” laughed Zulauf, who ended up taking the lead thanks to the early pit stop. “When I rejoined the track, my engineer told me to drive in qualifying mode. The car was running really well, and Felix handed the car over to me with the tyres in great shape – if he hadn’t, this win wouldn’t have been possible.”
The pit stops proved costly for the Ford Mustang GT3 that had been leading until that point, which Niklas Kalus (20/Duisburg/Haupt Racing Team) took over from Blum. He rejoined the track in fifth place and was then passed immediately by the BMW of Fabio Rauer (19/Stolberg/FK Performance Motorsport) after a wheel-to-wheel battle lasting several turns. Rauer used that momentum to his advantage and moments later also overtook the Porsche of Mark Kastelic (18/SLO/ Razoon - more than Racing) and his team-mate Joseph Ellerine (22/ZAF).
The race stoppage following an incident did nothing to alter the top three positions, however, Ellerine’s mistake on the restart saw him drop down from fourth place to the back of the field. This left FK Performance Motorsport in second and third place. Following their victory the day before, Fourie/Zimmermann’s P2 finish saw them climb to second in the championship. “We repeated last year’s Zandvoort weekend, just with the results in a different order. Given the success ballast after yesterday’s win, P2 was the best we could do,” explained Fourie, who also won the Road-to-DTM classification in Zandvoort. “Tyre wear is already a real challenge here, and the extra weight doesn’t make things any easier. I’m very happy with the result and am thankful to the team for a great car. The season got off to a tricky start, but we knew we’d be strong here and we made the most of it.”
For Rauer and Storm Gjerdrum, who worked their way up the field from ninth on the grid to P3 during the race, it was the first podium of their ADAC GT Masters career. “I’m over the moon. It was a good, but very eventful race,” beamed rookie Rauer. “So much happened in Storm’s stint. The car felt great again after the stop. When the Porsche emerged from the pits, I seized the opportunity straight away and it worked. I had to react quickly, and it was the right call, otherwise it could have been a real fight for the podium at the end.”
Kastelic/Lefterov ended up in P4 ahead of their team-mates Leo Pichler (24/AUT)/Colin Bönighausen (21/Isernhagen/both Razoon - more than Racing) in the second Porsche 911 GT3 R. Sixth place went to polesitters Blum/Kalus in the best-placed Ford Mustang GT3 ahead of John Paul Southern (24/USA)/Jonas Karklys (36/LIT/both Liqui Moly Team Engstler Motorsport) in the Lamborghini. Jamie Day (20/GBR)/Baudouin Detout (25/FRA/both Comtoyou Racing) in the Aston Martin Vantage GT3 Evo secured P8, twins Sandro and Juliano Holzem (21/Polch/both Schubert Motorsport) finished ninth in the BMW. Tim Hütter (19/AUT)/Ethan Brown (21/SGP/both Liqui Moly Team Engstler Motorsport) in the third Lamborghini completed the top 10.
The third race weekend of the 2026 season will be held at the Dekra Lausitzring from 19 to 21 June. Tickets for the event as part of the DTM can be purchased on dtm.com and start at 49 euros.
