Porsche drivers Pichler and Bönighausen win, ahead of team-mates Kastelic and Lefterov. Hirsiger and Zulauf on the podium again in third place in the Lamborghini. Finn Zulauf ends the weekend on top in the “Road to DTM”.
Home win in Austria: Local favourite Leo Pichler (24) from Weiz and Colin Bönighausen (21/Isernhagen) won Sunday’s race in a Porsche 911 GT3 R run by Austrian team Razoon – more than racing. They crossed the finish line 5.8 seconds clear of their team-mates Mark Kastelic (18/SLO) and Pavel Lefterov (28/BGR), who made it a perfect day at their team’s home event. After 15 years, Pichler becomes the first Austrian driver to claim an ADAC GT Masters victory on home soil.
“Winning a race here has always been a big dream of mine. It feels incredible. The whole day has been perfect, with the good starting position and this strong race. The team did a superb job of preparing the cars, and every single one of them more than deserves this one-two,” said a beaming Pichler. His team-mate Bönighausen was contesting his very first weekend in the ADAC GT Masters: “I am mega happy. We were hoping to win yesterday, but unfortunately luck was not on our side. Today went better for us. Thank you to the team, the car was mega.” Felix Hirsiger (27/CHE) and Finn Zulauf (21/Königstein im Taunus/both Liqui Moly Team Engstler Motorsport) completed the podium.
Kastelic started the race from pole position in 21 degrees and glorious sunshine, and held onto the lead until he made a slight mistake. That allowed his team-mate Pichler to slip past and into the lead in the second Porsche 911 GT3 R. From that moment on, first Pichler and then his team-mate Bönighausen raced away to take a comfortable victory. In the end, the overwhelming feeling for Kastelic and Lefterov was also joy at a podium on their debut weekend in the ADAC GT Masters and a one-two for the team. “I am incredibly happy for Razoon. We did not deserve to win today, as Leo and Colin were simply the better duo and faster than us,” said Kastelic. “Leo was always close to me after the start and, even without my mistake in the final corner, I would not have battled to hold him off and potentially put the one-two at risk. It was my first weekend and I claimed my first podium. I am delighted with that.”
Hirsiger and Zulauf came home third, 7.3 seconds behind the winners. That result was enough to ensure yesterday’s winning pair, in a Lamborghini Huracán GT3 Evo 2 run by Liqui Moly Team Engstler Motorsport, take an early lead in the championship. Zulauf also leads the “Road to DTM” competition after the opening weekend. “From our perspective, it was really a perfect race, as the Porsche were out of reach for us today,” said a happy Hirsiger. “We both had to race at the limit and without any mistakes for a whole hour, in order to make it onto the podium here. We achieved all the goals we had set ourselves. It goes without saying that we don’t want to give up top spot in the table now.”
Fourth place went to Tim Zimmermann (29/Langenargen) and Leyton Fourie (20/ZAF/both FK Performance Motorsport) in a BMW M4 GT3 Evo. Behind them were Niklas Kalus (20/Duisburg) and Kiano Blum (18/AUT/both Haupt Racing Team) in a Ford Mustang GT3, and Storm Gjerdrum (16/NOR) and Fabio Rauer (19/Stolberg/both FK Performance Motorsport) in the second BMW. Fellow BMW racers Sandro and Juliano Holzem (21/Polch/both Schubert Motorsport) came home seventh, followed by the newcomers from HGL Racing with Robin Rogalski (25/POL) and Simon Connor Primm (21/Großschirna) at the wheel of an Audi R8 LMS GT3 Evo 2. Max Cuccarese (19/ITA) and Alain Valente (29/CHE/both Haupt Racing Team) were ninth in a Ford, while Jamie Day (20/GBR) and Baudouin Detout (25/FRA) completed the top ten in an Aston Martin Vantage GT3 Evo for the second team making its debut, Comtoyou Racing. Victory in the Pro-AM Cup again went to Ernst Kirchmayr (70/AUT) and Axcil Jefferies (34/ZWE/both Baron Motorsport). The guest starters from Baron Motorsport finished twelfth in a Ferrari 296 GT3.
The next ADAC GT Masters race weekend takes place from 22nd to 25th May in Zandvoort, Netherlands. The second foreign outing for the ADAC’s GT3 series will again feature on the support programme for the DTM. Tickets for an unforgettable Whit weekend start at € 49 and are available at dtm.com.
