Simon Connor Primm (21/Großschirma), at the wheel of an Audi R8 LMS GT3 Evo 2, set Friday’s fastest time in the ADAC GT Masters at the Salzburgring. The HGL Racing driver’s time of 1:17.686 minutes was the fastest of the day, and came in the morning session. The 21-year-old backed up an impressive performance with the fastest time of the afternoon. However, conditions had changed by this point, meaning his afternoon time was 0.379 seconds slower than his fastest lap. “We did what we intended to do, and made some more improvements. We also worked on the pit stops, and I feel right at home in the car. If it rains in qualifying on Saturday, it will be a question of who can adapt fastest to the change in conditions. We have not yet driven in the wet, but when it comes to it, I just have to do my best in all conditions and hope that the outcome is as good as it was today,” said Primm.
The ADAC GT Masters took to the track at the Salzburgring for the second time in the history of the series in summery conditions, and with temperatures around 20 degrees. The temperature rose significantly in the afternoon, which is why the best times all came in the morning session. Title contender Leyton Fourie (20/ZAF/FK Performance Motorsport) produced the second-fastest lap of the day. His BMW M4 GT3 Evo was 0.032 seconds slower than Primm. “The car feels good, the balance is right, and we got the most out of the package. As far as the long run pace and tomorrow’s race in general are concerned, that is out of our hands,” said Fourie. “Plus, the weather could play a role tomorrow. Our car is not usually so strong in these conditions, but perhaps it will be a different story on this track. It is hard to say, because I have never driven here in wet conditions.”
Third place in practice went to Colin Bönighausen (Isernhagen) in a Porsche 911 GT3 R. The 21-year-old returned to action at the Salzburgring following a break with a private injury. Bönighausen and his team-mate Leo Pichler (24/AUT) from Weiz missed out on top spot by 0.054 seconds at their team’s (Razoon – more than Racing) home event. Championship leader Felix Hirsiger (28/CHE) completed his best lap of the circuit in 1:17.804 minutes in a Lamborghini Huracán GT3 Evo 2, making him fourth fastest. Rounding out the top five was Emil Gjerdrum (1/NOR/Haupt Racing Team) in a Ford Mustang GT3, 0.152 seconds slower than Primm.
The first qualifying session of the weekend starts at 09:30 on Saturday, and will be broadcast live on the ADAC’s YouTube channel. The current forecast is for qualifying to take place in wet or mixed conditions. The first 80-minute endurance race gets underway at 14:05. Sport1 is showing the race live on free-to-air TV, while the action will also be streamed on Joyn, Servus TV On and Youtube.com/ADACMotorsports.
