Win number two of the season for the BMW duo from FK Performance Motorsport. Linus Hahne and ADAC Stiftung Sport driver Thomas Rackl win the Junior competition. Cedric Fuchs takes victory in the Rookie classification in a Mercedes-AMG.
Gabriele Piana (38/ITA) and Berkay Besler (25/TUR, both FK Performance Motorsport) underlined their title ambitions in ADAC GT4 Germany with victory in Sunday’s race at the Sachsenring – and did so emphatically. Piana started the race from ninth on the grid and was leading by the time he handed the BMW M4 GT4 over to Besler, who went on to claim win number two of the season. Second place in another spectacular race went to fellow BMW racers Linus Hahne (21/Oelde) and ADAC Stiftung Sport driver Thomas Rackl (17/Berching, both ME Motorsport). Oskar Lind Kristensen (19/DNK) and Lachlan Robinson (21/AUS, both AVIA W&S Motorsport) completed the podium in a Porsche 718 Cayman GT4.
Prosport Racing driver Hugo Sasse (21/Aschersleben) started the race from pole position in an Aston Martin Vantage GT4. However, the driver of the opening laps was undoubtedly Rackl, who stormed through from third place to take the lead. Fellow BMW racer Piana was also in fine form and gained seven places in the first half of the race, before filling Rackl’s rear-view mirror. The two BMWs then battled it out for the lead for several laps. Piana had just overtaken Rackl when the youngster pulled into the pits for the driver changeover.
Piana’s team-mate Besler consistently extended the lead in the second part of the race, and eventually took victory with an advantage of more than ten seconds. Linus Hahne, who had taken over from Rackl, was initially overtaken by championship leader Enrico Förderer (18/Leuterod) in a Mercedes-AMG GT4 run by SR Motorsport by Schnitzelalm, but soon reclaimed second place. That meant Hahne and Rackl won the Junior competition for the first time in their career. A little later, Porsche driver Robinson also passed the Mercedes-AMG of Förderer. He then went on to finish third and claim the second podium of the season for himself and team-mate Kristensen.
Fourth place went to Philip Wiskirchen (21/Euskirchen) and Tim Reiter (26/Ostfildern, both ME Motorsport) in a BMW, ahead of yesterday’s runners-up, Hendrik Still (38/Kempenich) and Philipp Gogollok (19/Bad Homburg, both AVIA W&S Motorsport) in a Porsche, and fellow Porsche drivers Raphael Rennhofer (18/AUT) and Emil Heyerdahl (23/NOR, both Wimmer Werk Motorsport). Förderer and his partner Jay Mo Härtling (22/Sprockhövel) ended the race in seventh place. They were followed home by team-mates Cedric Fuchs (19/Holzappel) and Joel Mesch (21/Erkelenz, both SR Motorsport by Schnitzelalm), which earned Fuchs victory in the Rookie classification. Luis Moser (17/AUT) and Victor Nielsen (18/DNK, both Razoon - xAutomotive Racing) in a BMW and Alon Gabbay (21/ISR) and Thomas Gore (20/JAM, both AVIA W&S Motorsport) in a Porsche completed the top ten.
ADAC GT4 Germany now travels to the Red Bull Ring. Victory at the Sachsenring has seen Piana and Besler close to within just ten points of championship leaders Förderer and Härtling. With that in mind, it looks like being another extremely exciting race weekend for ADAC GT4 Germany in Austria.
Gabriele Piana – winner for FK Performance Motorsport: “I am almost speechless and thrilled with the win. The weekend started in difficult fashion with a crash in Free Practice 1. From that point on, the team did absolutely everything they could to get the car back out there – and, above all, to make it fast. And they pulled it off. Thank you, FK Performance Motorsport. My stint was a lot of fun and reminded me of 2023, when I also overtook so many cars here. We are in the thick of the title race – bring on the Red Bull Ring.”
Berkay Besler – winner for FK Performance Motorsport: “The team did an awesome job to provide us with a perfect car. After all, the race weekend started like a nightmare for us. Everyone pulled together and worked into the night. As such, this win belongs to the whole team. We have cut the gap in the title race significantly. We definitely did not expect to do that on Friday.”
Linus Hahne – second place for ME Motorsport: “I am very happy with the result. Thomas did a super job first and kept the car in the lead for a long time. Second place and victory in the Junior competition is a perfect way to end the weekend.”
Thomas Rackl – second place for ME Motorsport. “I would be lying if I said that I am completely happy. The winners had a slightly different tyre strategy to us today. However, it was still a super effort from the whole team. It felt great to lead for roughly half the race. That is something I am very proud of. I hope we can continue this way in the coming races.”
Lachlan Robinson – third place for AVIA W&S Motorsport: “It was an awesome weekend and I am happy with the podium. We were close to the podium yesterday, but were then a bit unfortunate. It was also nice to be back driving at the Sachsenring. I made my GT4 debut here in 2023. The track is great fun.”
Oskar Lind Kristensen – third place for AVIA W&S Motorsport: “It is super to be back on the podium in ADAC GT4 Germany. The team did a mega job and gave us a really good car.”
