Victory on debut for Benjamin Sylvestersson and 18th win for partner Gabriele Piana. BMW and Porsche make it two manufacturers on the ADAC GT4 Germany podium. Hendrik Still and Tim Horrell win the PRO-AM classification.
Exciting wheel-to-wheel battles, remarkable overtaking manoeuvres, and classy fightbacks. ADAC GT4 Germany kicked off the 2026 season in spectacular fashion at the Red Bull Ring. A thrilling race was won by Gabriele Piana (39/ITA) and Benjamin Sylvestersson (18/FIN, both FK Performance Motorsport) in a BMW M4 GT4 Evo, having started from tenth on the grid. Porsche team AVIA W&S Motorsport also enjoyed an impressive start to the season with second place for Denny Berndt (21/Berlin) and Lachlan Robinson (22/AUS), and third for their team-mates Alon Gabbay (22/ISR) and Maximilian Schreyer (17/Marburg).
With glorious sunshine, blue skies and summery temperatures, Robinson started the race from pole position. The first half of the race saw the Australian embroiled in a captivating battle for the lead with Jan Philipp Springob (25/Olpe) in the Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT4 Evo of COSY Racing by ESM. The lead changed hands on multiple occasions, but it was eventually Robinson who came out on top. Another of the most impressive drivers in the first half of the race was undoubtedly Gabriele Piana. The Italian battled his way into third place from tenth on the grid and, in doing so, laid the foundation for what is already his 18th victory in ADAC GT4 Germany. Youngster Schreyer also looked really strong, and ended the first half of the race in fourth place.
The driver changeover took place at the midway point of the race. For Springob’s team-mate Philipp Gogollok (20/Bad Homburg), the stint immediately began with a disappointment. A technical issue meant he briefly came to a stop on the start/finish straight. And with that, any hopes of victory were dead and buried. The duo ended the race in tenth place.
That left a two-way battle for the win between Robinson’s partner Denny Berndt and Benjamin Sylvestersson, who replaced Piana in the FK Performance BMW. Sylvestersson ultimately came out on top and celebrated a fine win on his debut, which also earned him victory in the Junior classification. Behind Berndt, Schreyer’s partner Alon Gabbay completed the top three. Fourth place went to Lucas Cartelle (18/BEL) and Hudson Schwartz (16/USA, both CRT), who had started the race from 19th place in a Toyota GR Supra GT4 Evo2 – a brilliant fightback on their ADAC GT4 Germany debut.
In fifth place were local favourite Luis Moser (17/AUT) and Luca Link (22/Günzburg, both FK Performance Motorsport), ahead of fellow BMW drivers Lukas Stiefelhagen (18/NED) and Leon Bauchmüller (18/Kurchlinteln, both ME Motorsport). Stiefelhagen thus won the rookie competition. Roman Fellner-Feldegg (23/Landsberg am Lech) and Marek Böckmann (29/Lautersheim, both Prosport Racing) were seventh in a Mercedes-AMG GT4. The Porsche duo of Hendrik Still (38/Kempenich) and Tim Horrell (35/USA, both AVIA W&S Motorsport) finished eighth to take victory in the PRO-AM class. Marius Schmid (18/Tengen) and Alex Connor (22/GBR, both BWT Mücke Motorsport) ended the race in ninth place.
Gabriele Piana – winner for FK Performance Motorsport: “For me, every win feels like my first. You never get bored of winning in ADAC GT4 Germany. I was initially a little disappointed after qualifying, as we were a long way off the front-runners. However, the track developed in our favour in the race. We are super happy with the win.”
Benjamin Sylvestersson – winner for FK Performance Motorsport: “I will never forget my first victory in ADAC GT4 Germany. Thank you to the team and Gabriele, who gave it their all today. It was a really excellent race. There was no messing about in my stint – but I was ultimately able to come out on top and open a small gap. Our goal for tomorrow is a second win.”
Lachlan Robinson – runner-up for AVIA W&S Motorsport: “We would obviously have liked to have won. However, I am also happy with second place. We got the maximum out of what was a difficult race for us. I think the conditions today suited the opposition more than us. We start from third place tomorrow. Let’s see what we can achieve then.”
Denny Berndt – runner-up for AVIA W&S Motorsport: “Second place is a good result, particularly in the context of the whole season, as we scored a lot of points. I had an interesting battle with the BMW. It was a nice race and, on the whole, a good day.”
Alon Gabbay – third place for AVIA W&S Motorsport: “As a racing driver, you definitely want more than third place, but we are satisfied with the result. I am obviously also pleased for Maximilian and the team, who did a class job. We are on the right track and can hardly wait for Sunday’s race.”
Maximilian Schreyer – third place for AVIA W&S Motorsport: “I am very happy with the podium. That is a super start to the 2026 season for us. I really like the Red Bull Ring. The layout suits me. I think we will be able to attack again in race two, so we might be able to get an even better result.”
