HOCKENHEIM, Germany — The 2026 ADAC GT Masters champions are Felix Hirsiger (28/CHE) and Finn Zulauf (22/Königstein im Taunus).
The two Lamborghini drivers from Liqui Moly Team Engstler Motorsport secured their first title in the ADAC’s GT3 junior series with a victory at the Hockenheimring Baden-Württemberg.
With this win, Zulauf also clinched victory in the “Road to DTM” standings, thus securing entry fees for next year’s DTM season. The new champion duo finished ahead of their title rivals, Tim Zimmermann (30/Langenargen) and Leyton Fourie (21/ZAF/both FK Performance Motorsport). The BMW drivers crossed the finish line 5.680 seconds behind the new champions.
“I’m extremely happy, but I haven’t quite realized yet that we’re champions,” beamed Zulauf. “This is the first championship I’ve won from the sidelines. To be honest, my stint was more stressful than I would have liked. At some point, I realized I could build a small gap, but I really had to push hard lap after lap.”
Teammate Hirsiger had complete faith in Zulauf’s abilities at all times, yet he was still somewhat speechless after winning the title.
“This title is a dream come true. The pressure built up throughout the day, and I was really nervous before the race. Our competitors were so fast at the start and then right behind us. My own stint was one of the best I’ve ever had. I was so calm and collected and was really able to enjoy it. Thanks to Finn and our team.” Third place in the race went to Mark Kastelic (18/SLO)/Pavel Lefterov (28/BGR/both Razoon – more than Racing) in the Porsche 911 GT3 R.
Zulauf started the race from pole position and maintained his position. Behind him were Niklas Kalus (21/Duisburg/Haupt Racing Team) in the Ford Mustang GT3, Jamie Day (GBR/21/Comtoyou Racing) in the Aston Martin, and Fourie in the BMW.
In the battle for fourth place, Fourie was initially hit by Emil Gjerdrum (19/NOR/Haupt Racing Team) in the second Ford and dropped back, but Gjerdrum had to relinquish the position. Day then lost contact with the leading group after an unavoidable spin, leaving only Kalus in the Ford separating the two title contenders.
However, due to a technical defect, the Mustang retired after almost 20 minutes of racing, and Fourie inherited second place.
From that moment on, the two title contenders raced side-by-side around the track. The gap remained consistently between three and five seconds. Even the simultaneous driver change didn’t alter this.
Hirsiger maintained his lead and crossed the finish line ahead of Zimmermann. This secured Zimmermann and Fourie their second consecutive runner-up finish in the ADAC GT Masters.
“What can I say? The team did a fantastic job, the car was excellent, and Tim and I gave it our all to maintain our title hopes. Unfortunately, external factors beyond our control also played a role over the past few race weekends,” explained a disappointed Fourie after finishing second.
Behind the battle for the lead, Kastelic and Lefterov steadily worked their way forward from seventh on the grid to finish fourth. The duo made a late driver change, allowing them to overtake the Ford of Fabian Dybionka (17/POL) and Emil Gjerdrum (19/NOR/both Haupt Racing Team), who ultimately finished fourth. “The podium is well deserved,” beamed Kastelic after the races.
“The team put in a great pit stop, and we extracted the maximum from our package in these track conditions. Unfortunately, it wasn’t enough to close the gap to the leaders, but this podium is a great way to end the season.”
Fifth place went to Storm Gjerdrum (16/NOR)/Fabio Rauer (19/Stolberg) in the second BMW of FK Performance Motorsport. With these points, the Bremen-based team secured the team championship title with a 39-point lead over Liqui Moly Team Engstler Motorsport and a 44-point lead over Haupt Racing Team. After two runner-up finishes, this is FK Performance Motorsport’s first team championship victory.
Robin Rogalski (26/POL)/Simon Connor Primm (21/Großschirma/both HGL Racing) finished sixth in their Audi after some strong battles, followed by John Paul Southern (25/USA)/Jonas Karklys (36/LIT/both Liqui Moly Team Engstler Motorsport) in their Lamborghini.
The Pro-Am class victory in Sunday’s race went to the guest duo from Fulinrace Academy. Gerhard Tweraser (37/AUT)/Petr Fulin (49/CZE) finished eighth overall in their Audi R8 LMS GT3 Evo 2. The top ten was rounded out by two BMWs: Sandro and Juliano Holzem (22/Polch/both Schubert Motorsport) and Victor Nielsen (19/DNK)/Joseph Ellerine (23/ZAF/both FK Performance Motorsport).
