NURBURG, Germany — Felix Hirsiger (28/CHE)/Finn Zulauf (21/Königstein im Taunus/both Liqui Moly Team Engstler Motorsport) secured their third victory of the ADAC GT Masters season in the first race at the Nürburgring on Saturday.
The duo in their Lamborghini Huracán GT3 Evo 2 crossed the finish line 5.737 seconds ahead of Niklas Kalus (21/Duisburg)/Kiano Blum (19/AUT/both Haupt Racing Team) in their Ford Mustang GT3 and reclaimed the championship lead.
Their closest rivals in the standings, Tim Zimmermann (29/Langenargen)/Leyton Fourie (20/ZAF/both FK Performance Motorsport), finished third.
“We’re very happy. We really got everything possible out of the car. I had a good start and knew the first ten to twenty minutes of the race would be crucial to have a buffer at the end to conserve the tires,” explained Hirsiger.
Teammate Zulauf added: “Tire wear is extreme in these temperatures, so in my half of the race I tried to bring the win home safely. It feels good to be leading the championship again. I like being the one being chased. But what’s really important for us is to be at the top of the standings after the last race of the season.”
In 28-degree heat and bright sunshine, Hirsiger started the race from pole position in his Lamborghini and defended his lead. Behind him, a three-way battle developed between Fourie, Kalus, and his Ford teammate Emil Gjerdrum (19/NOR).
As a result, Kalus overtook Gjerdrum for second place, while Fourie’s BMW dropped back to fourth. Kalus and later Blum secured second place in the home race for their Drees-based Haupt Racing Team and were overjoyed after a difficult few weeks.
“It’s a huge relief to be back on the podium. We’re all extremely happy,” beamed Kalus. “When I was told after qualifying that I was third, I could hardly believe it because none of us expected to be so far ahead. At the start, I really wanted to gain a position this time, and I managed to do that. From then on, Kiano and I pushed every lap, but first place was too far away. Many thanks to HRT, who changed the entire setup overnight and made the podium finish possible.”
Gjerdrum initially slotted in behind Kalus, but after the first quarter of the race, he had to let Fourie pass him again.
“The start was a bit tricky because the outside line was still dirty from the trucks before,” Fourie explained, regarding why Kalus and Gjerdrum were able to overtake him. “I tried to be aggressive, hoping to get a chance to close the gap on the Lamborghini. Unfortunately, that backfired, and both Fords passed me. When the Ford made a mistake, I was able to get past again, but that was all I could manage. With this third place, we got the maximum we could for the championship today.”
Twin brothers Sandro and Juliano Holzem (22/Polch/both Schubert Motorsport) finished fourth in another BMW. The best-placed guest starters were Enrico Förderer (19/Leuterod) and Jay Mo Härtling (23/Sprockhövel/both SR Motorsport by Schnitzelalm) in their Mercedes-AMG GT3, finishing fifth.
This made Förderer the strongest rookie in his GT3 debut. Härtling had fought his way past Fabio Rauer (19/Stolberg) in a spectacular duel, who finished sixth together with Storm Gjerdrum (16/NOR) in their BMW.
Leo Pichler (24/AUT) and Alexander Tauscher (23/Mitterfels/both Razoon – more than Racing) finished seventh and eighth respectively, while Robin Rogalski (25/POL) and Simon Connor Primm (21/Großschirma/both HGL Racing) crossed the finish line in eighth and third place. Tauscher in the Porsche and Primm in the Audi engaged in a spectacular duel, driving almost a full lap side-by-side in their battle for position. Primm initially overtook Tauscher but had to relinquish the position shortly afterward.
The best Pro-Am team to finish was DTM team principal Gottfried Grasser (47/AUT) and Gerhard Tweraser (37/AUT/both GRT Grasser Racing Team) in their Lamborghini, coming in ninth. Mark Kastelic (18/SLO) and Pavel Lefterov (28/BGR/both Razoon – more than Racing) in their Porsche completed the top 10.
