KLETTWITZ, Germany — Sandro and Juliano Holzem (22/Polch/both Schubert Motorsport) won their first ADAC GT Masters race at the Dekra Lausitzring.
The twin brothers finished 3.141 seconds ahead of their BMW M4 GT3 Evo teammates Tim Zimmermann (29/Langenargen) and Leyton Fourie (20/ZAF/both FK Performance Motorsport).
It was the 14th ADAC GT Masters victory for the long-established Schubert Motorsport team. Max Reis (19/Ramstein) and Emil Gjerdrum (19/NOR/both Haupt Racing Team) completed the podium in their Ford Mustang GT3.
“A huge weight has been lifted off my shoulders. We’ve often shown that we’re capable of winning and have often come close, but we’ve always had bad luck. Many thanks to our team for the good strategy and the great car,” exclaimed Sandro Holzem. His twin brother was equally beaming: “It’s like a spell has finally been broken. We are very happy. We have waited so long for this victory and the performance was always there. We finally did it. In my stint, I tried to maintain the pace and not make any mistakes, and I am very relieved that our performance has finally been rewarded.”
The Dekra Lausitzring was still damp after a rain shower at the start of the first endurance race of the season, and the temperatures were also somewhat cooler at 26 degrees Celsius air and 32 degrees Celsius asphalt. Sandro Holzem, who started the race from pole position, remained unchallenged in the lead, followed by Kiano Blum (19/AUT/Haupt Racing Team) in the Ford and Zimmermann in the BMW.
Behind them, Felix Hirsiger (28/CHE/Liqui Moly Team Engstler Motorsport) in the Lamborghini Huracán GT3 Evo 2 overtook Colin Bönighausen (21/Isernhagen/Razoon – more than Racing) in the Porsche 911 GT3 R. The first pit stop phase shuffled the field somewhat.
While almost all teams opted for the longer pit stop with a tire change, Schubert Motorsport and the Reis/Gjerdrum Ford Mustang stayed on their older tires, which propelled the Haupt Racing Team duo into second place – just ahead of teammate Niklas Kalus (21/Duisburg/Haupt Racing Team), who had taken over the Ford from Blum.
During the battle, Kalus touched the wall and was forced to retire. However, Fourie in the BMW was already closing in from behind and fought for almost his entire stint against Gjerdrum for second place.
“We didn’t expect this strong pace in the race, but of course we’re not complaining. The car was in good shape in these conditions,” explained Fourie. “We were really fast on the new tires, but the turbulence behind the Ford made it tricky to find an overtaking opportunity. And to be fair, I have to say that Emil defended very well too.”
After the second pit stop phase, the eventual winners remained in the lead, but initially came under pressure from Zimmermann with their cold tires. Behind them, championship leader Hirsiger emerged from the pits in third place, as Leo Pichler (24/AUT) and Colin Bönighausen (21/Isernhagen/both Razoon – more than Racing) had run out of fuel in their Porsche 911 GT3 R at the pit entrance.
The resulting safety car period bunched the field up again, and Reis, now on fresh tires in his Ford Mustang, closed the gap to Hirsiger and eventually overtook him.
“I knew from last year that having fresh tires at the end is a big advantage. Especially since it was still a bit damp during the first pit stop phase, which would have made it more difficult to get the tires up to temperature. The safety car, of course, helped me to attack again,” explained Reis. “I am very happy. We finally made it onto the podium after a very tough season for us, because we had significantly more pace and were never able to show it.”
Felix Hirsiger (28/CHE)/Finn Zulauf (21/Königstein im Taunus/both Liqui Moly Team Engstler Motorsport) finished fourth and defended their lead in the standings. Fifth place went to Storm Gjerdrum (16/NOR)/Fabio Rauer (19/Stolberg/both FK Performance Motorsport) in another BMW, ahead of Mark Kastelic (18/SLO)/Pavel Lefterov (28/BGR/both Razoon – more than Racing) in the Porsche 911 GT3 R.
Local hero Simon Connor Primm (21/Großschirma) and his teammate Robin Rogalski (25/POL/HGL Racing) finished seventh in the Audi, while Alain Valente (29/CHE)/Joseph Ellerine (22/ZAF/both FK Performance Motorsport) crossed the finish line in eighth place in the BMW.
Behind them were Jamie Day (20/GBR)/Baudouin Detout (25/FRA/both Comtoyou Racing) in the Aston Martin Vantage GT3 Evo, the top 10 was completed by John Paul Southern (24/USA)/Jonas Karklys (36/LIT/both Liqui Moly Team Engstler Motorsport) in the Lamborghini Huracán GT3 Evo 2.
