ZANDVOORT, The Netherlands — Suspense right up to the finish line in FK Performance Motorsport’s one-two victory in the second ADAC GT Masters race at the Zandvoort Circuit.
In the lap-long duel for victory, Tim Zimmermann (28, GER) and Leyton Fourie (19, GER) prevailed by 0.285 seconds over their teammates Eduardo Coseteng (21, GER) and Julian Hanses (27, GER). It was the BMW team’s fifth victory and first one-two finish in the ADAC GT Masters.
“There are no words to describe my feelings. So much work has gone into this. I’ve wanted to drive a GT3 car for so many years. I’m so happy that we’ve won now – and with such a great team, it’s even better,” beamed rookie Fourie, who celebrated his first victory in the ADAC GT Masters and simultaneously in the “Road-to-DTM” classification. “The memory of my stint is as if erased, but seeing Tim fighting at the end really made my heart leap.”
For teammate Zimmermann, it was the third victory in the ADAC GT3 junior league:
“We had a difficult start to the season and I’m relieved that we now have good pace and can achieve corresponding results. If we can now improve a little in qualifying, I’ll be absolutely satisfied.”
Jonas Karklys (35/LIT) / Emil Gjerdrum (18/NOR/Liqui Moly Team Engstler by GRT) in the Lamborghini Huracán GT3 Evo2 completed the podium. The duo won the Pro-AM category for the second time this weekend.
In dry conditions and 13 degrees Celsius, Finn Zulauf (20, Königsstein/Paul Motorsport) initially defended his pole position. Fourie, who had started from fifth place, steadily worked his way forward.
After a lap-long duel, the BMW driver finally drove around the outside of Zulauf’s Lamborghini in turn one and took the lead. Teammate Coseteng had immediately gained three positions from ninth on the grid and fought his way behind Fourie until lap six. After the driver change to Zimmermann and Hanses, an intense duel for victory developed, which was only decided in favor of Zimmermann and Fourie at the finish line.
“The battle was really tough, but always fair. I couldn’t find a real gap, and you don’t want to be side-by-side with teammates,” explained Hanses. “I was very happy with Eduardo’s stint and mine. We had the pace to win, we just lacked the overtaking maneuver. Many thanks to my team for the great car.” Karklys/Gjerdrum, in third place, benefited from a shorter pit stop due to regulations, which moved them from eighth place to the podium. “It’s nice to be the first Norwegian to stand on the podium in the ADAC GT Masters. We already had the second-fastest time in qualifying on Saturday and finished third on Sunday. I’m really happy with our progress,” beamed Gjerdrum.
Saturday’s winners, Zulauf and Simon Connor Primm (20, GER) finished fourth, ahead of the Haupt Racing Team duo of Max Reis (18, GER) and Niklas Kalus (19, GER) in the Ford Mustang GT3. Alexander Schwarzer (36, GER) and Alexander Fach (23, GER, both Fach Auto Tech) started the race from second place but were quickly overtaken by several competitors.
Their pit stop was also shortened in accordance with the regulations, and so they returned to the track as leaders after the driver change, but fell back to sixth place over the course of the race. Jannes Fittje (25, GER) and Moritz Wiskirchen (22, GER, both SR Motorsport by Schnitzelalm) finished seventh in the Mercedes-AMG GT3. Scherer Sport PHX drivers Nico Hantke (21, Hürth)/Denis Bulatov (26) dropped back to eighth place in their Audi R8 LMS GT3 Evo 2 after starting third.
Behind them, Dennis Fetzer (24, Gießen)/Jonathan Cecotto (25, VEN/both Haupt Racing Team) in the Ford Mustang and Porsche drivers Leo Pichler (23, AT)/Simon Birch (18, DNK/both Razoon – more than racing) completed the top 10.
