ZANDVOORT, The Netherlands — Tim Zimmermann (29/Langenargen)/Leyton Fourie (20/ZAF/both FK Performance Motorsport) won in Zandvoort – just like last year.
The duo in their BMW M4 GT3 Evo crossed the finish line 3.334 seconds ahead of their fellow BMW drivers Sandro and Juliano Holzem (21/Polch/both Schubert Motorsport). Third place went to Niklas Kalus (20/Duisburg)/Kiano Blum (19/AUT/both Haupt Racing Team) in their Ford Mustang GT3.
“Zandvoort is good to us,” beamed Fourie after his third career victory in the ADAC GT Masters. “We knew our race pace would be good here. Our difficult weekend at the Red Bull Ring was a tough experience, but I never doubted us or the team and knew we would come back strong in Zandvoort.” Teammate Zimmermann was pleased with his fifth victory but remained reserved. “Zandvoort is a lucky track for us – so far. But that can change at any time. I’m enjoying the moment and our win, but I’m already curious to see what the future holds.”
In summery temperatures and a track temperature of around 43 degrees Celsius, polesitter Holzem initially held the lead at the start, but throughout his stint he battled with guest starter Alexey Nesov (22/Pure Racing) in the Porsche 911 GT3 R. Before the driver change, the rivals were separated by less than a second, but together they pulled away from their pursuers and by the end of the stint had a lead of over six seconds on Kalus, who was leading the chasing pack. At that point, the eventual winners were only in sixth place.
“I didn’t have a good start and lost two positions,” Zimmermann explained. “Our plan was to conserve the tires, because the race at Zandvoort is won in the second stint. Everyone else was sliding around a lot and driving at the limit, while I tried to drive calmly. The plan worked.”
The pit stop phase shuffled the field once again, as both Kalus/Blum and the eventual fourth-place finishers, Felix Hirsiger (28/CHE)/Finn Zulauf (21/Königstein im Taunus/both Liqui Moly Team Engstler Motorsport), received penalties for insufficient pit stops. Fourie found himself in third place shortly after the driver change and immediately attacked the second-placed Porsche of Pure Racing.
A safety car period brought all the competitors together again, and Fourie saw his opportunity. In turn one, he overtook the leading Juliano Holzem on the outside and took the lead.
“I made a bet with a few guys from the team,” Fourie laughed. “Last year I overtook two cars on the outside here, so it had to work at least once this time.”
Second-placed Sandro Holzem summarized: “My stint was relatively good and I tried to manage the tires. The pace was good and I was able to hand the car over to Juliano with a good gap. Unfortunately, the restart after the safety car was a bit tricky and Fourie overtook me immediately. Towards the end, Juliano’s pace was good again. Of course, it’s a bit disappointing now, but second place is a good result and tomorrow is a new day when we’ll attack again.”
Despite a penalty, Kalus and Blum finished third and were overjoyed with the result.
“I’m very happy with this podium finish because we got the maximum out of the car,” explained Kalus. “During my stint, the Lamborghini was constantly behind me, and it was lucky that their pit stop was also too short, allowing them to stay behind us. I was particularly pleased that our pace was still so good compared to our direct competitors towards the end of the race.”
Behind the Lamborghini of Zulauf/Hirsiger, three Porsche 911 GT3 Rs crossed the finish line: Leo Pichler (24/AUT)/Colin Bönighausen (21/Isernhagen/both Razoon – more than Racing), Aliaksandr Malykhin (38/GBR)/Alexey Nesov (22/both Pure Racing), and Mark Kastelic (18/SLO)/Pavel Lefterov (28/BGR/both Razoon – more than Racing).
Jan Duran (18/ESP)/Joseph Ellerine (22/ZAF/both FK Performance Motorsport) and their teammates Storm Gjerdrum (16/NOR)/Fabio Rauer (19/Stolberg) finished eighth and ninth in their BMW M4 GT3 Evo. The top 10 was completed by Max Cuccarese (19/ITA)/Alain Valente (29/CHE/both Haupt Racing Team) in the second Ford Mustang GT3.
