MUNICH, Germany — At the season finale in Hockenheim, Tom Kalender and Elias Seppänen were crowned the new champions of the ADAC GT Masters.
In an interview, the two report on how they experienced the weeks after winning the title and how the championship celebration went. They also describe the path to their success and what the two are planning for the 2025 season.
Q: It’s been a few days since you won the title. How do you feel about the last few weeks?
Seppänen: It’s still an unusual feeling to be the first driver to defend the ADAC GT Masters title. I’m very proud of it, after all, there have been many great racing drivers in the series before. When I compare my two championships, I can’t say that one means more to me than the other. In any case, 2023 was definitely more stressful, as Salman Owega and I also experienced a few setbacks. Tom and I worked very well together from the start and the whole team worked perfectly. That’s why I was convinced early on that we would also win the second title.
Kalender: With a little distance, I’ve already started to realise what Elias and I have achieved this year. Nevertheless, it’s still an incredibly great feeling that still makes me smile. The fact that I was able to win the third title in a row for Landgraf Motorsport with Elias also makes me very happy.
Q: How did you experience the days after the season finale?
Seppänen: A lot of people wrote to me and congratulated me on the championship. I tried to relax a bit and do some sport with my friends. Now I can sort myself out and start planning for 2025.
Kalender: I thought it was a real shame that the season was already over, after all, things were going extremely well for us. There could have been a few more events. Now I’m concentrating fully on school again. But of course I’m also already planning the new season, in which I hope to continue working with Landgraf Motorsport.
Your greatest strength was in qualifying. In twelve qualifying sessions you only failed to score points twice. Did you prepare specifically for qualifying before the season?
Seppänen: I didn’t train for it explicitly. However, we were always careful to work very carefully in order to achieve the best possible result. I also knew all the tracks except Spa and the car, which certainly helped.
Kalender: The qualifying procedure and also the work with the tires are different to those in Formula racing. So it was important for me to simulate the processes and get the Pirelli tires into the optimal working window in order to achieve the best possible time on a lap. Unfortunately it wasn’t enough for pole position, but I’m generally very happy with my results.
The victory at the Red Bull Ring meant a big step towards the title. Did that influence your feelings before the season finale?
Seppänen: The comfortable lead brought a certain calm to the team. Compared to last year, it was a completely different situation, as Tom and I were not under too much pressure. Ultimately, we just tried not to do anything stupid and to bring the car home safely. And we managed that well.
Kalender: For me, everything was pretty much as usual. Since we never really looked at the table anyway, we were generally quite relaxed about it. We just always wanted to do our best. That was probably a good attitude that helped us throughout the entire season.
What do you particularly appreciate about your teammate?
Seppänen: First of all, I have to say that it was a completely new situation for me. For the first time, I was the one with the most experience. I tried to pass on my knowledge to Tom so that he could get a good start in his first GT3 season. He was very open to all information and developed really quickly. I am still impressed that he showed such a steep learning curve at that age. The year with Tom was really fun.
Kalender: I am very grateful to Elias for his support. I was able to benefit from his experience, especially in the winter. But he also gave me valuable tips on the track, which helped me to improve steadily.
Finally, a look at the coming year: Will you start your mission to defend your title at the opening event at the Dekra Lausitzring?
Seppänen: I can’t say at the moment. As winner of the “Road to DTM” I would of course like to take the next step, but the ADAC GT Masters is an attractive series. So why not try to win another title?
Kalender: So far there are many options, but nothing concrete yet. In principle, I could very well imagine working with Landgraf Motorsport again in the ADAC GT Masters. However, I now have to take a very close look at everything, what is possible and which option is the best for my career.