ADAC GT Masters title defender Asch posts first best time at Sachsenring

• Second ADAC GT Masters race weekend of 2016 under way
• Sebastian Asch posts fastest time in first free practice session at Sachsenring
• Qualifying now available as live stream

Hohenstein-Ernstthal: The second race weekend of the 2016 ADAC GT Masters season started with the first free practice session at the Sachsenring. Title-holder Sebastian Asch (29, DEU, AMG Team Zakspeed) set best time in the Mercedes-AMG this Friday afternoon. The two races will be shown on Saturday and Sunday at 1:00 pm live and in full on SPORT1 free-to-air TV and via LIVE online streaming at www.adac.de/motorsportand www.sport1.de. ADAC GT Masters qualifying will be made available as a LIVE stream for the first time this weekend.

This is the tenth time that the Sachsenring has hosted the Super Sports Car League, and drivers were greeted by sunshine and temperatures of 13 degrees to kick off the weekend. An early time of 1.20.666 minutes posted by the Lamborghini Huracán of Rolf Ineichen (37, CH) and Christian Engelhart (29, DEU, GRT Grasser-Racing-Team), winners of the second race at Oschersleben, stood until ten minutes before the end of the one-hour session. At that point, Sebastian Asch, winner of the first race at Oschersleben went out on track and was almost three tenths of a second faster, posting best time of 1.20.396 minutes. “I’m satisfied with our start to the weekend,” said the ADAC GT Masters title-defender. “We tried out one or two things in practice, but it won’t be until qualifying, of course, that we’ll really let rip. There’s such an enormous amount of traffic here at the Sachsenring. Getting a completely clear lap here is like trying to win the lottery, but I reckon that Lamborghini and Audi will still come out on top.”

Another Lamborghini driven by Norbert Siedler (33, A) and Jaap van Lagen (39, NL, both HB Racing WDS Bau) muscled its way into position between Asch in the Mercedes-AMG shared with with team-mate Luca Ludwig (27, DEU) and Ineichen/Engelhart. Championship leaders Connor De Phillippi (23, USA) and Christopher Mies (26, DEU, both Montaplast by Land-Motorsport) placed fourth in the best-ranked Audi R8. Christer Jöns (28, DEU) & Daniel Abt (23, DEU, both Bentley Team ABT) in the Bentley Continental booked P5, while P6 went to David Jahn (25, DEU) & Klaus Bachler (24, A, both KÜS TEAM75 Bernhard) in the Porsche 911.

Even more live action in the Internet

Fans could follow the two exciting ADAC GT Masters races from Oschersleben via LIVE streaming on SPORT1.de and adac.de/motorsport. There will be even more online action from the Sachsenring and from all future events of the 2016 season – in addition to the two races, qualifying will also be shown as LIVE streaming in future. Qualifying for Race 1 starts at 9:20 am on Saturday, while qualifying for Race 2 will be held at 8:45 am on Sunday.

ADAC GT Masters newcomers and one driver returning

Three drivers will be racing at the Sachsenring for the first time in the ADAC GT Masters this 2016 season. Louis Delétraz (19, CH), who had to postpone his series debut in the season-opener at Oschersleben due to a clash of dates and was replaced by DTM driver Martin Tomczyk (34, DEU), will take over his regular cockpit in the BMW M6 GT3 fielded by Schubert Motorsport alongside Jesse Krohn (25, FIN). It’s the other way round for Klaus Bachler (24, A). The Austrian will stand in at KÜS TEAM75 Bernhard for Kévin Estre (27, F), who is unable to take part due to other commitments, and share the Porsche 911 GT3 R with David Jahn (25, DEU). Bachler is no stranger to the Super Sports Car League. He finished fourth overall last year and is current qualifying record for the ADAC GT Masters at Sachsenring when he claimed pole position with a time of 1.19.979 minutes in 2015. He also set a new lap record in the race with a time of 1.21.619 minutes on his fastest lap. AMG Team Zakspeed will also welcome a newcomer. Nicolai Sylvest (18, DK) will partner Nikolaj Rogivue (19, CH) in the Mercedes-AMG GT3.

Full programme of entertainment – demo drive by Marvin Kirchhöfer

Fans coming to the Sachsenring can look forward to a special highlight on the support programme. Marvin Kirchhöfer, 2012 Formel ADAC champion and ex-ADAC Sports Foundation protégé, will perform demo laps on Saturday at 2:35 pm in the new racing car with which he will contest the GP2 series. He will also take part in the ‘Meet the drivers’ session in front of ADAC Hospitality in Paddock 2 at 3:00 pm when he will be busy signing autographs along with the other drivers. Fans can get up really close to the ADAC GT Masters cars and drivers during the customary pit walk on Saturday at 11:10 am and Sunday at 11:55. The support series contested by the ADAC Formula, the ADAC TCR Germany, the DTC and the STT and the Renault Clio Cup will also ensure plenty of action on the racetrack.

Fans wishing to experience the ADAC GT Masters live at the racetrack can purchase tickets for all fixtures for the price of 20 euros, which includes access to the paddock, from www.adac.de/motorsport.