Paddock radar from the ADAC GT Masters at the Nürburgring

• Successful Live Event premiere of the ADAC GT Masters Esports Championship
• Charity campaign co-sponsored by Callaway Competition
• Timo Bernhard's achievement honoured

E-Sport Live Event proves popular: The new ADAC GT Masters Esports Championship staged a successful Live Event premiere on Saturday. The eight regular contestants in the Simracing series came up against four wildcard starters in RaceRoom Café on Ringboulevard at the Nürburgring. Victory in the 40-minute race went to André Santos, P2 to Michael Rächl (both Euronics Gaming) and P3 to Moritz Löhner (Williams Esports). At the subsequent award ceremony, the Top Three were presented with their trophies by ADAC GT Masters drivers Philip Ellis (26, GB, Mann-Filter Team HTP) and Marvin Dienst (22, GER, Schütz Motorsport). Media representatives had already availed themselves of the opportunity on Friday to try out the race simulators and to compete against each other in an informal contest. Fastest on the day was Motorsport aktuell editor Michael Bräutigam.

Charity campaign: Callaway Competition have lent their support this weekend to the charity marathon which is being organised by RTL. The logo of the Cologne-based commercial broadcaster adorned the Corvette C7 GT3-R driven by Markus Pommer (28, GER) and Marvin Kirchhöfer (25, GER). In the period leading up to the race weekend, the charity campaign, which is jointly run with Sportwagen Club of Leipzig, raised 42,000 euros which will be donated to the RTL Wir helfen Kindern foundation. Following today's ADAC GT Masters race, Markus Pommer's overalls will be auctioned and the proceeds passed on to the fund. Further information can be found at www.sportwagen-club.org/charity.

New face: Laura Papendick made her debut at the Nürburgring as presenter of the live broadcasts on SPORT1. The 30-year-old has stepped in for regular presenter Sarah Valentina who is currently on holiday.

Porsche tribute: A special exhibition has been organised at ring°werk in honour of Porsche works driver Timo Bernhard (38, GER, Küs Team75 Bernhard) and the record lap of the Nürburgring Nordschleife which he set in June 2018. The Saarlander, who entered the ADAC GT Masters as a driver last season after managing the team for several years, set a new record for a lap of the legendary 'Green Hell' with a time of 5:19.546 minutes. At the opening of the exhibition in the Nürburgring Motorsport-Erlebnismuseum, Bernhard unveiled the Porsche 919 Hybrid Evo which he drove on that memorable occasion. "The fact that the car is now on display at ring°werk as a testimony to the record-breaking lap is a special honour for me," said Bernhard.

A glimpse behind the scenes: Female visitors between the ages of eight and 18 participated in Dare to be Different Girls Day, an initiative founded by Susie Wolff, the former DTM and Formula 1 test driver who now manages the Venturi Formula E team. They were given an insight into various professional openings for women in motorsport, for example as a journalist, race engineer or racing driver. They were able to chat to motocross rider Kim Irmgartz, learn more about healthy eating and fitness, try their hand on the race simulator and put in a couple of laps on the karting circuit. The highlight of the day was a visit to the garages of Mann-Filter Team HTP and HCB-Rutronik Racing where they met Carrie Schreiner (20, GER), the only female driver in the current ADAC GT Masters line-up.