- Dutch duo Knap and den Boer to start from P1 in both races
- Pole position for sole Dutch outfit in ADAC GT Masters
- First ADAC GT Masters pole for the BMW Z4
The DB Motorsport partnership of Simon Knap (23, NL) and Jeroen den Boer (24, NL) in their BMW Z4 demonstrated convincingly that, on the demanding circuit at Zandvoort, there is no substitute for familiarity with the venue. The youngsters driving for the only Dutch team contesting the Super Sports Car League will start from pole position in a double bill of home races on Saturday and Sunday. “It really doesn’t get any better than this,” said a delighted Jeroen den Boer after claiming his first pole position in the ADAC GT Masters.
Key facts: Circuit Zandvoort / Netherlands
Track length: 4.31 kilometres
Weather: cloudy, 13 degrees Celsius
Pole Position Race 1: Diego Alessi (40, I), Callaway Competition-Corvette Z06, 01:39.264 minutes
Pole Position Race 2: Jeroen den Boer (24, NL) DB Motorsport-BMW Z4, 01:38.745 minutes
Knap claims first BMW pole in ADAC GT Masters
In the first qualifying session, Corvette driver Diego Alessi (41, ITA / Callaway) was involved in a thrilling three-way battle with Sebastian Asch (25, Ammerbuch / kfzteile24 MS Racing Team) in the Mercedes-Benz AMG SLS and Simon Knap in the BMW Z4. Alessi posted the fastest time, but the Italian was hit with a ten-place grid penalty for an incident in free practice. The main beneficiaries were Knap, who now finds himself in pride of position for Saturday’s race, and Sebastian Asch who joins him on the front row. “A perfect way to start our home race,” enthused Knap. “My fastest lap wasn’t even perfect; I could have gone a bit faster.” Starting from the second row are defending champion Dino Lunardi (33, F / ALPINA) in his BMW ALPINA B6 and current championship leader Andreas Wirth (27, Heidelberg / Callaway Competition) who shares his Corvette with former Formula 1 and DTM driver Heinz Harald Frentzen (44, Neuss).
Den Boer comes out on top in exciting three-way battle for pole
There was also a hard-fought contest for pole in Race 2 on Sunday. Local hero Jeroen den Boer went straight to the top of the timesheets in qualifying before being usurped, first by fellow BMW driver Dominik Schwager (35, Eisenhofen / Schubert Motorsport) and then by Corvette driver Frank Kechele (25, Ulm / Callaway Competition). But the Dutchman hit back and reclaimed the lead. “After the strong performance from my team-mate Simon Knap in the first qualifying session, I knew that I should also be capable of getting a good result,” said den Boer after qualifying. “Because in fact, we are well matched in terms of speed. I hadn’t been expecting pole position, though. To start your home race from pole on both days is just incredible.” Schwager in P2 makes it a front row lock-out for BMW. Kechele lines up third on Row 2 alongside Maxime Martin (26, B / ALPINA) in the BMW ALPINA B6.
Sorrow for Heinz-Harald Frentzen, joy for Bleekemolen
Heinz-Harald Frentzen was far from satisfied with his qualifying result. Together with team-mate Andreas Wirth, the ex-Formula 1 World Championship runner-up will be starting from fourth and from 19th. “On my first hot lap, I was unfortunately blocked by another driver, and on the second attempt, I pushed a bit too hard,” said a disappointed Frentzen. Having more luck on the day was ex-DTM driver Jeroen Bleekemolen (30, NL / FROGREEN CO2 neutral) in his Porsche 911 The local fans’ favourite was held up during qualifying after his team-mate Robert Renauer (27, Jedenhofen) spun off track, but despite the delay was able to qualify seventh for Race 2 on Sunday.
