Surprise winners in ADAC GT Masters thriller at the Sachsenring

• Dienst/Marschalkowski win remarkable Sunday race
• Championship leader Raffaele Marciello on the cusp of title win
• 26,000 fans set new crowd record at the Sachsenring

Munich. Thrilling racing at the penultimate round of the ADAC GT Masters at the Sachsenring. Constant changes in position, a bad day for the favourites, and tragic retirements – the spectators in the packed grandstands were treated to magnificent motorsport on Sunday. After 44 eventful laps, Marvin Dienst (25/Lampertheim) was first across the finish line in the #8 Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo to claim his second win in the German GT Championship. “That is my second victory in the ADAC GT Masters, and both have come at the Sachsenring. I know where to overtake here, which helped me,” explained Dienst. His young partner, ADAC Stiftung Sport driver Jan Marschalkowski (19/Inning), was also delighted to get his maiden win as a rookie. Championship leader Raffaele Marciello (27/CH), who alternated with Daniel Juncadella (31/E) at the wheel of the #48 Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo, came home second after a controlled race. In doing so, the driver from Mann-Filter Team Landgraf extended his lead in the table. Local favourite Maximilian Paul (22/Dresden) and Marco Mapelli (35/I) were third in the #71 Lamborghini Huracán GT3 Evo. The ADAC GT Masters weekend at the Sachsenring was watched by 26,000 spectators – the sixth crowd record in a row at the sixth round of the season.

Key facts, Sachsenring, Hohenstein-Ernstthal, race 12 of 14

• Circuit length: 3,645 metres
• Weather: 17 degrees, sunny
• Pole position: Christopher Mies (Montaplast by Land-Motorsport, Audi R8 LMS GT3 Evo II8#1), 1:18.106 minutes
• Winners: Marschalkowski/Dienst (Mercedes-AMG Team ZVO, Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo #8)
• Fastest lap: Christopher Mies (Montaplast by Land-Motorsport, Audi R8 LMS GT3 Evo II8#1), 1:19.747 minutes

The action came thick and fast, right from the start of Sunday’s race at the Sachsenring. The #91 Porsche 911 GT3 R of Team Joos Sportwagentechnik was unable to continue after a collision. This was a bitter setback for the title ambitions of Christian Engelhart (35/Starnberg) and Ayhancan Güven (24/TUR), who lie second in the championship. Shortly after, misfortune struck pole-sitter and race leader Christopher Mies (33/Düsseldorf). A puncture forced the #1 Audi R8 LMS GT3 Evo II into an unscheduled pit stop, which saw the Montaplast by Land-Motorsport car drop well down the field. His partner Tim Zimmermann (26/Langenargen) eventually crossed the finish line in eleventh place. Dennis Marschall (26/Eggenstein) from Rutronik Racing took the lead and handed the #27 Audi R8 LMS GT3 Evo II over to team-mate Kim-Luis Schramm (24/Meuspath) at the mandatory pit stop. Maximilian Paul, Jusuf Owega (#29 Audi R8 LMS GT3 Evo II/Montaplast by Land-Motorsport), Marvin Dienst and Raffaele Marciello slotted in behind him. The mandatory pit stop marked the end of the race for Saturday’s winners Fabien Schiller (25/Troisdorf) and Jules Gounon (27/F) from Drago Racing Team ZVO, whose #4 Mercedes-AMG GT3 had to retire with a faulty pedal box.

The drama increased after the driver changeovers. First of all, Jusuf Owega, who had battled his way into second place, was forced out with a puncture. With three minutes remaining, Marvin Dienst overtook the leading Audi of Kim-Luis Schramm, who became the next to retire with a faulty tyre on the penultimate lap. The beneficiary of these retirements were Raffaele Marciello and Maximilian Paul, who finished second and third. Salman Owega (17/Cologne) and Christopher Haase (34/Kulmbach) finished fourth for Montaplast by Land-Motorsport in the #28 Audi R8 LMS GT3 Evo II – their best result of the season. The same applies to fellow Audi drivers Florian Spengler (34/Ellwangen) and Markus Winkelhock (42/D) who finished fifth for Car Collection Motorsport.

As they did yesterday, Franck Perera (38/F) and Arthur Rougier (22/F) produced an impressive display in the #19 Lamborghini Huracán GT3 Evo of Emil Frey Racing, battling to sixth place from 13th on the grid. Ben Green (24/GB) and Jesse Krohn (32/FIN) launched a similar fightback in the #10 BMW M4 GT3 for Schubert Motorsport, climbing five places to finish seventh. Jack Aitken (26/GB) and Albert Costa Balboa (32/E) ended race twelve of the season in eighth place in the #63 Lamborghini Huracán GT3 Evo of Emil Frey Racing, followed by the Allied-Racing duo of Joel Sturm (20/Brühl) and Sven Müller (30/Bingen) in the #22 Porsche 911 GT3 R. Rounding off the top ten were Elias Seppänen (18/FIN) and Frank Bird (23/GB) from Mann-Filter Team Landgraf in the #84 Junior Mamba.

Jan Marschalkowski: “I cannot believe it. My start was good and I wanted to look after the tyres for Marvin during my stint. Having to watch the second half of the race, my pulse was above 180. I am totally happy with my first win in the ADAC GT Masters.”

Marvin Dienst: “Our car went like a rocket, I felt like I was flying. I did not intend to overtake Kim-Luis in the Sachsenkurve, but then there was a gap and I went for it. It was an unbelievable race. I had a lot of fun.”

All ADAC GT Masters races start at 13:00. International viewers can watch the qualifying and the races live on adac.de/motorsport, the new ADAC Motorsports YouTube channel youtube.com/ADACMotorsports and motorsport.tv.