Closing in on the title: Kalender and Seppänen take impressive lights-to-flag victory in Spielberg

• Kalender and Seppänen claim their fourth win of this season’s ADAC GT Masters
• Oosten and Köhler finish third to keep their title hopes alive
• Finland’s Seppänen is the top “Road to DTM” driver in Spielberg

Spielberg. Championship leaders Tom Kalender (Hamm/Sieg) and Elias Seppänen (FIN) took a big step in the title race in the ADAC GT Masters at the Red Bull Ring. The two Mercedes-AMG drivers from Landgraf Motorsport showed nerves of steel on Sunday to win race ten of the season. “I am happy we won the fierce battle with the Ferrari, and am confident we can defend the title,” said last year’s champion Seppänen. 16-year-old Kalender was also in a combative frame of mind after their fourth win of the season: “I want the title and will do anything to get it. Plus, the good work done by the team and the past results are giving us the necessary calm.” Second across the finish line were the Emil Frey Racing pairing of Jean-Luc D´Auria and Alain Valente in a Ferrari 296 GT3. Completing the top three were Leon Köhler (Erlenbach am Main) and Maxime Oosten (NL) from FK Performance in their BMW M4 GT3, who are the closest rivals of Kalender and Seppänen in the overall standings.

When the race got underway on the undulating, 4.318-kilometre circuit in Styria, pole-sitter Seppänen was able to defend his lead. However, Valente and Oosten remained within striking distance in second and third place. During the mandatory pit stop, Kalender took over at the wheel of the leading Mercedes-AMG, which remained at the head of the field after the changeover. Hubert Haupt (Munich) from Haupt Racing Team initially slotted in behind him in another Mercedes-AMG GT3, ahead of D´Auria and Köhler. However, they both passed Haupt in the subsequent laps. With roughly seven minutes remaining, the race was red-flagged and did not resume. When braking into the hairpin, the Porsche 911 GT3 R of Johannes Kapfinger (Passau/Team Joos by Twin Busch) collided with Haupt’s car, sending the Mercedes-AMG skittling into the wall. Haupt emerged unhurt from the crash.

Runner-up Valente was in a positive mood after the race: “We are happy with the result, but would obviously have liked to have got past Tom and Elias. We definitely have the potential. We want to convert that potential into a win in Hockenheim.” Third place meant another podium for Oosten and Köhler, but was not the result they had both hoped for. “Third place was the best we could hope for today. We got everything out of the car. Unfortunately, there was nothing more to give. We must go full throttle in Hockenheim, in order to keep our title hopes alive,” said Oosten.

David Schumacher (Salzburg) and Salman Owega (both Haupt Racing Team) took fourth place in a Mercedes-AMG GT3. As the result was based on the order one lap before the crash, Haupt and Dennis Fetzer (Buseck) were awarded fifth place, meaning they also won the ProAm class. The Kapfinger twins Johannes and Michael were sixth, ahead of the next pair of twins, Juliano and Sandro Holzem (Polch) in an Audi R8 LMS GT3 for Land Motorsport. Mike David Ortmann (Ahrensfelde) and Denis Bulatov (Cologne) crossed the finish line in eighth place in an Aston Martin Vantage GT3 run by Walkenhorst Motorsport. Chilean Benjamin Hites and Pierre Kaffer (D) finished ninth in a Lamborghini Huracán GT3 Evo2. Saturday’s winners Jannes Fittje (Langenhain) and Finn Wiebelhaus (Obertshausen) guided their Mercedes-AMG GT3 to tenth place.

Kalender and Seppänen now top the table with 203 points. Their closest rivals Oosten and Köhler now trail them by 29 points but are still in the title race. The best driver in the “Road to DTM” competition in Spielberg was Seppänen, who continues to lead the junior competition. The Hockenheimring Baden-Württemberg will host the grand finale of this season’s ADAC GT Masters from 18th to 20th October, when the destination of the title will be decided.