Rookies Pichler/Birch Win Season Opener at Dekra Lausitzring

• Simon Birch and Leo Pichler celebrate victory in maiden race for newcomers Razoon
• Ford Mustang GT3 with two podium finishes at ADAC GT Masters debut
• Schwarzer/Fach secure the win in the Pro-Am class

Klettwitz. Leo Pichler (23/AT) and Simon Birch (18/DNK) are the first winners of the 2025 season of the ADAC GT Masters. A triple rookie victory since the two drivers and their Razoon – more than racing team are newcomers to the ADAC’s GT3 junior league with the Porsche 911 GT3 R. “It’s just fantastic. Everyone wants to win, and we managed it straight away. We had a brilliant strategy and battled hard,” said a pleased Birch, who also claimed the win in the Silver Cup alongside Pichler. In second and third place with the two Ford Mustang GT3 of Haupt Racing Team were Salman Owega (19/Cologne) and Finn Wiebelhaus (19/Obertshausen) and Max Reis (18/Ramstein) and Niklas Kalus (19/Duisburg).

The 80-minute endurance race got off to a dramatic start. There were several collisions, which also impacted the later winners who were severely affected. “It could have all been over at that moment. Our car was only damaged slightly and fortunately we were able to continue with the race. Overall, the first stint was very chaotic with many duels, which makes me even happier that we’re at the top of the podium as winners,” explained Pichler.

Second-placed Wiebelhaus didn’t make it through the first lap unscathed either. After coming into contact with Moritz Wiskirchen (22/Euskirchen), whose Mercedes-AMG ended up in the gravel, the Ford driver was awarded a penalty. From the back of the field, he and Owega worked their way back up into third place – despite another penalty. “Salman had a fantastic middle stint and moved us back up to the front after I had lost several positions at the start,” said Wiebelhaus. “We waited until the second stop to put on new tyres, and had a great pace.” This strategy enabled Wiebelhaus to move past his rival Reis shortly before the chequered flag. But Reis and team-mate Kalus were still happy after battling their way through the field well from twelfth on the grid. “I’m really pleased,” said a jubilant Kalus talking about third place in his maiden ADAC GT Masters race. “It was a great race from start to finish. Max kept out of everything, and I was able to make up a few positions with new tyres in the second stint. I never expected us to move up so many places.”

Pole-sitter Finn Zulauf (20/Königsstein) dominated much of the race. From pole, he assumed the lead in the Lamborghini of Paul Motorsport and extended his lead considerably. The long stop with the tyre change at the start and the mandatory shorter stop of Pro-Am duo Alexander Schwarzer (36/DEU)/Alexander Fach (22/CHE/both Fach Auto Tech) in the Porsche 911 GT3 R forced Zulauf and team-mate Primm to surrender the lead briefly. On lap 34, Primm prevailed over Schwarzer once again, regained the lead, and extended it consistently. After the final stop, the Lamborghini Huracán GT3 Evo2 of Paul Motorsport had a commanding lead, then tyre damage halted Zulauf five minutes before the end of the race to thwart a victory that had seemed to be certain.

Schwarzer/Fach secured the Pro-Am class win and fourth place in the overall standings. Behind them, Nico Hantke (21/Hürth/Scherer Sport PHX) in the Audi R8 LMS Evo2 and Leyton Fourie (19/RSA/FK Performance Motorsport) in the BMW M4 GT3 Evo were embroiled in a lap-long duel for fifth place, which ultimately went to the Scherer Sport PHX driver and his team-mate Denis Bulatov (26). Behind the BMW of Fourie/Tim Zimmermann (28/Langenargen) were Jonas Karklys (35/LIT) and Emil Gjerdrum (18/NOR/both Liqui Moly Team Engstler by GRT) in the Lamborghini Huracán. Jannes Fittje (25/Langenhain) and Wiskirchen (both SR Motorsport by Schnitzelalm) ended up in eighth place after a spin in the opening phase that wasn’t their fault. The two BMW of Eduardo Coseteng (21/PHL)/Julian Hanses (27/Hilden/both FK Performance Motorsport) and twins Sandro Holzem (20/Polch)/ Juliano Holzem (20/Polch/both Schubert Motorsport) completed the top ten.

The qualifying session for the second race at the Dekra Lausitzring gets underway at 10:30 CEST on Sunday. Sport1 will be broadcasting the race live from 15:00 CEST on free TV. A livestream will also be available on Joyn, ServusTV ON, and youtube.com/adacmotorsports.