Lamborghini duo Primm and Zulauf take narrow victory in Zandvoort

• Simon Connor Primm and Finn Zulauf win Saturday’s ADAC GT Masters race
• Paul Motorsport claims first DTM podium and maiden ADAC GT Masters win within two hours
• Lamborghini duo Jonas Karklys and Emil Gjerdrum celebrate Pro-AM class victory

Zandvoort. Race one of the ADAC GT Masters weekend in Zandvoort was decided by mere millimetres. Finn Zulauf (20/Königsstein) and Simon Connor Primm (20/Großschirma) won Saturday’s race by a whisker to present Paul Motorsport with its maiden victory in the ADAC GT Masters. The Lamborghini Huracán GT3 Evo2 crossed the line just 0.340 seconds ahead of Tim Zimmermann (28/Langenargen) and Leyton Fourie (19/RSA/both FK Performance Motorsport) in a BMW M4 GT3 Evo. Their fellow BMW racers from Schubert Motorsport, twins Sandro and Juliano Holzem (both 20/Polch), completed the podium. “After missing out on what we felt was a certain victory at the Lausitzring, this was the best way to bounce back. The team really deserved this win,” said a delighted Zulauf. “The end of the race was more tense than I would have liked.” His team-mate Primm added: “At the start of the race I tried to get the car round the circuit nice and safely, and the lead increased all the time. The finish was nerve-racking, but Finn did a great job.” Primm and Zulauf made it a perfect day for Paul Motorsport: having seen Maximilian Paul secure the first DTM podium for the family team from Dresden just two hours earlier, they could now also celebrate their first success in the ADAC GT Masters.

The race at the 4.259-kilometre circuit in the Dutch dunes took place in dry conditions and temperatures around 22 degrees. Pole-sitter Jannes Fittje (25/Langenhain/SR Motorsport by Schnitzelalm) was able to defend his lead at the start, until he was thwarted by a technical issue with his Mercedes-AMG GT3 and dropped to the back of the field. Primm took the lead, which he refused to surrender right through to the finish, going on to claim a maiden victory in the ADAC GT Masters alongside Zulauf. Further down the field, the BMWs began their fightback. Sandro Holzem and Zimmermann pulled off many overtaking manoeuvres as they worked their way towards the front of the field from ninth and eleventh on the grid. After the driver changeover, a battle for second place developed between Juliano Holzem and Fourie, with the FK Performance Motorsport driver ultimately coming out on top. When the Mercedes-AMG driven by Fittje’s team-mate Wiskirchen (22/Euskirchen) came to a stop shortly before the end of the race, the safety car was called onto the track. The final laps after the restart witnessed a fierce battle for the lead between eventual winner Zulauf in a Lamborghini and Fourie in the BMW. At the same time, Sandro Holzem had to vehemently defend the final podium place against fellow BMW driver Eduardo Coseteng (21/PHL), who crossed the finish line in fourth place with team-mate Julian Hanses (27/Hilden/both FK Performance Motorsport).

“We knew we would have a chance after the safety car, and I gave it a go,” said runner-up Fourie. “We came very close, but in the end I felt the risk was too great and opted to make sure of second place. This podium has been coming. We just had to sort out a few little details, but as soon as that was right the pace was there.”

For the Holzem twins, this was the first podium together in the ADAC GT Masters. Sandro Holzem, who had already enjoyed one top-three finish in the past, started behind the wheel and handed the BMW M4 GT3 Evo over to his brother Juliano in second place. “We had to battle our way through the field at the start, which meant the tyres suffered a bit,” he said. “As a result, it was really close again at the finish and I did everything I could to somehow clinch that spot on the podium. It could not have turned out better.”

The three BMW were followed by Haupt Racing Team’s three Ford Mustang GT3. Salman Owega (20/Cologne) and Finn Wiebelhaus (19/Obertshausen) crossed the finish line ahead of Max Reis (18/Ramstein) and Niklas Kalus (19/Duisburg), with Dennis Fetzer (24/Gießen) and Jonathan Cecotto (25/VEN) taking seventh place. Leo Pichler (23/AT) and Simon Birch (18/DNK/both Razoon – more than racing) were eighth in the Porsche 911 GT3 R. Jonas Karklys (35/LIT) and Emil Gjerdrum (18/NOR/both Liqui Moly Team Engstler by GRT) came home ninth in their Lamborghini. That was enough to give them victory for the first time in the Pro-AM class. Nico Hantke (21/Hürth) and Denis Bulatov (26/Scherer Sport PHX) completed the top ten in an Audi R8 LMS GT3 Evo2.

The second ADAC GT Masters race at Circuit Zandvoort will be broadcast live on Saturday from 14:25 on Sport1, sport1.de, Joyn, ServusTV ON and youtube.com/adacmotorsports. Sky will then show a full replay of the race at 22:00 on Sky Sport Mix. Qualifying for race four of the season begins at 09:50 and will be available to watch on YouTube.