Fach Auto Tech Porsche team celebrates debut victory in the ADAC GT Masters

• Commanding win for Pro-AM duo Alexander Fach/Alexander Schwarzer at the Nürburgring
• Ford and Lamborghini battle for second and third places
• Tactical focus adds to excitement in endurance race

Nürburg. Alexander Fach (23/CHE) and Alexander Schwarzer (36/DEU) produced a sensational performance in their Porsche 911 GT3 R to win the first race of the ADAC GT Masters at the Nürburgring ADAC Truck GP event. The Pro-AM duo from Fach Auto Tech prevailed in the 80-minute endurance race, finishing 15.560 seconds ahead of their rivals. “At last! We really have earned this victory, as we have been working hard and making continuous progress,” said a jubilant Fach. “The race didn’t go our way, we took it by the scruff of the neck and our performance deserved the win. At the end of my first stint, I used a few empty laps to lay the foundation for our victory. When I got back into the car, I didn’t want to hear about positions and I just concentrated on what I was doing. Five laps after the final stop, the team told me that I had a lead of eleven seconds. From that moment on, I knew that there was no way I was going to give this win up.” Team-mate Schwarzer added: “I still can’t quite believe it. That was such a great race and the car was unbelievable. When I came out of the pits, I was focussed and I knew where I needed to improve. I just concentrated on getting to the front, and that worked out.” The podium was rounded off by Salman Owega (20/Cologne)/Finn Wiebelhaus (19/Obertshausen/both Haupt Racing Team) in the Ford Mustang GT3 and the Lamborghini drivers Finn Zulauf (20/Königsstein)/Simon Connor Primm (20/Großschirma/Paul Motorsport). Schwarzer/Fach also topped the Pro-AM standings.

Early in the race, it was Owega who emerged triumphant from the battle that developed between the two Mustangs heading the field. Fach immediately moved up one place into third. After a penalty knocked Owega back to seventh position, the top two consisted of Max Reis (18/Ramstein/Haupt Racing Team) and Fach. On lap ten, Reis headed for a long pit stop and tyre change, while Fach stayed out for another four laps. After the shortened pit stop for Pro-AM teams required by regulations, team-mate Schwarzer rejoined the race 11.4 seconds ahead of Primm and Wiebelhaus, who had also completed their stop without a tyre change. Both pursuers consistently closed the gap to the leading Porsche but were unable to spy an overtaking opportunity. “When we were in second place, we were able to pull away from the Ford a bit and quickly close the gap ahead,” explained Primm, who finished third. “The car was great, but we had no chance in all that air swirling around and we struggled to stay in touch on the straights. That meant that we gradually surrendered the lead over the other cars that we had built up with the long stop. Our race was actually good, and error-free, but it is irritating that I didn’t manage to pass the Porsche.”

Some significant action also took place towards the back of the field after the first pit stop phase. In ninth place, David Schumacher (23/DEU/Haupt Racing Team) in the Mustang was the first driver to complete the long stop. The 23-year-old had travelled to the Nürburgring on the morning of the race to take the place of the injured Niklas Kalus (20/Duisburg) alongside Reis. Despite never having completed a lap in the car, Schumacher got in and made up ground on the leaders, even overtaking two cars in a single manoeuvre. “I got the call this morning asking if I could come to the Nürburgring and step in for Niklas. I drove for seven hours to get here, which pretty much makes that a double endurance race,” said Schumacher, who also posted a time of 1:26.564 minutes to claim the fastest race lap. After the stop, team-mate Reis exited the pits in second place behind the Fach Porsche, but was unable to hold on to that position under pressure from Owega with new tyres on the Lamborghini. “I was able to keep up with the pace at the end and managed to overtake Max,” said Owega, who finished second. “I made a little mistake at the start, but that had no effect on the final result. Finn managed the tyres well in the middle stint, but the Porsche was out of reach today. We scored some important championship points and that is what we are focusing on”.

The top 6 was completed by championship leaders Leo Pichler (23/AT)/Simon Birch (18/DNK/both Razoon – more than racing) in the Porsche 911 GT3 R and local heroes Sandro and Juliano Holzem (21/Polch/both Schubert Motorsport) in the BMW M4 GT3 Evo. They were followed by their brand team-mates Tim Zimmermann (28/Langenargen)/Leyton Fourie (19/RSA/both FK Performance Motorsport) ahead of Jonas Karklys (36/LIT)/Emil Gjerdrum (18/NOR/both Liqui Moly Team Engstler by GRT). Audi drivers Nico Hantke (21/Hürth)/Denis Bulatov (26) had to be content with ninth place at the home race for their Scherer Sport PHX team after their involvement in a number of whole-lap duels. Jannes Fittje (25/Langenhain)/Moritz Wiskirchen (22/Euskirchen/both SR Motorsport by Schnitzelalm) rounded off the top 10.

Qualifying for the second race in the ADAC GT Masters at the Nürburgring takes place on Sunday at 10:15 and will be broadcast live on youtube.com/adacmotorsports. The race starts at 16:10 and all fans can watch the race action live on sport1.de, Joyn, ServusTV ON and Youtube. Sky Sport provides a re-live broadcast of the race at 22:00 on Saturday and Sunday.