Title contenders Fourie and Zimmermann win at the Salzburgring

• BMW team FK Performance Motorsport claims it second victory of the season in the ADAC GT Masters
• Another podium for Dörr Motorsport at the Salzburgring
• Schwarzer and Fach win the Pro-AM Cup for the fifth time this season

Plainfeld. Pure drama at the Salzburgring in Austria. Tim Zimmermann (28/Langenargen) and Leyton Fourie (19/RSA) won an eventful Sunday race in the ADAC GT Masters. The pole-sitters from FK Performance claimed their second win of the season in a BMW M4 GT3 Evo and closed to within eight points of the top of the table. “Even my lap in qualifying was one of the best I have ever driven. From that moment on, we knew that we would have a clear track and a good car for the race, and that all we had to do was execute correctly,” said a beaming Fourie, who also won the “Road to DTM” competition. “My out lap after the second stop was really good and put us in front of the McLaren. After that, we just had to maintain our pace.” Team-mate Zimmermann was thrilled with his fourth victory in the ADAC GT Masters and the successful race strategy. “Everything came together perfectly today. It was a chaotic race, in which a lot happened. I found myself behind the McLaren at one point, but knew that he would not score any points as a guest starter. I focussed on driving cleanly, not overdoing it, and making sure I gave Leyton decent tyres for the final stint.” Joining them on the podium were McLaren drivers Ben Dörr (20/Butzbach) and Guilherme de Oliveira (20/POR/both Dörr Motorsport), and championship leaders Salman Owega (20/Cologne) and Finn Wiebelhaus (19/Obertshausen/both Haupt Racing Team) in a Ford Mustang GT3.

The start of the 80-minute endurance race initially saw Owega move ahead of pole-sitter Fourie, but the South African soon regained the lead. The BMW driver remained in front until the first phase of pit stops, in which virtually all the teams had decided upon a long stop with a tyre change. As the race progressed, Fourie’s team-mate Zimmermann dropped back behind the McLaren of de Oliveira. A red flag ultimately resulted in the race being neutralised, but the order remained unchanged after the subsequent restart. The decisive change of position came during the second pit stop, when Fourie rejoined the race ahead of Dörr. Now, all that stood between the FK Performance Motorsport duo and victory was Alexander Schwarzer (36/DEU/Fach Auto Tech), whose shorter stationary time during the pit stops had seen him take the lead. With nine minutes of the race remaining, Fourie found a way past Schwarzer’s Porsche 911 GT3 R, followed by Owega. They went on to occupy the three podium positions at the finish.

“We did not expect to do so well here,” said DTM driver Dörr, pleased with his second place. “However, we immediately noticed at the start of the weekend that the circuit suits our McLaren and that we were in good shape. The team did a super job and we both produced pretty flawless races. We were no longer able to match the pace of the BMW in the final stint. They came into the pits earlier, had a free track, and consequently moved ahead of us. However, we are still happy with a first and a second place this weekend.”

The picture at the top of the table remains largely unchanged. Owega and Wiebelhaus continue to lead the way in the Ford Mustang GT3, but have seen their lead shrink to eight points and are now coming under pressure from Zimmermann and Fourie. As such, third place in Sunday’s race at the Salzburgring was particularly important for the drivers from Haupt Racing Team. “We got the maximum out of today and are satisfied with the team effort, as McLaren and BMW were simply better than us today,” said Wiebelhaus. “The race was very chaotic. I had two contacts, which were no fault of my own, and tried to stay clear of any trouble. With regard to the championship, it was important to make it through unscathed. We will now be looking to extend our lead again at the Red Bull Ring.”

In fourth place were twins Sandro and Juliano Holzem (21/Polch/Schubert Motorsport) in a BMW M4 GT3 Evo. Rounding out the top five were fellow BMW drivers Eduardo Coseteng (21/PHL) and Julian Hanses (28/Hilden/both FK Performance Motorsport). They all overtook Schwarzer, who finished six alongside Alexander Fach (23/CHE/Fach Auto Tech) and claimed their fifth win of the season in the Pro-AM Cup, in the closing stages of the race. Eighth place went to Finn Zulauf (20/Königsstein) and Simon Connor Primm (20/Großschirma/Paul Motorsport) in a Lamborghini Huracán GT3 Evo2, ahead of the two Ford duos from the Haupt Racing Team, Dennis Fetzer (24/Gießen) and Jonathan Cecotto (26/VEN), and Max Reis (18/Ramstein) and Niklas Kalus (20/Duisburg). The top ten was completed by local favourites Leo Pichler (23/AT) and Simon Birch (18/DNK/Razoon – more than racing). The Porsche drivers started third, but a number of different battles had seen them drop as far back as last place at one point. They still lie third in the championship, but now trail the leaders by 31 points.

The ADAC GT Masters now heads to Austria this coming weekend, where the Red Bull Ring will host the third foreign outing of the season. The ADAC’s GT3 series will stage two sprint races on the DTM platform. Both races will be streamed live on sport1.de, Joyn, ServusTV ON and youtube.com/adacmotorsports.