Owega and Wiebelhaus are the new ADAC GT Masters champions

• Finn Wiebelhaus and Salman Owega wrap up the title in the Ford Mustang GT3
• Haupt Racing Team is the Team champion, Fach and Schwarzer defend the Pro-AM Cup title
• Hantke and Bulatov win race one at the Hockenheimring in an Audi R8 LMS GT3 Evo 2

Hockenheim. Salman Owega (20/Cologne) and Finn Wiebelhaus (19/Obertshausen) are the 2025 ADAC GT Masters champions. The Haupt Racing Team duo in the Ford Mustang GT3 wrapped up the title on Saturday at the Hockenheimring, with one race still to come. Ninth place was sufficient for Owega and Wiebelhaus to win the championship, while their rivals Leyton Fourie (20/RSA) and Tim Zimmermann (29/Langenargen) could do no better than 13th. “It is absolutely unbelievable. At the start of the season, we never expected to be stood here as champions. The team has done a super job,” said a beaming Wiebelhaus, who also won the 2025 “Road to DTM” competition. “The result was not perfect today, but the points were good enough, and that is what matters!” Owega becomes the fifth two-time champion in the ADAC GT Masters and, at 20 years and 132 days, is the youngest driver to achieve this feat. “I am delighted to be champion again. It has been a long and tough journey since we decided to contest this season with Ford and Finn. The car was unfamiliar to our team and, generally speaking, still pretty new. We can now say that we did everything right.” The Team title also went the way of Haupt Racing Team with a race still to come. The outfit from Drees won the title for the third time in a row – the first time this has ever been achieved in the ADAC GT Masters. It is also the very first title for the Ford Mustang GT3. Victory in race one at the Hockenheimring went to Nico Hantke (21/Hürth) and Denis Bulatov (26/both Scherer Sport PHX) in an Audi R8 LMS GT3 Evo 2, ahead of Simon Birch (18/DNK) and Leo Pichler (23/AUT/both Razoon – more than racing) with the Porsche 911 GT3 R. They were joined on the podium by fellow Porsche drivers Alexander Schwarzer (36/DEU) and Alexander Fach (23/CHE/Fach Auto Tech), who successfully defended their title in the Pro-AM Cup.

Pole-sitter Birch immediately moved to the front of the field on a damp track, and comfortably held onto his lead until the pit stop, while Bulatov slotted into second place at the start. After the driver changeover, a battle developed between race leader Pichler in a Porsche and Hantke in an Audi. Just a short time later, Hantke pulled off an impressive manoeuvre to overtake Pichler on the outside and take the lead. He then consistently pulled clear until he took the chequered flag and the win. This was the second success of the season for Scherer Sport PHX. “The race went absolutely perfectly and we got the maximum out of it. We pushed at the right times and thus looked after our tyres, while our rivals drove them into the ground. That earned us the victory,” revealed Bulatov. Team-mate Hantke added: “Denis did a top job in the opening laps. He ensured the car was consistently up at the front, and did not let the leaders get too far ahead. When the track started to dry out more during my stint, I still had good tyres and was able to attack.”

Pichler took over the Porsche in the lead, but it took him a few laps to find a good rhythm in the damp conditions. “I soon noticed that Nico was approaching from behind and did not defend to vehemently,” said the Austrian, who had to defend second place against a charging Fach in the final few laps. “It all got a bit close again, but I battled hard to hang onto that position, and am now very happy with second place.” That result sees the Porsche drivers climb into second place in the overall standings. They will now battle it out with Fourie and Zimmermann in the final race of the season to see who end the year as runners-up. “We really want to defend this position and give something back to our team. It is their first season in the ADAC GT Masters too, and second place in the Drivers’ Championship would be a great reward,” Birch added.

The joy was no less on the third step of the podium. Fach and Schwarzer picked up the points they needed to win the Pro-AM Cup with a race to spare and, in doing so, defend the title they also won last year. “I am speechless. I cannot believe it,” said Schwarzer, thrilled with the title and third place in the race. “I shut everything out and just drove.” The duo did have a shock during the driver changeover, as the pit stop timer was not working, briefly resulting in chaos. “Fortunately, we got to grips with the situation,” said Fach. “After the changeover, it took me a few laps to find any grip, but I did so really well. As soon as I had my line, I was able to push hard and the car felt like it was on rails. A big thank you to the team. We are both very happy to have had such a good car.”

Fourth place went to the Mercedes-AMG GT3 of Jannes Fittje (26/Langenhain) and Moritz Wiskirchen (23/Euskirchen/both SR Motorsport by Schnitzelalm), who were running third for much of the race, but were eventually pipped to the final podium position by the Fach Porsche. Rounding out the top five were Finn Zulauf (21/Königsstein) and Simon Connor Primm (20/Großschirma/both Paul Motorsport) in a Lamborghini Huracán GT3. They were followed home by the two Ford Mustang GT3 of Haupt Racing Team, with the pairings of Max Reis (18/Ramstein) and Niklas Kalus (20/Duisburg), and Dennis Fetzer (24/Gießen) and Jonathan Cecotto (26/VEN). The Holzem twins, Sandro and Juliano (21/Polch/both Schubert Motorsport), finished eighth after starting from second place on the grid. Behind the new champions Owega and Wiebelhaus, Carrie Schreiner (27/Völklingen) and Alain Valente (28/CHE/Land-Motorsport) completed the top ten in an Audi R8 LMS GT3 Evo 2.

Saturday’s exciting ADAC GT Masters race will be replayed in full on Sky Sport Mix at 23:45. Qualifying for race two in Hockenheim will be streamed live at youtube.com/adacmotorsports from 09:00 on Sunday.