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08.04.2013 - ADAC GT Masters
Daniel Keilwitz: Third time lucky
- Interview with ADAC GT Masters runner-up Daniel Keilwitz
- Third season together for Keilwitz/Alessi
- Runners-up get updated Callaway Corvette
2012 ADAC GT Masters runner-up Daniel Keilwitz (23, Villingen) is to line up for his third ADAC GT Masters season in a row with Diego Alessi (41, Italy) in a Corvette Z06 prepared by Callaway Competition. Keilwitz/Alessi achieved three wins last year, and the Corvette duo was only narrowly defeated in the title race at the finale in Hockenheim. Keilwitz/Alessi aim to be in the running for the championship once again when the 2013 season of the ADAC GT Masters gets under way at the etropolis Motorsport Arena in Oschersleben (26th - 28th April).
This will be your third season with Diego Alessi in the ADAC GT Masters, so will it be third time lucky?
Daniel Keilwitz: “We make quite a formidable duo, so we wanted to be together again. I’m very pleased that it proved possible. We missed the championship by a whisker last year, and now I just hope that it will be third time lucky as we have our third crack at the title.”
What technical improvements have been made to the Callaway Corvette Z06 for 2013?
“The Callaway team of Ernst Wöhr and Giovanni Ciccone has come up with some super updates again this year. We’ve now got shift paddles on the steering wheel to change gear. There’s a new brake set up on the front axle, giving better braking performance and different shock absorbers on the rear axle. The car is really nice to drive with these improvements. Callaway has done a great job. I think we should certainly be well placed in terms of performance.”
In 2010, you won the FIA GT3 European Championship along with Christian Hohenadel. Now Hohenadel is in competition with you in a second Callaway Corvette. What do you expect from your team-mates, Hohenadel and Wirth?
“Well, I assume that Christian and Andreas will be tough competition for us. I’m very pleased, though, that Christian Hohenadel is on the same team again and I’m sure that we’ll have one or two decent scraps this year. Having Christian on board is really great and he’s an excellent addition to the team with his experience. We’ve got two equally strong driver pairings for the start of the season, which is brilliant for the team as a whole. “
How do you expect the 2013 ADAC GT Masters season will go?
“Sizing up the competition in a very competitive championship series like the ADAC GT Masters is always very tricky. We won’t know exactly how good everyone is until the season opener at Oschersleben. But as things currently stand, the field of drivers will be immensely strong again, for sure.”
The ADAC GT Masters is heading to Spa-Francorchamps and the Slovakia Ring for the first time. Are you familiar with these circuits?
“I’ve competed at Spa in a Mini. But I don’t think there’s any comparison with posting laps in the Corvette. I’m really looking forward to the track, you know, and Diego Alessi is considered to be a bit of a Spa expert, so I am quite confident. The Slovakia Ring is new territory for me. Still, the track is an unknown quantity for most of the others, so it’s a level playing field for everyone, more or less.”
How are preparations for the season going generally?
“We aim to do some more testing with the Corvette, plus, I’ve stepped up my fitness regime so that we can go straight back on the offensive at the season opener in Oschersleben.”
The 2013 ADAC GT Masters will once again be contested over 16 rounds on eight race weekends throughout the year. All 16 races of the ADAC GT Masters will be shown on free-to-air TV station kabel eins. The live broadcasts to audiences in Germany, Austria and Switzerland commence at 12 noon on both the Saturday and the Sunday. The Super Sports Car League is being hosted by two new venues this time: the Formula 1 circuit at Spa-Francorchamps and the Slovakia Ring in Slovakia. The curtain-raiser for the seventh season of the ADAC GT Masters will be staged on the weekend of 26th - 28th April at the etropolis Motorsport Arena Oschersleben.
