Buhk and Götz in win for Mercedes - Strong debuts from Ogier and Alguersuari

• Maximilian Götz and Maximilian Buhk triumph at the Lausitzring
• Ex-Formula 1 star Alguersuari eighth on ADAC GT Masters debut
• World Rally Champion Ogier ventures out in an Audi and finishes 13th

On the third race weekend of the 2014 ADAC GT Masters season, Maximilian Buhk (21, GER) and Maximilian Götz (28, GER) driving an HTP Motorsport Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG have claimed their second victory of the campaign. The Mercedes duo dominated the race, winning by a 13.8 second margin over the TONINO Team Herberth Porsche 911 driven by Robert Renauer (29, GER) and Austria’s Norbert Siedler (31). After starting from pole position and retaining the lead throughout the first stint, the Callaway Competition Corvette of defending champion Daniel Keilwitz (24, GER) and Englishman Oliver Gavin (41) experienced a problem during the pit stop, which meant they had to settle for the third podium spot. “I’m 100% satisfied,” said a jubilant Maxi Buhk. “In the run-up to the Lausitzring weekend, we weren’t counting on a race win, because this track tends to favour the smaller, nippier cars in the field.”

Buhk paves way to victory with strong start

Buhk laid the foundations for the race win with a perfect start. From sixth on the grid, the German muscled his way into second place behind the Corvette of Keilwitz before even reaching the first corner. Buhk then pursued the ADAC GT Masters champion during the entire first half of the race, closing in on him just before the driver changeover when the Corvette driver came across two back-markers, which cost him his lead of three seconds. The pit stop of Buhk and Götz was two seconds faster, putting the gullwing Mercedes in the lead after the stop. “The gearbox was stuck in third when I tried to set off, and I couldn’t find first gear, so I was rooted to the spot,” said Gavin, annoyed at losing the lead on the driver changeover. The Corvette driver then dropped further down to fifth place after a spin, while Götz out in front had a comfortable lead on Siedler’s Porsche. Götz opened up the gap with every lap to secure his fourth comfortable victory in the ADAC GT Masters.

“Max had a fantastic start, which was the basis for our victory today,” said a delighted Götz. “I was in the lead after the pit stop and had already prepared myself for a tough time with the Porsche behind me. But then we did very well over the distance and were able to drive consistently fast.”

“It was very difficult to begin with after the start, and I even ran wide a couple of times,” said Buhk. “Then during the pit stop, we again adjusted the tyre pressures, which improved things considerably for Maxi in the second half of the race.”

Keilwitz and Gavin in battle for third place

There was an exciting three-way battle for third place that lasted until the final lap between Gavin, the PIXUM Team Schubert BMW Z4 of Claudia Hürtgen and Dominik Baumann, and the BKK Mobil Oil Zakspeed Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG of Luca Ludwig and Alon Day. Baumann spun in the tussle for P3 with Day and fell back behind Gavin into fifth place. The Corvette driver then became Day’s pursuer and ultimately took third place from the Mercedes-Benz. Next, it was Baumann’s turn to battle his way past Day to finish the race in fourth place.

Championship leader Jaap van Lagen (37, NL) and GW IT Racing Team Schütz Motorsport team-mate Martin Ragginger (25, GER) finished sixth in their Porsche 911. South Africa’s Kelvin van der Linde (17) and René Rast (27, GER) in a Prosperia C Abt Audi R8 staged the most dramatic charge of the race: after spinning during the start phase, van der Linde had dropped down to last place, but with Rast’s later assistance, the South African clawed his way from the very rear of the field back to the front again. Shortly before the end of the race, Rast secured seventh place by overtaking the ROWE RACING Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG in which Spanish ex-Formula 1 driver Jaime Alguersuari (24) together with Nico Bastian (24, GER) was making a strong ADAC GT Masters debut.

“My first race in the ADAC GT Masters was great,” said Alguersuari after finishing eighth in his first race. “It was a really good experience. My team-mate Nico Bastian, who unlike me already knows the car very well, is giving me some fantastic support this weekend. I have to change my driving style for the GT racing car, because obviously the car drives very differently to a Formula 1 car. We were handicapped to a small degree in the race and had problems with second and third gear. That meant I couldn’t defend my position against the Audi over the final laps. I had great fun in the race, though, and expect to finish even further up the field tomorrow.”

ROWE RACING’s second Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG driven by Jan Seyffarth (27, GER) and Maro Engel (28, GER) took ninth position from the Reiter Engineering Chevrolet Camaro of Albert von Thurn und Taxis (30, GER) and Tomas Enge (37, CZ). The Camaro produced its best ever result in the ADAC GT Masters this time out, achieving a points-scoring finish and a Top-Ten ranking for the first time.

Ogier impresses with fast lap times on ADAC GT Masters debut

World Rally Champion Sébastien Ogier finished 13th on his first outing in the ADAC GT Masters. The 30-year-old Frenchman shared the cockpit of a Prosperia C Abt Racing Audi R8 LMS with Markus Winkelhock (33, GER). On the opening lap, Winkelhock briefly fell back to 19th after a brush with the kfzteile24 APR Motorsport Audi R8 driven by Florian Stoll (32, GER), before steadily working his way forward through the field. Ogier drove the second stint and set some impressive lap times before crossing the line in 13th.

“Unfortunately, an opponent spun my team-mate round at the start, which put us very far back in the field,” said Ogier. “Actually, that didn’t bother me too much, because I’d had hardly any opportunity to do any driving during free practice, and being under no pressure to battle for position, it meant that I could concentrate on gaining experience. This race was good practice for me, and I’m excited about the prospects for Race 2 on Sunday when I’ll be driving the first stint.”

Handlos extends his winning streak in the Gentlemen stakes

Herbert Handlos continued his run of wins in the Gentlemen class. The 31-year-old Austrian, who shares the cockpit of his TONINO Team Herberth Porsche 911 with Alfred Renauer (29, GER), celebrated a fourth victory in succession, crossing the line ahead of the two Callaway Competition Corvettes driven by Swiss challengers Toni Seiler (56) and Remo Lips (32). In the first half of the race, Lips seized the lead from Handlos, but after the mandatory pit stop and driver change, the Corvette man’s partner Lennart Marioneck (25, GER) spun round on track allowing Renauer to wrap up a clear win for his team-mate.

BMW and Corvette to start from front row on Sunday

After finishing fourth in Race 1, Dominik Baumann in his BMW Z4 goes into Sunday’s race (live on kabel eins from 11:45 CEST) in pole position. Jeroen Bleekemolen (32, NL) in a Callaway Competition Corvette starts alongside him in P2. The second row is occupied by Rast in an Audi and Siedler in a Porsche. Saturday’s winner, Maximilian Götz, starts from sixth in his Mercedes-Benz.

Result: Race 1 (Top Six)

1. Maximilian Buhk / Maximilian Götz (HTP Motorsport, Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG GT3), 43 laps
2. Robert Renauer / Norbert Siedler (TONINO Team Herberth, Porsche 911 GT3 R), +13.841 sec
3. Daniel Keilwitz / Oliver Gavin (Callaway Competition, Corvette Z06.R GT3), +18.041 sec
4. Claudia Hürtgen / Dominik Baumann (PIXUM Team Schubert, BMW Z4 GT3), +18.586 sec
5. Luca Ludwig / Alon Day (BKK MOBIL OIL Zakspeed, Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG GT3), 23.000 sec
6. Martin Ragginger / Jaap van Lagen (GW IT Racing Team Schütz Motorsport, Porsche 911 GT3 R), 26.629 sec