Home race in ADAC GT Masters for five Austrians at Red Bull Ring

• Audi, Bentley, BMW, Mercedes and Porsche arrive with Austrian drivers
• Bachler and Proczyk battling for championship points in Porsche and Mercedes-Benz
• Grasser Racing from nearby Knittelfeld relishing prospect of home race
• Mercedes-Benz DTM star Lucas Auer supports compatriots in the ADAC GT Masters

Munich: Five Austrians and a team from the province of Steiermark (SE Austria) are looking forward to next weekend (5th - 7th June) when they will be competing in their ADAC GT Masters home race at the Red Bull Ring in Austria. Porsche driver Klaus Bachler (23, GW IT Racing Team Schütz Motorsport), who jointly leads the standings at this early stage of the campaign, actually comes from Unzmarkt in Steiermark. Seeking to knock him off his perch are fellow countrymen in a variety of marques, including Bentley, BMW, Audi and Mercedes-Benz. Also keen to score a victory on their home turf are Grasser Racing from nearby Knittelfeld, who are fielding the new Lamborghini Huracán. Lending his moral support is one of Austria’s best-known faces in the sport, Lucas Auer, who currently drives for Mercedes-Benz in the DTM. Lucas will be attending the Red Bull Ring on Saturday and signing autographs for fans. SPORT1 will be broadcasting both races, with coverage commencing at 1pm CEST on Saturday and Sunday.

One contestant with extra reason to feel confident about his home race is popular local driver Klaus Bachler who got his ADAC GT Masters career off to the best possible start by recording a victory at Oschersleben in the Porsche 911 which he shares with Christian Engelhart (28). Bachler, who finished the 2009 Formel ADAC championship as runner-up: “Home races are a law unto themselves. On the one hand, it’s great to be racing on familiar territory, but on the other hand, the pressure is so much greater. That’s because you always want to excel in front of your own fans. But I know that you can’t force the situation, so I’ll be going into the race in an appropriate frame of mind. The two races at the Red Bull Ring will be very hard for us, but I can promise that we’ll be giving it everything we’ve got.”

Like Bachler, Hari Proczyk (39 HP Racing) is delighted to be returning to his native Steiermark. Proczyk is contesting the two races in the dual role of driver and team manager. He owns HP Racing and partners Sweden’s Andreas Simonsen (25) behind the wheel of a Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG. “We cannot necessarily expect to carry on at the Red Bull Ring where we left off at Oschersleben, namely with two podium appearances. But in any case, we aim to come away with a decent points haul. It’s hard to say who will lead the standings by the end of the weekend. It will be very hot, which is an additional factor in the Steiermark, because that can quickly turn into a summer downpour.”

At Oschersleben, the new Bentley Continental already demonstrated that it is capable of winning races in the ADAC GT Masters. Clemens Schmid (24, Bentley Team HTP) from Gries am Brenner together with adoptive Austrian Fabian Hamprecht (19) aims to exploit the strengths of the British power coupé: “The Red Bull Ring is a great track with a good mix of corners and straights. The circuit has its own unique flair, and a visit to Steiermark is always a pleasure for the hospitality you encounter here. When I was very young, I use to go to Formula 1 races at the Red Bull Ring, so it’s obviously extra special for me now to be driving there myself. The track is a lot of fun and should suit our Bentley.”

Relying on the merits of his Audi R8 is Daniel Dobitsch (30, kfzteile MS RACING). An hotelier by profession living in Merano (South Tyrol), he too has a Swedish co-driver, Edward Sandström (36).

Dobitsch: “The past few years have shown that it’s not easy to win in an Audi at the Red Bull Ring, but we will give our best and certainly attack. If it rains, the deck of cards will be reshuffled anyway. Edward won the 24-hour race at the Nürburgring in mid-May in an Audi, so that gives us added motivation to come away from the Red Bull Ring with a good result.”
Driving a BMW Z4 GT3 is Dominik Baumann (22, BMW Sports Trophy Team Schubert) from Rum in Tyrol partnered by Jens Klingmann (24). Baumann: “We’ve had several weeks’ break since the last ADAC GT Masters, so I’m very pleased that it’s starting up again. Jens and I make a good, consistent pairing, as was apparent at Oschersleben, so we should be able to score some good points. The weather forecast promises hot temperatures for the weekend, which should suit our BMW Z4 just fine.”

Mercedes-Benz DTM driver Lucas Auer will also attend the ADAC GT Masters at the Red Bull Ring on Saturday. Auer will be at the ‘Meet the drivers’ autograph session which starts at 3:45pm on the terrace of ‘Bull’s Lane’ restaurant at the end of the pit lane to sign autographs and souvenir photos along with the winners of the first ADAC GT Masters race.