Double pole for Bentley on ADAC GT Masters debut

• Bentley to start both races on opening weekend from pole position
• Luca Stolz and Jeroen Bleekemolen book P1 on grid
• Races on Saturday and Sunday to be shown live on SPORT1, starting at 1pm CEST

Oschersleben: A Bentley car has made history on its debut in the ADAC GT Masters. The Bentley
Team HTP duo of Luca Stolz (19, Germany) and Holland’s Jeroen Bleekemolen (33) prevailed in
qualifying for the season opener at the etropolis Motorsport Arena Oschersleben and will now
start from pole position in both the Saturday and the Sunday race (live on SPORT1 starting at
1pm). For the first time in the history of the Super Sports Car League, a manufacturer making its
ADAC GT Masters debut has claimed pole position. Bleekemolen then capped the achievement
by wrapping up pole for Sunday’s race, at the same time setting a new qualifying record for the
ADAC GT Masters at Oschersleben. “It’s hard to imagine a more perfect start to the season to
have claimed both pole positions and thus have an open road in both races,” said a delighted
Stolz. “We have done a lot right in our preparations for the season; we’ve worked hard and the
net result is P1 on the grid.”

Key facts, etropolis Motorsport Arena Oschersleben, Rounds 1 and 2

Length of track: 3,696 metres
Weather: Sunny, 22°C
Pole Position for Race 1: Luca Stolz (Bentley Team HTP, Bentley Continental GT3), 01:27.563
mins
Pole Position for Race 2: Jeroen Bleekemolen (Bentley Team HTP, Bentley Continental GT3),
01:26.852 mins

Qualifying 1 for the race on Saturday:

Stolz showed perfect timing in the first qualifying session. The Bentley driver established himself
at the top of the timesheet at the very moment the session was briefly interrupted due to
contamination on the track. After the restart, none of his opponents were able to undercut the
time set by the Bentley. Alongside Stolz on Saturday’s front row will be Christian Engelhart (28,
Germany) in a GW IT Racing Team Schütz Motorsport Porsche 911. Austria’s Dominik Baumann
(22) driving a BMW Z4 entered by local outfit BMW Sports Trophy Team Schubert from
Oschersleben qualified third ahead of Sebastian Asch (28, Germany) in a Team Zakspeed
Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG. The competition for the best spots on the grid was fiercer than ever
before, with the fastest seven all qualifying within 0.129 seconds of each other.

“The lap was perfect in every respect,” said Stolz. “I had some luck with the traffic and also with
the slipstream. We’re on pole position for both races, but we weren’t all that dominant, because
the gaps at the top are extremely narrow.”

Qualifying 2 for the race on Sunday:

For a long time in qualifying for the second race, it looked as if Corvette driver Daniel Keilwitz
(25, Germany) had pole position in the bag. Keilwitz went out early onto the track and benefited
from the wide open spaces. But then Luca Ludwig (26, Germany) driving a Team Zakspeed
Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG bested the time set by the 2013 ADAC GT Masters champion, and
ultimately Bleekemolen went faster than the pair of them. Shortly before the end of qualifying,
Denmark’s Nicki Thiim (26) in a C.Abt Racing Audi R8 demoted Ludwig and Keilwitz to grid
positions three and four and parked himself on Sunday’s front row.

“My team-mate Luca already did a perfect job in Q1, and then I also put in a perfect lap,” said
Bleekemolen. “I wasn’t expecting pole position here, because the Bentley is still very new to me
and it was by no means easy in free practice today. I didn’t allow myself to make any mistakes in qualifying and did exactly what was needed here to take pole. Qualifying was very
competitive; in the end, there were five cars within 0.2 seconds of each other. That’s highly
enjoyable and it also makes this series what it is. As for the races, despite the double pole it’s
not going to be easy because we don’t yet know what the weather is for this weekend.”

Qualifying for Race 1 on Saturday: Results (Top 5)

1. Luca Stolz (Bentley Team HTP, Bentley Continental GT3), 01:27.563 mins
2. Christian Engelhart (GW IT Racing Team Schütz Motorsport, Porsche 911 GT3 R), +0.037 sec
3. Dominik Baumann (BMW Sports Trophy Team Schubert, BMW Z4 GT3), +0.056 sec
4. Sebastian Asch (Team Zakspeed, Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG GT3), +0.073 sec
5. Dominic Jöst (MRS GT, Racing-Nissan GT-R NISMO GT3), +0.104 sec

Qualifying for Race 2 on Sunday: Results (Top 5)

1. Jeroen Bleekemolen (Bentley Team HTP, Bentley Continental GT3), 01:26,852 mins
2. Nicki Thiim (C.Abt Racing, Audi R8 LMS ultra), +0.093 sec
3. Luca Ludwig (Team Zakspeed, Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG GT3), +0.177 sec
4. Daniel Keilwitz (Callaway Competition, Corvette Z06.R GT3), +0.192 sec
5. Andreas Simonsen (HP Racing, Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG GT3), +0.199 sec