Porsche and Mercedes-Benz lead the way in heat-affected qualifying at Lausitzring

• Thermometer hits 35°C in Lausitzring qualifying
• Porsche man Ragginger claims third pole in four years
• Championship leader Ludwig in Mercedes-Benz takes pole for Sunday’s race

Klettwitz: The battle for pole position in the ADAC GT Masters was waged in scorching conditions at the Lausitzring. Joint championship leaders Sebastian Asch (29, GER) and Luca Ludwig (26, GER) had a tough fight on their hands against the Austrian duo of Klaus Bachler (23, AUT) and Martin Ragginger (27, AUT) in their GW IT Racing Team Schütz Motorsport Porsche 911 in what may have been the hottest ever qualifying in ADAC GT Masters history, as the temperature soared to 35°C. Ragginger prevailed in the contest for Saturday’s pole, beating Asch’s lap time by 0.379 seconds. Championship leader Ludwig will lead off on Sunday, having established a new qualifying record at the Lausitzring on the way to his fifth ADAC GT Masters pole. “It’s not often you put in a lap like that,” said a jubilant Ludwig. “It was simply perfect. Sometimes, you have a very good lap, but today’s was an exceptionally good one.” The Mercedes-Benz man and Ragginger became the seventh and eighth different drivers to have taken pole position during the current season. SPORT1 will be showing the two ADAC GT Masters races at the Lausitzring on Saturday and Sunday live and in full, with coverage commencing at 11:45 CEST.

Qualifying 1 for the race on Saturday:

For fairly obvious reasons, the Lausitzring is Ragginger’s favourite track. The Austrian made that very clear on Friday afternoon. In qualifying, he secured the third pole position in four starts at the Lausitzring for the Porsche 911. “We’ve done a brilliant job as a team,” said a delighted Ragginger. “The Lausitzring suits both the Porsche and myself, but everything has to be absolutely spot on to finish at the very front. We are well positioned in the race and have a car with which we can push and hopefully open up a lead. The races will be exhausting in these hot temperatures, but we’re used to it.”

Ragginger will be starting alongside championship leader Asch in the Mercedes-Benz on Saturday, with Daniel Dobitsch (31, AUT) and Dominik Baumann (22, AUT) occupying the second row. Dobitsch will be aiming to continue the encouraging progress of Audi outfit kfzteile24 MS RACING, while Baumann in a BMW Sports Trophy Team Schubert Z4 can look back on a win in the equivalent fixture at the Lausitzring last year.

Qualifying 2 for the race on Sunday:

Opportunity knocked for Ludwig in qualifying for Sunday’s race. The championship leader found the perfect time to post his fastest lap and take first place on the grid ahead of Nicki Thiim (26, DK) in a C.Abt Racing Audi R8, setting a new qualifying record in the process. Ludwig: “The car was perfect, and I got it just right. We start both races this weekend on the front row, which is great. When you’re enjoying a run of success like the one we’re currently having, it’s nice to see it continue. Things will certainly be more difficult in the race on Saturday, but on Sunday we’ll mount an all-out attack and hope that we can stay in front to the end of the race.”

Bachler in hot pursuit in the Porsche is placed second in the championship standings behind Ludwig and Asch. Starting from fourth place on the grid behind Daniel Keilwitz (25, GER) in a Callaway Competition Corvette, he will hope to be still within striking distance on Sunday. Sharing the third row are Jens Klingmann (24, GER) in a BMW Sports Trophy Team Schubert Z4 and defending champion Kelvin van der Linde (19, RSA), who is hoping for a first podium of the season in his C.Abt Racing Audi R8.

SPORT1 will be showing both races at the Lausitzring on Saturday and Sunday live from 11:45 CEST. The race can also be watched online via live streaming from www.adac.de/gt-masters.

Qualifying 1: Result for Saturday’s race (Top 6)

1. Martin Ragginger (GW IT Racing Team Schütz Motorsport, Porsche 911 GT3 R), 01:20.315 mins
2. Sebastian Asch (Team Zakspeed, Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG GT3), +0.379 sec
3. Daniel Dobitsch (kfzteile24 MS RACING, Audi R8 LMS ultra), +0.450 sec
4. Dominik Baumann (BMW Sports Trophy Team Schubert, BMW Z4 GT3), +0.542 sec
5. Claudia Hürtgen (BMW Sports Trophy Team Schubert, BMW Z4 GT3), +0.585 sec
6. Hari Proczyk (HP Racing, Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG GT3), +0.650 sec

Qualifying 2: Result for Sunday’s race (Top 6)

1. Luca Ludwig (Team Zakspeed, Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG GT3), 01:20.176 mins
2. Nicki Thiim (C.Abt Racing, Audi R8 LMS ultra), +0.150 sec
3. Daniel Keilwitz (Callaway Competition, Corvette Z06.R GT3), +0.172 sec
4. Klaus Bachler (GW IT Racing Team Schütz Motorsport, Porsche 911 GT3 R), +0.258 sec
5. Jens Klingmann (BMW Sports Trophy Team Schubert, BMW Z4 GT3), +0.436 sec
6. Kelvin van der Linde (C.Abt Racing, Audi R8 LMS ultra), +0.488 sec