Mercedes-AMG dominates the ADAC GT Masters at the Nürburgring

• Jules Gounon and Fabian Schiller claim their second win of the season at the Nürburgring
• Sven Müller and Joel Sturm crown a great fightback with third place
• 23,500 fans at the Nürburgring set a fourth crowd record in a row

Munich. Drago Racing Team ZVO, and drivers Jules Gounon (27/F) and Fabian Schiller (24/Troisdorf), won a thrilling eighth race of this season’s ADAC GT Masters at the Nürburgring on Sunday. Schiller took the chequered flag in the #4 Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo after 42 laps of racing to claim the second win of the ADAC GT Masters race weekend for Mercedes-AMG. “It was a great race. Our car was fantastic and we had good pace. We finished third on Saturday, now the win – I am totally happy,” said the 24-year-old. 23,500 fans witnessed spectacular and exciting motorsport, enjoyed action-packed racing in the support series, and set another crowd record in the German GT Championship at the Nürburgring.

Key facts, Nürburgring, Nürburg, race 8 of 14

• Circuit length: 3,629 metres
• Weather: 20.4 degrees, sunny
• Pole position: Maro Engel (Mann-Filter Team Landgraf, Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo #48), 1:25.621 minutes
• Winners: Gounon/Schiller (Drago Racing Team ZVO, Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo #4)
• Fastest lap: Ben Green (Schubert Motorsport, BMW M4 GT3 #10), 1:26.868 minutes

For the first half of the race, it looked like being a carbon copy of Saturday’s contest. Like Raffaele Marciello (27/I) 24 hours earlier, pole-sitter Maro Engel (36/Monte Carlo) took an early lead in the #48 Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo of Mann-Filter Team Landgraf. However, Jules Gounon stayed within touching distance of his fellow Mercedes-AMG driver, while the second Mann-Filter Team Landgraf Mercedes-AMG, with Frank Bird (22/GB) at the wheel, followed in third. The order initially remained unchanged after the round of mandatory pit stops. Then disaster struck for leader Raffaele Marciello. The Mercedes-AMG works driver was forced to complete a penalty lap as punishment for blocking Fabian Schiller in the pit lane. He was consequently passed by Schiller, who had taken over the driving duties from Gounon. Schiller controlled the race from the front, producing a flawless display to finish 4.6 seconds clear of his closest rival and claim the second win of the season for his team ahead of Marciello.

Joel Sturm (20/Brühl) of Allied-Racing once again crowned a tactical masterclass with third place in the #22 Porsche 911 GT3 R. Sven Müller (30/Bingen) had made a lightning-quick start, charging from twelfth to fifth on the opening lap. An early pit stop and a penalty awarded to the Mercedes-AMG ahead of them allowed the Porsche duo to secure the final spot on the podium.

One man’s joy is another man’s misery. Running third at the time, Elias Seppänen (18/FIN), who had swapped places with Frank Bird at the wheel of the #84 Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo, was also handed a penalty for failing to remain stationary for the minimum time in the pit lane. He eventually had to settle for fourth place. In contrast, the pairing of Maximilian Götz (36/Uffenheim) and Ezequiel Perez Companc (27/RA) enjoyed a fine race in the #90 Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo. The Madpanda Motorsport duo made up nine places and finished fifth – the best result so far in the ADAC GT Masters for the team from Spain. The best-placed Lamborghini drivers were Konsta Lappalainen (20/FIN) and Mick Wishofer (22/A) from Emil Frey Racing in sixth place. They were followed home by Kim-Luis Schramm (24/Meuspath) and Dennis Marschall (25/Eggenstein) from Rutronik Racing in seventh place in the fastest Audi R8 LMS GT3 Evo II. Franck Perera (38/F) and Arthur Rougier (22/F) of Emil Frey Racing showed great fighting spirit, climbing ten places to end Sunday’s race in eighth place in the #19 Lamborghini Huracán GT3 Evo. The Schubert Motorsport pairing of Jesse Krohn (31/FIN) and Nicky Catsburg (34/NL) also battled hard to guide the #20 BMW M4 GT3 to ninth place from second to last. Maximilian Paul (22/Dresden) and Marco Mapelli (35/I) rounded out the top ten in the #71 Lamborghini Huracán GT3 Evo.

Jules Gounon: “My career started at the Nürburgring. That makes it all the nicer to claim my tenth ADAC GT Masters victory here. We would have preferred to have won in a fair battle out on the track, but this is motorsport and there are rules that have to be observed. I will happily take this success.”

Fabian Schiller: “It is obviously bitterly disappointing for Raffaele Marciello to receive a penalty whilst in front of us. He came out of the garage in front of me and really slowed down. I don’t know why, but that sort of thing is going to get punished.”

All ADAC GT Masters races start at 13:00. International viewers can watch the qualifying and the races live on adac.de/motorsport, the new ADAC Motorsports YouTube channel youtube.com/ADACMotorsports and motorsport.tv.