First success in the ADAC GT Masters: Huber Motorsport triumphs, Porsche dominates

• Jannes Fittje and Nico Menzel claim their first victory with Huber Motorsport
• All change at the top: Fittje and Menzel lead the championship
• One-two-three for Porsche at the Norisring

Nuremberg. The exciting qualifying session was followed by the next spectacle, as the Norisring hosted race four of this season’s ADAC GT Masters. Jannes Fittje (Langenhain) and Nico Menzel (Kelberg/both Huber Motorsport) were victorious for the first time in their Porsche 911 GT3 R at the street circuit in Nuremberg. “I have been racing in the ADAC GT Masters for a few years now, so am very relieved to have finally got that monkey off my back. I was running second at one point, and it was tough to get past Finn Gehrsitz. However, I managed in the end and went on to take the victory. The heat was intense today. I tried not to let it affect me. We are now first in the championship and want to defend our lead through to the end of the season,” said Fittje. The 23-year-old also raised aloft the winner’s trophy for the Pirelli Junior competition. Second place went to Finn Gehrsitz (Stuttgart) and Sven Müller (Bingen) in the Joos Porsche. Third place for Tim Zimmermann (Langenargen) and Jaxon Evans (NZ/both Huber Racing) in another Porsche ensured that the Stuttgart-based super sports car manufacturer occupied all three steps on the podium. Races three and four of the ADAC GT Masters season were held in front of 102,000 thrilled spectators at the DTM weekend.

High summer in the city: the thermometer at the 2.2-kilometre street circuit climbed as high as 35 degrees Celsius on Sunday. Right from the start, the ADAC GT Masters produced some heated battles between the walls and the crash barriers in Nuremberg. At the start, Menzel took advantage of his pole position and held onto his lead in the Grundig hairpin, one of the tightest corners on the calendar. In an eventful opening, Menzel was subjected to many overtaking attempts from Müller. 25-year-old Menzel withstood extreme pressure from the opposition on several occasions, before handing the car over to Fittje at the mandatory pit stop. Müller and Gehrsitz were the last to change places in the cockpit, meaning Gehrsitz led when he rejoined the race at Germany’s only street circuit. However, Fittje soon launched a successful overtaking manoeuvre to retake first place, before going on to claim the first victory for Huber Motorsport in the team’s fourth ADAC GT Masters race. With 76 points to their name, the Huber drivers now lead the ADAC GT Masters.

Second-placed Gehrsitz was pleased to have taken a second podium, having already picked up a trophy for third place alongside Müller in Saturday’s race. “That was a very strong weekend for us. We consciously opted to come in very late for our pit stop, and our plan nearly worked out. The bumps at the Norisring are ruthless and I made a slight mistake. That may have cost us first place, but it showed that I was pushing the car to the very limit. We will push hard again at the next race weekend at the Nürburgring,” said the 18-year-old, who receives support from ADAC Stiftung Sport. Third place went to Zimmermann and Evans, who were also in contention for long periods of the sprint race. “We were lacking a little pace at the end, and I was no longer able to match the pace of the leaders. I also decided at that point not to take too many risks. The season is gradually picking up speed and every point is important,” said Zimmermann, summing up his race. Yesterday’s winners, Salman Owega (Cologne) and Elias Seppänen (FIN/both Landgraf Motorsport), got the better of fellow Mercedes-AMG drivers Alain Valente (CH) and Ralf Aron (EST/both Haupt Racing Team) to take fourth place.

In sixth place were Benjamin Hites (CHL) and Marco Mapelli (I) in the Grasser Lamborghini. Local favourite and 2012 ADAC GT Masters champion Maximilian Götz from Uffenheim and Petru Umbrarescu were seventh for Haupt Racing Team in a Mercedes-AMG GT3. Eight across the finish line were Kim-Luis Schramm (Meuspath) and Igor Walilko (PL) in a BMW M4 GT3 run by FK Performance Motorsport. Ninth place went to Eduardo Coseteng (PHL) and Ben Green (GB) from BMW team Schubert Motorsport. Tenth place saw Kwanda Mokoena (ZA) and Dylan Yip (MAC/both Liqui Moly Team Engstler) score more valuable points towards the championship.

There is no time for the ADAC GT Masters drivers to take a breather. The ADAC’s GT series is at the Nürburgring next weekend for round three of the season. Races five and six take place from 14th to 16th July as part of the ADAC Truck Grand Prix.