Brilliant start to season for defending champion Götz in Mercedes-Benz

• Pole for Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG in both races at Oschersleben
• Team-mates Maximilian Götz and Maximilian Buhk secure top starting places
• Audi, Porsche, BMW and Corvette chase Mercedes-Benz hard at season-opener

The year could not have started better for the defending ADAC GT Masters champion. Maximilian Götz (27, Germany/Polarweiss Racing) secured pole position for Sunday's race in his Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG during qualifying at the season-opener of the ADAC GT Masters in the etropolis Motorsport Arena Oschersleben. Maximilian Buhk (20, Germany/Polarweiss Racing), team-mate of Götz in the newly formed Polarweiss Racing outfit, made it a clean sweep. In qualifying for the first race on Saturday, the reigning FIA GT3 European Champion also brought home the Gullwing on pole. In the ADAC GT Masters, the drivers share a supercar cockpit and compete in separate qualifying sessions. Clinching the two top grid positions gave Götz and Buhk the best possible result.

Qualifying for the first of two races in the ADAC GT Masters this weekend at Oschersleben marked a significant achievement for Maximilian Buhk. In the first half of the 30-minute qualifying session, Buhk put his Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG in P1 and then undercut his best time yet again in a second attempt. The Gullwing was closely followed by three Porsche 911s, however, none of them could crack Buhk's best time. "I'm very pleased, although I didn't actually quite manage a perfect lap," said Buhk after his first pole position in the ADAC GT Masters. "I beat my best time at the second attempt, even though I did not expect to do so. Pole is great, but things could be very different in tomorrow's race."

Christian Engelhart (26, Germany / Team Geyer & Weinig / Schütz) had to settle for second place on the grid with a deficit of 0.279 seconds on Buhk. Porsche drivers Philip Frommenwiler (23, CH / Farnbacher Racing) and Robert Renauer (28, Germany / Tonino/Herberth Motorsport) will head up the second row on Saturday.

The second qualifying session also went almost perfectly for Maximilian Götz, who took the lead right at the beginning of the session. Corvette driver Daniel Keilwitz (23, Germany / Callaway Competition) and Christian Mamerow in the Audi R8 (28, Germany / Prosperia C. Abt Racing) tried to beat the defending champion's best time but finally had to settle for second and third place respectively on Sunday's grid. Dutchman Jeroen den Boer (25 / DB Motorsport) in the fastest BMW Z4 secured grid position four.

"Pole position for both races is a dream team performance," said Götz happily after qualifying. "The fact that we start from pole position on Saturday and Sunday shows how well the team is doing and how well we work together as drivers. Our Mercedes-Benz functions brilliantly here in Oschersleben. Maximilian and I produced a perfect result in today's qualifying."

The 2013 ADAC GT Masters will once again be contested over 16 rounds on eight race weekends throughout the year. All 16 races of the ADAC GT Masters will be shown on free-to-air TV station kabel eins. The live broadcasts to audiences in Germany, Austria and Switzerland commence at 12 noon on both the Saturday and the Sunday. The Super Sports Car League is being hosted by two new venues this time: the Formula 1 circuit at Spa-Francorchamps and the Slovakia Ring in Slovakia. The curtain-raiser for the seventh season of the ADAC GT Masters will be staged on the weekend of 26th - 28th April at the etropolis Motorsport Arena Oschersleben.

Tickets for all ADAC GT Masters races start at EUR20 and can be purchased online at www.adac.de, from any ADAC branch office, online at www.eventim.de or from one of the more than 20,000 Eventim outlets throughout Europe.

Result Qualifying 1 (Top Five)

1. Maximilian Buhk (Polarweiss Racing-Mercedes Benz SLS AMG GT3), 1:28.049 Min.
2. Christian Engelhart (Team Geyer & Weinig / Schütz Motorsport-Porsche 911 GT3 R), +0.279 Sec.
3. Philipp Frommenwiler (Farnbacher Racing-Porsche 911 GT3 R), +0.315 Sec.
4. Robert Renauer (Tonino/Herberth Motorsport-Porsche 911 GT3 R), +0.366 Sec.
5. Sergey Afanasiev (Polarweiss Racing-Mercedes Benz SLS AMG GT3), +0.590 Sec.

Result Qualifying 2 (Top Five)

1. Maximilian Götz (Polarweiss Racing-Mercedes Benz SLS AMG GT3), 1:27.507 Min.
2. Daniel Keilwitz (Callaway Competition-Corvette Z06.R GT3), +0.192 Sec.
3. Christian Mamerow (Prosperia C. Abt Racing-Audi R8 LMS ultra), +0.252 Sec.
4. Jereon den Boer (DB Motorsport-BMW Z4 GT3), +0.320 Sec.
5. Martin Ragginger (Tonino/Herberth Motorsport-Porsche 911 GT3 R), 0.388 Sec.