ADAC GT MASTERS SEASON OPENER MADE TO MEASURE: BWT MUCKE MOTORSPORT ON THE PODIUM AT OSCHERSLEBEN

BWT Mücke Motorsport are going full throttle into their third ADAC GT Masters campaign. On the weekend of 26th – 28th April, those immortal words once again rang out: “Gentlemen, start your engines!” The illustrious Berlin-based outfit responded to the call and, after months of intensive preparation, arrived at Motorsport Arena Oschersleben with motivation running high.

With the exception of Nikolaj Rogivue, the squad crewing the evolutionary version of the Audi R8 LMS consisted of familiar faces. The newcomer from Switzerland shares the cockpit of the number 26 BWT Audi R8 LMS with Stefan Mücke, while the crew of the number 25 BWT Audi R8 LMS is a reshuffling of talent already in the team in the shape of Christopher Haase and Jeffrey Schmidt. Markus Winkelhock and Mike David Ortmann are retained as the drivers for the kfzteile24 Audi R8 LMS.

Highlights of the weekend

Rocket launch: Schmidt and Haase in the number 25 BWT Audi R8 LMS made a copybook start to the season on Saturday. In a chaotic qualifying session interrupted several times, Schmidt booked seventh on the grid, a position which he maintained to the end of his stint despite a minor off-track excursion. The race got especially interesting shortly after Haase took over at the mandatory pit stop, because the heavens then opened. The inaugural ADAC GT Masters champion was not going to let a bit of rain put the dampers on his race, however, and he gradually worked his way through the field to eventually cross the finishing line in third place. A first podium of the season in the first race of the year as well as a victory for Schmidt in the Junior class. Sunday started with a rain-affected qualifying and tenth on the grid for Haase. From the off, he immediately gained two positions but then incurred a five-second penalty for having strayed out of position in the rolling start. A controversial decision, which the team grudgingly accepted – those extra seconds during the pit stop effectively cost them six positions. In the circumstances, P11 and a fastest race lap for Haase were some consolation in a race that, under normal circumstances, might well have resulted in a Top Five finish.

Promising start: Swiss newcomer Rogivue passed his first test in the number 26 BWT Audi R8 LMS with flying colours. In Saturday’s qualifying, the 22-year-old did not allow three red flags to unsettle him as he qualified in the Top Ten against a highly competitive field. At the start of the race, Rogivue gained two positions before handing over to co-driver Mücke in eighth. After several no-fault collisions with an opponent, however, the car was in such poor shape that Mücke was fighting a losing battle in the increasingly heavy rain and could finish no higher than 13th. In qualifying for the second race, Mücke struggled to find the peak of the tyre on a wet track and had to settle for 23rd on the grid. In the race itself, though, the duo mounted a determined charge through the field to finish 14th and score two championship points.

Overtaking at its best: In both races at Oschersleben, Ortmann and Winkelhock showed that they are no pushovers in race trim. In the number 24 kfzteile24 Audi R8 LMS, the pair of them worked their way past 15 other cars – no mean feat in such a competitive arena as the ADAC GT Masters. Ortmann had qualified in 18th place for the first race, but by the end, they were up to twelfth. On Sunday, Ortmann crossed the finish line in tenth place after Winkelhock had qualified 19th.

Strong team performance: Not only did all of the BWT Mücke Motorsport Audi R8 LMSs see the chequered flag in both races, all of the drivers finished in the points too. What’s more, Schmidt is currently third in the Junior championship. There was also good reason for general celebration, as the points haul puts BWT Mücke Motorsport third in the team classification.

Comments on the weekend

Stefan Mücke (BWT Audi R8 LMS #26): “On Saturday, our number 25 BWT Audi R8 LMS achieved a magnificent result with third place. Otherwise, though, it was a mixed weekend for the team and for me personally as a driver. In my quali, unfortunately, conditions were quite difficult and I was unable to get maximum benefit from the tyres. At least we gained a few places in the race and we made it into the points. In the ADAC GT Masters, it is absolutely vital to qualify near the front, because the field is so tight. We will be working hard during our upcoming test drives to get ourselves optimally prepared for Most and to build on our successes of last year.”

Nikolaj Rogivue (BWT Audi R8 LMS #26): “The weekend started out quite well and, apart from a minor blip in the Junior practice session, we were really fast. In my qualifying on Saturday, it should have been possible to do significantly better than tenth place, but the red flags always came out at precisely the most inconvenient moments. I was unable to get the best out my tyres at their peak, otherwise I would have qualified further up the grid. In the race itself, I had a good start, and I was able to hand over the car to Stefan in eighth place. Unfortunately, he got obstructed on the track, and as a result of several contacts with a Porsche, our aerodynamics suffered a lot. Nonetheless, he managed to bring the car home in 14th place. So at least we got some points on the first race weekend, but we had been hoping for more.”

Christopher Haase (BWT Audi R8 LMS #25): “We did a good job overall, even though neither race was straightforward. On Saturday, we benefited somewhat from the misfortunes of others, whereas on Sunday, it was the other way around. As a result of the penalty in the second race, we obviously didn’t fulfil our potential. But by finishing eleventh, we at least scored points. All in all, though, the positives outweigh the negatives this weekend. If we maintain this form, we can accomplish something worthwhile by the end of the campaign.”

Jeffrey Schmidt (BWT Audi R8 LMS #25): “It was a great relief to make it onto the podium in the very first race of the season. From seventh on the grid, we knew that the podium was within our grasp, but after I skidded off track in my stint, I thought we’d blown it. Fortunately, thanks to Christopher’s strong performance in the rain, the reconstituted partnership of Schmidt and Haase still worked brilliantly. I was pretty nervous watching in the garage, because other experienced drivers were spinning off the track out there. But he did a great job and we were able to finish third as well as coming top in the Junior classification.”

Mike David Ortmann (kfzteile24 Audi R8 LMS #24): “We came out very early in Saturday’s quali so as to get into our rhythm right away. I haven’t felt 100 percent comfortable in the car so far, and this was reflected in my P17 qualifying result. That put us in the midfield of the starting line-up instead of among the also-rans. The race itself was OK, especially the superb pit stop which gained us three positions. Under the new regulations, we even scored points for coming twelfth. Racking up the points is essential in the ADAC GT Masters, because only the drivers who do so on a regular basis will be in contention at the end of the season.”

Markus Winkelhock (kfzteile24 Audi R8 LMS #24): “Unfortunately, the weekend did not go the way I had imagined. In the qualifying sessions, we were some way off the leaders. In the ADAC GT Masters, you are always going to have difficulty in overtaking. In addition, you have the track layout here at Oschersleben, which makes overtaking all the more difficult. Consequently, we knew from the outset that we weren’t going to make all that much progress through the field. But with the charge we mounted from 19th to tenth in the second race, we definitely got the maximum out of the car. We made a few changes to the car, and it immediately felt much better. That’s also something we are going to take away from this weekend and hopefully implement at Most.”

Matthias Kieper (PR & Team Management): “We had a start to the season on Saturday that lived up to expectations, and we were delighted to come away from the first race with a podium finish. This top result for Jeffrey and Christopher was the perfect boost for everyone in the team. Although that wasn’t wholly necessary, because our team has made the best start to the season since BWT Mücke Motorsport first contested the ADAC GT Masters. We were all geared up for it, and the customary warm-up period at the beginning of a season was not necessary at all. That was just amazing and great to see. This is precisely the spirit in which we need to keep working, and I’m sure that many more podium finishes will follow as a matter of course.”

Michael Weiss (Technical Director): “Considering that we went into the first race from seventh on the grid, we kept our cool when the rain started, and we ended up third, so I would say we did a lot right. Jeffrey had the potential to finish Saturday’s qualifying in the Top Three. However, just as he was about to launch into his decisive push lap, the red flags suddenly came out and the lap was nullified. In qualifying on Sunday, we made one or two wrong decisions. In the circumstances, Christopher achieved maximum damage limitation with P10 on the grid. The starting position for Stefan and Markus in the second race was a bit more problematic. The further down the grid you are, the harder it gets, and all you can do basically is try to hold your own against the rest of the midfield. The stewards penalised Christopher for his start, but we saw it differently. After a number of problems last season with the starting procedure, it was decided that the field should flow more and that everyone should approach the start line faster. This was agreed by everyone, and in principle, that’s the right way to do it. On Sunday, Christopher had just come round the final corner onto the home straight and the lights had already gone green. So he accelerated out of the corner at full speed and developed oversteer which he then sought to correct. He could only have moved to the right if he had come off the gas. But if he had done so, it would have had devastating consequences. The basic idea to change the starting procedure was the right one. However, we really need to vary it on a track by track basis.”

Peter Mücke (Team Principal): “We were happy with third place on Saturday. The guys did a good job and deservedly made it onto the podium. The situation with rain and slicks was particularly difficult. You simply have to catch the right moment. If you are caught up in the thick of the action, you’ve had it. All it takes is for someone to hit the side of your car and you find yourself dropping back four or five places. On Sunday in qualifying, we were just not as good as we had hoped. The drivers did their best, I don’t have any complaints about them. As for the penalty handed to Christopher Haase in the second race, I see the situation differently. There is a clear question mark over this decision as far as I’m concerned. So to summarise the weekend, Race 1 was excellent, Race 2 less so, but there was nothing our drivers could have done about that.”

Source. BWT Mücke Motorsport/Photo. Gruppe C Photography