This was the breakthrough for Niklas Krütten (19/Trier) and Ben Green (24/GB). The two young drivers won Sunday’s race at the Red Bull Ring to take the championship lead in the ADAC GT Masters. “I will need a few days to take it all in. It is incredible to have won both races here and now to lead the championship,” said Ben Green from Schubert Motorsport after his second win of the weekend in Spielberg. BMW works drivers Jesse Krohn (31/FIN) and Nicky Catsburg (34/NL), team-mates of the winning duo, came home second to make it a BMW one-two. The third spot on the podium went to Christian Engelhart (35/Starnberg) and Ayhancan Güven (24/TR) from the Joos Sportwagentechnik team in the #91 Porsche 911 GT3 R. The second ADAC GT Masters race weekend was watched by 25,000 spectators at the Red Bull Ring – a record crowd for the series in Austria.
Key facts, Red Bull Ring, Austria, race 4 of 14
- Circuit length: 4,318 metres
- Weather: 21.8 degrees, sunny
- Pole position: Niklas Krütten (Schubert Motorsport, BMW M4 GT3 #10), 1:28.346 min
- Winners: Niklas Krütten/Ben Green (Schubert Motorsport, BMW M4 GT3 #10)
- Fastest lap: Dries Vanthoor (Montaplast by Land-Motorsport, Audi R8 LMS GT3 Evo II #29), 1:29.282 min
Niklas Krütten started Sunday’s second race at the Red Bull Ring from pole position in the #10 BMW M4 GT3. The youngster made a great start and was able to defend his lead, before handing the car over to Ben Green in the lead after an early pit stop in the 26th minute. The Brit consistently extended his lead and, after 41 laps of racing, took a comfortable lights-to-flag victory to complete a brace of victories in Spielberg in what proved to be the second-fastest race in ADAC GT Masters history. Further down the field, the crowds in the packed grandstands around the alpine circuit were treated to fierce battles and thrilling racing. Jesse Krohn and Nicky Catsburg finished runner-up in the second Schubert Motorsport car, ahead of an ever-improving Ayhancan Güven, who again finished on the podium alongside Christian Engelhart in the #91 Porsche 911 GT3 R.
Joel Sturm (20/Brühl) and Sven Müller (30/Bingen) came home fourth, behind their fellow Audi drivers, in the #22 Porsche 911 GT3 R of Allied-Racing. Jusuf Owega (20/Cologne) and Dries Vanthoor (24/B), at the wheel of the #29 Audi R8 LMS GT3 Evo II for Montaplast by Land-Motorsport, were on course for a podium finish in the first half of the race, but eventually had to settle for fifth after a penalty lap as a result of a misdemeanour during their pit stop. Sixth place went to the pairing of Kim-Luis Schramm (24/Meuspath) and Dennis Marschall (25/Eggenstein) in the #27 Rutronik Racing Audi R8 LMS GT3 Evo II, followed by the best-placed Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo of Jan Marschalkowski (19/Inning) and Daniel Juncadella (31/E). Jack Aitken (26/GB) and Albert Costa Balboa (31/E) guided the #63 Lamborghini Huracán GT3 Evo to eighth place for the Emil Frey Racing team. The #88 McLaren 720S GT3, with Christian Klien (39/A) and Dennis Lind (29/DK) sharing the driving duties, was ninth. This rounded off a successful guest start in the German GT Championship for JP Motorsport. The top ten was completed by Patric Niederhauser (30/CH) and Luca Engstler (22/Wiggensbach) at the wheel of the #15 Audi R8 LMS GT3 Evo II for Rutronik Racing.
Niklas Krütten: “I was nervous at the start, but got away well. After a few laps, the race at the front had calmed down a little and I tried to look after the tyres for Ben’s stint. That worked well, and allowed Ben to secure the win. I cannot yet believe that we won again today, after our maiden victory on Saturday. It is unbelievable.”
Ben Green: “Niklas did a great job. I was able to control the race from the front and drive at my own pace. I never thought I would top the table in the ADAC GT Masters in my first season.”
Nicky Catsburg: “I tried all day to make Niklas nervous, so that I could win the start. Unfortunately, however, the lad kept his cool. They were simply too strong and did a super job. My goal was to keep the gap as small as possible and to use the pit stop to get past. However, that did not work out either.”
Jesse Krohn: “We are still learning about the car. We had no issues and drove a good race. However, the two youngsters were simply unbeatable today.”
The German GT Championship now travels to Circuit Zandvoort on the Dutch North Sea coast for round three of the season, from 24th to 26th June
Source. ADAC GT Masters
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