GOTZ AND POMMER IN MERCEDES-AMG WIN IN THE ADAC GT MASTERS IN SWELTERING CONDITIONS AT MOST
Snake bite! The garish yellow ‘Mamba’ driven by Markus Pommer (27, GER) and Maximilian Götz (32, GER, both Mann-Filter Team HTP) won Sunday’s ADAC GT Masters race at Most to claim a first victory of the season for Mercedes-AMG. The other two podium spots went to Corvette drivers Marvin Kirchhöfer (24, GER) and Daniel Keilwitz (28, GER, both Callaway Competition) in P2 and to Robert Renauer (33, GER) and Mathieu Jaminet (23, FRA, both Precote Herberth Motorsport) in the third-placed Porsche. “Things could not have gone better for us today,” said a jubilant Maximilian Götz afterwards. “It’s great to have our first win of the year. That was important for the championship.”
Key facts, Autodrom Most, Most, Round 4 of 14
Length of circuit: 4,212 metres
Weather: 25°C, sunny
Pole position: Maximilian Götz (Mann-Filter Team HTP, Mercedes-AMG GT3), 1:31.730 mins
Winners: Markus Pommer and Maximilian Götz (Mann-Filter Team HTP, Mercedes-AMG GT3)
Fastest race lap: Maximilian Götz (Mann-Filter Team HTP, Mercedes-AMG GT3), 1:33.346 mins
Pole-setter Götz up and away
Pole position, fastest race lap and a comfortable win: Maximilian Götz and Markus Pommer had everything under control at Most on Sunday, despite temperatures of almost 25 degrees. Pole-setter Götz asserted P1 at the start and then pulled out a lead of five seconds on his rivals. Team-mate Pommer, who took over in the Mercedes-AMG cockpit around the middle of the race, comfortably brought home the team’s first win of the campaign, crossing the finish line 1.9 seconds ahead of the next car. For Götz, it was victory number five in this particular series and his first since the Lausitzring in 2014. Partner Pommer’s second success was not as long in coming, as his only victory to date was at the Nürburgring in 2017.
The two Corvette drivers, Kirchhöfer and Keilwitz, came home in second place, as they had in Race 1, but they were never a real threat to the eventual winners. The third spot on the podium was taken – as on Saturday – by Robert Renauer and Mathieu Jaminet in a Porsche, following a penalty for the Mercedes-AMG of Indy Dontje (25, NL) and Maximilian Buhk (25, GER, both Mann-Filter Team HTP) who had been heading for a podium finish in the first stint of the race. They were penalised because their pit stop was less than the minimum time stipulated in the regulations, and they ultimately finished 16th. Renauer and Jaminet extended their lead in the overall standings with a second podium in a row.
Dominik Schwager (41, GER) and Luca Ludwig (29, GER, both HB Racing) finished fourth in the Ferrari 488 GT3. They were followed home by five Audis led by Filip Salaquarda (34, CZ) and Frank Stippler (43, GER) from local outfit Team ISR. Alessio Picariello (24, B) and Christopher Mies (28, GER, both Montaplast by Land-Motorsport) finished in front of fellow Audi drivers, Ricardo Feller (17, CH) and Christopher Haase (30, GER, both BWT Mücke Motorsport). Picariello thus secured victory in the Pirelli Junior class. Eighth place went to the Audi R8 LMS of brothers Kelvin (21, ZA) and Sheldon van der Linde (18, ZA, both Montaplast by Land-Motorsport). Next came Saturday’s winners Jeffrey Schmidt (24, CH) and Stefan Mücke (36, GER, both BWT Mücke Motorsport). BMW drivers Christopher Zöchling (30, AUT) and Jens Klingmann (27, GER, both MRS GT-Racing) in tenth place took the final championship point.
The win in the Pirelli Trophy classification this time went to Rolf Ineichen (39, CH) and Christian Engelhart (31, GER, GRT Grasser Racing Team).
Comments from the winners
Maximilian Götz (Mann-Filter Team HTP, Mercedes-AMG GT3): “After our bad luck on Saturday, when we came away empty-handed, it was important to score a lot of points. By contrast, today went superbly well, with pole position, fastest race lap and the victory. I’m absolutely delighted. The team worked hard after yesterday’s DNF to give us a car that would enable us to put in precisely this sort of performance. It was perfect. The most critical situation was at the start, because I had the Corvette alongside me, and everyone knows what a strong car that is. Also, Daniel Keilwitz is also a good starter. We were level going into the first corner, but I was on the inside and managed to hold on to the lead. After the brief safety car deployment, I had a good restart and was able to sail away and create a cushion for Markus.”
Markus Pommer (Mann-Filter Team HTP, Mercedes-AMG GT3): “What a perfect day! Maxi handed me a decent lead, and I initially put my foot down. Later on, though, I took it a bit more steadily. After the retirement on Saturday, I wanted to get the car safely to the finish. I thought I could hear some sort of noise and told the team so on the radio. But it turned out to be nothing. I then drove to the finish without taking any risks. It’s great to have achieved a victory with the team on only my second outing for them. You can see that everything works smoothly and that Maxi and I are an effective partnership. Things just keep getting better.”
Calendar for the 2018 ADAC GT Masters
13/04/18 – 15/04/18 Motorsport Arena Oschersleben
27/04/18 – 29/04/18 Autodrom Most (CZ)
08/06/18 – 10/06/18 Red Bull Ring (AUT)
03/08/18 – 05/08/18 Nürburgring
17/08/18 – 19/08/18 Circuit Zandvoort (NL)
07/09/18 – 09/09/18 Sachsenring
21/09/18 – 23/09/18 Hockenheimring Baden-Württemberg
Source. ADAC GT Masters/Photo. ADAC Motorsport
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