Maxime Oosten and Leon Köhler secure third ADAC GT Masters win of the season – Landgraf Motorsport retain championship lead, Seppänen takes Road to DTM title
An important victory for Maxime Oosten and Leon Köhler in the BMW M4 GT3 from FK Performance: The German-Dutch duo recorded their third triumph of the current season in the 40-minute ADAC GT Masters sprint race on the Belgian Ardennes rollercoaster at Spa-Francorchamps
“I’m over the moon that we won. Thanks to first place, we were able to make up some points on the championship leaders and significantly improve our title chances,” said Oosten.
His team-mate Köhler was relieved after the race: “Overall, it was a difficult weekend for us. The clutch in particular gave us a hard time, but in the end we won and I’m very happy about that.”
The BMW team from Bremen saw the chequered flag in second place, but a 15-second penalty for the original race winners Tom Kalender and Elias Seppänen made the squad from the Hanseatic city the winners an hour and a half later.
Second place went to Alexander Schwarzer and Alexander Fach in the Porsche 911 GT3 R from Fach Auto Tech, ahead of the Audi R8 LMS GT3 Evo2 of Jonas Karklys and Pablo Schumm (Team Engstler) in third place. It was the best result of the season for both teams
The eighth ADAC GT Masters championship race on the 7.004-kilometer Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps got off to a dramatic start. In the first corner, Kalender caught the Ferrari 296 GT3 of polesitter Jean-Luc D’Auria on the rear. The Swiss driver dropped to the back of the field due to a spin and had to park his car in front of the Emil Frey Racing Garage during the pit stops.
This incident allowed Mike David Ortmann in the Walkenhorst Motorsport Aston Martin Vantage GT3 to take the lead. After a safety car phase due to the recovery of a vehicle, Ortmann was given a penalty lap for his false start, which dropped him back to eighth position.
Kalender was now in the lead, followed by Köhler, who retained their positions after the pit stops and crossed the finish line in the same order. However, Kalender received a 15-second time penalty for his maneuver against D’Auria after the start of the race – the victory went to Köhler.
In the final phase, there was also a thrilling battle for class victory in the ProAm classification in third to fifth place overall, which the Fach Auto Tech team won in the end. “I am completely overwhelmed. After our unfortunate retirement yesterday, we finished second on the overall podium today, it’s a fantastic feeling,” said Alexander Schwarzer.
Benjamin Hites and Tim Zimmermann finished fourth in their Lamborghini Huracán GT3 Evo2. The top five was completed by Denis Bulatov and Ortmann in the Walkenhorst Motorsport Aston Martin Vantage GT3. Sixth place was the final result for Seppänen and Kalender.
David Schumacher and Salman Owega in the Haupt Racing Team Mercedes-AMG GT3 finished seventh ahead of Jannes Fittje and Finn Wiebelhaus (Haupt Racing Team) in another Mercedes-AMG GT3 in eighth place.
The third Haupt Racing Team Mercedes-AMG GT3 driven by Max Reis and Kwanda Mokoena (Haupt Racing Team) finished ninth. Tenth place was secured by Simon Connor Primm and Jonas Greif in the Lamborghini Huracán GT3 Evo2 from Team Paul Motorsport.
Kalender and Seppänen continue to lead the drivers’ standings with 159 points ahead of Oosten and Köhler with 147 points. The trophy in the “Road to DTM” classification went to Seppänen, who leads the championship with 182 points.
The battle for the title will enter the next round at the Red Bull Ring in Austria from September 27 to 29. The drivers will contest championship rounds nine and ten at the circuit in Styria
