ADAC GT MASTERS WIN FOR ENGLEHART/HOVEN AT LASIT RING

Christian Engelhart (35/Sternberg) and Ayhankan Güven (24/TR) kept their cool in the rain to win the ninth ADAC GT Masters race of the season at the DEKRA Lausitzring. After 37 thrilling laps, Güven took the checkered flag to claim his first win and the first for Joos Sportwagentechnik in the German GT Championship. “I am very happy that we won this race. It was incredibly difficult because it was the first time I drove our Porsche in the rain and everything was a bit foreign. Fortunately, I did enough and we are right in the fight for the championship,” said the young Turk.

Key facts, Lausitzring, Kletwitz, race 9 of 14

• Chain length: 3478 meters
• Weather: 19 degrees, rain
• Pole position: Christian Engelhart (Team Joos Sportwagentechnik, Porsche 911 GT3 R #91), 1:35.596 minutes
• Winners: Engelhart/Hueven (Team Joos Sportwagentechnik, Porsche 911 GT3 R #91)
• Fastest Lap: Klaus Bachler (Dinamic Motorsport, Porsche 911 GT3 R #11), 1:36.352 minutes

One of the most spectacular races of the season awaited spectators at the Lausitzring on Saturday. It rained heavily at times and all the drivers tried their best to keep their super sports cars on the track. There were some fierce battles and a few exits off the racing surface, but the safety car was not needed. Christian Engelhart was able to defend his lead at the start with Patrick Niederhauser (30/CH) in the #15 Rutronik Racing Audi R8 LMS GT3 Evo II and Alberto Costa Balboa (32/E) in the #63 Lamborghini Huracán. Emil Frey Racing’s GT3 Evo is second and third behind him. After the mandatory pit stop, Engelhart handed over the 911 to Aykhancan Guven, and the 24-year-old was able to extend his lead to more than five seconds for a while. Behind him, Jack Aitken (26/GB), replacing Alberto Costa Balboa in the #63 Lamborghini, benefited from a spin involving Audi driver Luca Engstler (22/Wiggensbach) ahead of him. Aitken moved into second place and managed to close in on the leader shortly before the finish. However, he failed to make a decisive overtaking maneuver. A spin eventually ended Aitken’s hopes of victory and he finished a thrilling race in second place behind Guven. Local favorite Maximilian Paul (22/Dresden), racing alongside Marco Mapelli (35/I) in the #71 Paul Motorsport Lamborghini Huracán GT3 Evo, finished third in front of his home crowd to claim his first podium of the season. The youngster from Dresden also won the Pirelli Junior competition. The Rutronik Racing pair of Patrick Niederhauser and Luka Engstler recovered from the spin to finish fourth. Championship leader Raffaele Marciello (27/CH) moved up five positions to finish fifth alongside his new teammate Daniele Juncadella (31/E) in the #48 Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo driven by Mann-Filter Team Landgraf. In doing so, he defended his overall lead in the German GT Championship. Franck Pereira (38/W) and Arthur Rougier (22/W) came home sixth for Emil Frey Racing in the #19 Lamborghini Huracán GT3 Evo, highlighting the strong performance of the ‘Lambos’ in the rain. Yussuf Ovega (20/Cologne) and Ricardo Feller (22/CH) put up a great fightback in the #29 Montaplast by Land-Motorsport Audi R8 LMS GT3 Evo II, moving up from 13th to seventh. Behind them, team-mates Christopher Mies (33/Düsseldorf) and Tim Zimmermann (25/Langenargen) crossed the finish line in eighth place in the #1 Audi R8 LMS GT3 Evo II. The pair of Kim-Louis Schramm (25/Meuspath) and Dennis Marshall (26/Eggenstein) finished ninth in the No. 27 Rutronik Racing Audi R8 LMS GT3 Evo II. Rounding out the top ten were guest starters Klaus Bachler (31/A) and Adrien De Leener (33/B) of Dinamic Motorsport. Bachler had a particularly strong race, consistently setting fast lap times and setting the fastest lap of the race (1:36.352 minutes) in the #11 Porsche 911 GT3 R.

Christian Engelhart: “It was incredibly slippery and it was difficult to keep the car on the track in the turns. However, our car was very good in these conditions. I didn’t make a single mistake and was able to favor Aykhanjan. He showed great drive and withstood any pressure. I’m very happy with our first win of the season.”

Aykhanjan Guven: “This is a great victory for our team. It was very close in the end. My rear tires kept wearing more and more and I couldn’t push as hard as I wanted. I just tried not to make any mistakes in the final stages and it paid off.”

The source. ADAC GT Masters