Motorsport: First podium for Nikolaj Rogivue
All of a sudden, it wasn't Rahel Frey or Rolf Ineichen on the ADAC GT Masters podium, but Nikolaj Rogivue. The man from Zurich celebrated his greatest success in GT racing to date at the Nürburgring in third place. After starting out in junior racing car formulas, Nikolaj Rogivue switched to GT racing for 2016 and, with the support of his sponsors, secured a place in the renowned [...]
After starting out in junior racing car formulas, Nikolaj Rogivue switched to GT racing for 2016 and, with the support of his sponsors, secured a seat in the renowned Team Zakspeed, which fields two Mercedes-AMG GT3s. After a few good races in the points - but also a few less good ones at the back of the field or in retirement - the choice is slowly paying off for the 20-year-old from Zurich with Swedish roots. Rogivue now also harmonizes perfectly with his near-namesake Nicolai Sylvest from Denmark.
First pure rookie duo on the podium
Together, they finished third overall out of 31 teams in the first of the two one-hour races with driver changes, eclipsing their successful team-mates Luca Ludwig and Sebastien Asch, who won the title in 2015. They also won the prestigious Junior classification for the first time, in which drivers (semi- or non-professionals) under the age of 25 who are not employed by a factory are taken into account, and were also the first pure rookie duo on the podium of the 2016 ADAC GT Masters. After good groundwork by the Dane (third in qualifying and up to the handover of the car), Nikolaj Rogivue brought third place safely to the finish.
Fifth place for Rolf Ineichen in the overall standings
"More was not possible, the two leading Porsches were too fast on this track thanks to their good traction," said Nikolaj Rogivue, expressing his satisfaction. The duo retired from the second race. However, they are already looking forward to the next races on August 20 and 21 in Zandvoort, as the hilly circuit in the Dutch dunes with its fast corners should suit the Mercedes cars and also the two juniors. Rogivue: "My goal now is the first victory."
Rolf Ineichen finished 7th and 8th in the Lamborghini Huracan of Grasser Racing with Christian Engelhart (D) as his partner. The fast entrepreneur from the canton of Lucerne is therefore in fifth place in the overall drivers' standings and continues to lead the Masters Trophy for non-professionals over 25 years of age. Rahel Frey finished ninth with Philip Geipel in an Audi R8 LMS.
www.adac-gt-masters.de
Photos: ADAC Motorsport
