Sachsenring: Swiss in a celebratory mood 🎥
SAME THREE GT WINNERS Philipp Frommenwiler (Mercedes) and Jeffrey Schmidt (Corvette) each won a round of the ADAC GT Masters at the Sachsenring. In the GT4 class, Julien Apothéloz (Mercedes) was able to celebrate. The highlights from Saturday's race show the winning drive of Marvin Dienst and Philipp Frommenwiler in their red Mercedes-AMG GT3. With a commanding performance, Marvin Dienst and [...]
The highlights from Saturday's race show the winning drive of Marvin Dienst and Philipp Frommenwiler in their red Mercedes-AMG GT3.
With a commanding performance, Marvin Dienst and Philipp Frommenwiler secured their first victory in the ADAC GT Masters in Saturday's race at the Sachsenring. With pole position in the Mercedes-AMG GT3 from Schütz Motorsport, the 23-year-old German created the best possible starting position.
End of the lean period
Dienst stayed in front at the start and subsequently built up a lead of more than five seconds. His partner Philipp Frommenwiler also maintained his lead and crossed the finish line first after 45 laps with a lead of 3.5 seconds.
For the 31-year-old from Thurgau, it was the first triumph in the ADAC GT Masters after a long dry spell and the first since his Lexus time with Emil Frey Racing in the 2017 GT Open.
Second at the finish and first on the podium
Even after Sunday's turbulent race, a Swiss was at the top of the podium for the first time this season - even though he hadn't led a single meter on the track. Jeffrey Schmidt had qualified Callaway Racing's Corvette C7 GT3 for a good sixth place on the grid and made up three positions on the starting lap, which was affected by an accident involving several cars in the midfield.
After the technical failure of the seemingly superior Mercedes of Stolz/Engel, Markus Pommer put the Lamborghini of Franck Perera and Albert Costa Balboa, who then led for a long time, under pressure in the second half of the race, but could not find a way past.
Shortly before the end of the one-hour race, the first-placed drivers received a 30-second time penalty for an offense during a safety car period, clearing the way for Schmidt and Pommer to take their first win of the season.
The accident chaos on the starting lap, further turbulent scenes and the reason for the retrospective time penalty for first at the finish, which put the Corvette in P1, are shown in the highlights of race 2.
Podium and championship lead for Niederhauser
Due to the undoubtedly tough time penalty for the Lamborghini duo, Patric Niederhauser and Kelvin van der Linde in Rutronik Racing's Audi R8 LMS moved up to third place.
After finishing seventh on the previous day and tied at the top of the standings with Luca Stolz/Maro Engel, who had dropped out, the defending champions took the sole lead in the championship.
Masterstroke by Apothéloz
Less than two hours after Jeffrey Schmidt, the next Swiss was on the podium as the winner. Julien Apothéloz and Luci Trefz decided the sixth round of the ADAC GT4 Germany season in their Mercedes-AMG in their favor.
With a quick-witted maneuver, the man from Zurich, who had started the second half of the race in third place, had pushed past the two men in front and then extended his lead to around six seconds at times.
On the previous day, it also looked as if this duo would win before final rider Trefz had to give in to the stubborn chaser in the last corner. Their second win of the season and the lead in the standings were therefore absolutely deserved.
