Aston Martin Ends GT Masters Drought

NURBURG, Germany — The ADAC GT Masters newcomers won the second race at the Nürburgring. Jamie Day (20/GBR) and Baudouin Detout (25/FRA) delivered a commanding performance in their Aston Martin Vantage GT3 Evo, crossing the finish line with a 3.806-second lead.

It’s the British marque’s first victory in the series since 2012. As on the previous day, Niklas Kalus (21/Duisburg) and Kiano Blum (19/AUT/both Haupt Racing Team) secured second place in their Ford Mustang GT3, ahead of guest starters Enrico Förderer (19/Leuterod) and Jay Mo Härtling (23/Sprockhövel/both SR Motorsport by Schnitzelalm) in their Mercedes-AMG GT3.

“I’m so happy for the team and thank them and Aston Martin for this victory. The car was truly superb,” beamed Detout after his first win in the ADAC GT Masters. “The last few laps were the longest of my life. I just tried not to push too hard and not let the emotions get the better of me.”

Teammate Day also celebrated his first success in the ADAC’s GT3 feeder series: “I’m extremely happy. The team has worked so hard since the start of the season, and unfortunately, that hasn’t always been reflected in the results. To take pole position and the win today – it couldn’t have gone any better.”
Day immediately took the lead from pole position and steadily increased his advantage. Comtoyou Racing opted for a late pit stop, only coming in for the driver change shortly before the end of the window.

Detout seamlessly continued his teammate’s performance and maintained the gap to second place. Behind the Aston Martin Vantage GT3 Evo, the Ford of Blum/Kalus, after a good start, looked like a sure second-place finisher until it increasingly struggled with tire wear.

Förderer in the Mercedes and Leo Pichler (24/AUT/Razoon – More than Racing) in the Porsche closed the gap to the Ford, but became embroiled in a battle for third position, which ultimately gave Kalus the necessary breathing room to bring home second place.

“I’m very happy with how the race turned out and the weekend in general,” said a delighted Blum.

“Starting from second place isn’t necessarily an advantage here, but I managed to hold onto my position at the start. It became clear to us pretty quickly that we wouldn’t be able to catch the Aston Martin today. So I tried to manage the tires and hand them over to Niklas in the best possible condition. In the end, it got really close again, but luckily it was enough for us.”

With their two podium finishes, Blum and Kalus also celebrated victory in the “Road to DTM” standings at the Nürburgring and moved up to third place in the overall standings.
Behind them, the joy among the guest starters from SR Motorsport by Schnitzelalm over their third-place finish was immense. Förderer, in particular, who made his GT3 debut at the Nürburgring, was delighted with the podium finish on his first ADAC GT Masters weekend.

“It’s an indescribable feeling to have made it onto the podium straight away. The team did a fantastic job; the car felt great, and I felt very comfortable,” rejoiced the reigning ADAC GT4 Germany champion.

“My goal was even to move up another place, which made things tight behind me. The Porsche was pushing hard, but luckily I was able to hold my position.” Pichler/Alexander Tauscher (23/Mitterfels/both Razoon – more than Racing) finished fourth.

Tim Zimmermann (29/Langenargen) and Leyton Fourie (20/ZAF/both FK Performance Motorsport) finished fifth in their BMW M4 GT3 Evo. They leave the Eifel region just one point behind Felix Hirsiger (28/CHE) and Finn Zulauf (21/Königstein im Taunus/both Liqui Moly Team Engstler Motorsport). The championship leaders had a difficult race in their Lamborghini and finished no higher than ninth.

Gerhard Tweraser (37/AUT) and Gottfried Grasser (47/AUT/both GRT Grasser Racing Team) achieved a sensational sixth place overall and won the Pro-Am category.

Due to the Pro-Am team’s shorter pit stop mandated by the regulations, Grasser rejoined the track in fourth position. The DTM team principal had to let two competitors pass him, but held his position for the remainder of the race against the approaching Ford Mustang GT3 of Max Reis (19/Ramstein) and Emil Gjerdrum (19/NOR/both Haupt Racing Team).

Eighth place went to Storm Gjerdrum (16/NOR) and Fabio Rauer (19/Stolberg/both FK Performance Motorsport) in another BMW.

Behind the championship leaders’ Lamborghini, Robin Rogalski (25/POL) and Simon Connor Primm (21/Großschirma/both HGL Racing) completed the top ten in their Audi.

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