• Jöst/Scholze remain leaders in Gentlemen-Ranking • Heavy accident by Scholze destroys Nissan GT-R #22
The second-to-last rounds of the ADAC GT Masters, taking place at Zandvoort last weekend, could not have been more disappointing for Molitor Racing Systems. The Team lost car number 22 after a heavy accident by Florian Scholze on Friday, on Sunday the Nissan-Crew suffered an early finish in race two. Despite all that, Dominic Jöst and Scholze keep the title hopes for the Gentlemen-Class alive.
The start to the weekend at Zandvoort was everything but expected for the Nissan-Team, after Florian Scholze destroyed the Nissan #22 going into the last corner before Start/Finish. The car was not reparable for the remaining weekend and both Scholze/Jöst were without a drive. Scholze was not hurt during the accident.
The Nissan #23, driven by the two Nissan GT Academy Germany winners Florian Strauß and Marc Gassner, ran without any issues. Gassner underlined the good performance with P11 for Saturday´s race and Class-Pole.
The race on Saturday went underway in dry conditions. Following a great getaway, Gassner had made up three places in the first lap, but the young Nissan driver had to endure the pressure by the Bentley #7 for many laps. On lap nine, the Bentley undertook a slightly optimistic overtaking move and made contact with the Nissan. Just before the pitstop window, technical issues started to hinder the #23, similar issues the team had faced earlier in the season.
Once Strauß was behind the wheel, the team was forced to bring him back into the pits after two laps. After a quick check-through, Strauß was sent back out on track. Despite him driving very competitive lap times, the team was already two laps down on the leader. Gassner and Strauß still secured third place and another podium in Gentlemen-Class.
Strauß started Race two on Sunday from P16 on the grid. At the start, the Berlin-based driver lost two positons and found himself in a hard battle with yet another Bentley. Shortly after, Strauß went wide and got stuck in the gravel with the Nissan GT-R NISMO GT3.
Florian Strauß, #23:
„We didn´t have the Top-Speed as other cars in the field and this made it even harder to push for position and to keep up. It is very frustrating and I am especially sorry for the team, who worked so hard throughout the weekend to get the car right. We will give everything now for Hockenheim.”
