AMG-Team ZAKSPEED takes another victory in ADAC GT Masters‏

Second win of the season for Sebastian Asch and Luca LudwigBad luck in Sunday´s raceJunior-drivers impress with good performance and P5 in qualiThe AMG-Team ZAKSPEED suffered a real rollercoaster ride at the second round of the ADAC GT Masters at Sachsenring this weekend. Following a fantastic victory on Saturday, the #1 Mercedes-AMG had to settle for eighth place on Sunday after a few exciting laps toward the end of the race.

Sebastian Asch qualified the #1 race car in second place and was forced to let two cars pass him at the start. Three Safety-Car periods interrupted the racing, but Asch was able to pass Winkelhock in the Audi on lap 16. Thanks to a well through-through strategy, the #1 Mercedes-AMG GT3 was able to make-up ground after the pitstop and took over first place. The AMG-Team ZAKSPEED stormed to their second race win of the season.

The sister car with the #21 suffered some bad luck during qualifying, being unable to set a timed lap. Following a penalty after the first race, Nikolaj Rogivue and Nicolai Sylvest were only place in 25th position.

Luca Ludwig placed the Mercedes-AMG GT3 in Sunday´s qualifying on Pole Position and was able to keep the position after the start. But he was forced to let the Corvette of Keilwitz pass on lap six. Ludwig was one of the first to pit and handed the car over to team-mate Sebastian Asch in P3. The end of the race saw exciting motorsport with a lot of overtaking, but due to the extra weight for the #1 ZAKSPEED, the car was not able to match the pace of the competitors. At the end the car crossed the finishing line in eighth place. The team is now leading the team´s championship with six points ahead.

The Junior-Team impressed with a great performance in qualifying with fifth place. Sylvest was able to defend his position until the pitstop and showed a great overtaking manoeuvre passed a Bentley. After the driver change on lap 22, the young Rogivue made a small mistake, losing a few positions. The #21 car finished the race in 18th place.

“Unfortunately we had 45kg more in the car and we struggled a little bit towards the end to keep up with the competitors”, says Peter Zakowski, Team Principal AMG-Team ZAKSPEED. “But overall we are pleased with the performance we showed during the weekend. Once again, we had one great race and one with a bit of bad luck.”

The next ADAC GT Masters race takes place from 3rd until 5th June 2016 at the Lausitzring. For more information, please visit www.zakspeed.de. Images are available to download free of charge at ZAKSPEED - Download.

Driver Quotes

Sebastian Asch:"Everything was going well after the driver change and we could keep up the Speed. But the other cars were able to close the gap after the Safety-Car period and we had problems trying to pass the Audi of Florian Stoll. It was not easy with 45kg more in the car. Someone drove into the back of the car on the last lap and three cars managed to drive past me.”

Luca Ludwig:"The start and the Speed were really good, but the Corvette managed to overtake me. A third place result would have been great, but the Safety-Car upset our plans, otherwise we could have gone over the distance. In the end, we are looking good in the championship with only six points behind the leaders. It was pretty much the same what we experienced at Oschersleben: one incredible race and one with a sad ending.”

Nikolaj Rogivue:"I let go of the gas pedal too quickly on one fast lap and I lost the back of the car and spun out. It took a while to get the engine restarted. Once I was able to go again I had lost too many positions and had to continue with the damage on the car.”

Nicolai Sylvest:"Our race on Saturday was pretty good. I made one small mistake and lost some positions, but I was quickly able to regain them. Unfortunately, we were given a penalty after the race, otherwise we could have had a good result on our list.”


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