Pole for Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG in both races at OscherslebenTeam-mates Maximilian Gotz and Maximilian Buhk secure top starting placesAudi, Porsche, BMW and Corvette chase Mercedes-Benz hard at season-opener
The year could not have started better for the defending ADAC GT Masters champion.Maximilian Gotz (27, Germany/Polarweiss Racing) secured pole position for Sundays race in hisMercedes-Benz SLS AMG during qualifying at the season-opener of the ADAC GT Masters in theetropolis Motorsport Arena Oschersleben. Maximilian Buhk (20, Germany/Polarweiss Racing),team-mate of Gtz in the newly formed Polarweiss Racing outfit, made it a clean sweep. Inqualifying for the first race on Saturday, the reigning FIA GT3 European Champion also broughthome the Gullwing on pole. In the ADAC GT Masters, the drivers share a supercar cockpit andcompete in separate qualifying sessions. Clinching the two top grid positions gave Gtz andBuhk the best possible result.
Qualifying for the first of two races in the ADAC GT Masters this weekend at Oscherslebenmarked a significant achievement for Maximilian Buhk. In the first half of the 30-minutequalifying session, Buhk put his Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG in P1 and then undercut his best timeyet again in a second attempt. The Gullwing was closely followed by three Porsche 911s,however, none of them could crack Buhks best time. Im very pleased, although I didntactually quite manage a perfect lap, said Buhk after his first pole position in the ADAC GTMasters. I beat my best time at the second attempt, even though I did not expect to do so. Poleis great, but things could be very different in tomorrows race.
Christian Engelhart (26, Germany / Team Geyer & Weinig / Schtz) had to settle for secondplace on the grid with a deficit of 0.279 seconds on Buhk. Porsche drivers Philip Frommenwiler(23, CH / Farnbacher Racing) and Robert Renauer (28, Germany / Tonino/Herberth Motorsport)will head up the second row on Saturday.
The second qualifying session also went almost perfectly for Maximilian Gtz, who took the leadright at the beginning of the session. Corvette driver Daniel Keilwitz (23, Germany / CallawayCompetition) and Christian Mamerow in the Audi R8 (28, Germany / Prosperia C. Abt Racing)tried to beat the defending champions best time but finally had to settle for second and thirdplace respectively on Sundays grid. Dutchman Jeroen den Boer (25 / DB Motorsport) in thefastest BMW Z4 secured grid position four.
Pole position for both races is a dream team performance, said Gtz happily after qualifying.The fact that we start from pole position on Saturday and Sunday shows how well the team isdoing and how well we work together as drivers. Our Mercedes-Benz functions brilliantly here inOschersleben. Maximilian and I produced a perfect result in todays qualifying.
The 2013 ADAC GT Masters will once again be contested over 16 rounds on eight raceweekends throughout the year. All 16 races of the ADAC GT Masters will be shown on free-to-airTV station kabel eins. The live broadcasts to audiences in Germany, Austria and Switzerlandcommence at 12 noon on both the Saturday and the Sunday. The Super Sports Car League isbeing hosted by two new venues this time: the Formula 1 circuit at Spa-Francorchamps and theSlovakia Ring in Slovakia. The curtain-raiser for the seventh season of the ADAC GT Masters willbe staged on the weekend of 26th - 28th April at the etropolis Motorsport Arena Oschersleben.
Tickets for all ADAC GT Masters races start at 20 and can be purchased online atwww.adac.de, from any ADAC branch office, online at www.eventim.de or from one of the morethan 20.000 Eventim outlets throughout Europe.
Result Qualifying 1 (Top Five)1. Maximilian Buhk (Polarweiss Racing-Mercedes Benz SLS AMG GT3), 1:28.049 Min.2. Christian Engelhart (Team Geyer & Weinig / Schtz Motorsport-Porsche 911 GT3 R), +0.279Sec.3. Philipp Frommenwiler (Farnbacher Racing-Porsche 911 GT3 R), +0.315 Sec.4. Robert Renauer (Tonino/Herberth Motorsport-Porsche 911 GT3 R), +0.366 Sec.5. Sergey Afanasiev (Polarweiss Racing-Mercedes Benz SLS AMG GT3), +0.590 Sec.
Result Qualifying 2 (Top Five):1. Maximilian Gotz (Polarweiss Racing-Mercedes Benz SLS AMG GT3), 1:27.507 Min.2. Daniel Keilwitz (Callaway Competition-Corvette Z06.R GT3), +0.192 Sec.3. Christian Mamerow (Prosperia C. Abt Racing-Audi R8 LMS ultra), +0.252 Sec.4. Jereon den Boer (DB Motorsport-BMW Z4 GT3), +0.320 Sec.5. Martin Ragginger (Tonino/Herberth Motorsport-Porsche 911 GT3 R), 0.388 Sec.
