Returning to the ADAC GT Masters for his fourth full season, his second with Callaway Competition, Wirth approached this new season with new hope and a desire to put the disappointments of 2012 behind ... moving forward for positive results. Paired this year with his veteran GT co-driver, Christian Hohenadel, Wirth is rightly optimistic about the possibilities 2013 holds.
Testing earlier this month proved that Callaways work over the off-season is paying off, and the Z06 R GT3 Corvettes turned out to be among the strongest in the field. This weekend however Wirth and Hohenadel had mixed results in the #3 as they qualified 6th and 16th respectively for the first two races of the year.
Before the weekend began, Wirth expressed but one wish ... dry weather for the season opener at Oscherselben. Unfortunately not all wishes come true, and rain played its part in serving up a less than satisfying result for Saturdays race. While the rain-drenched track served up exciting racing for the fans, several teams saw more off-roading than is intended for GT cars. After having made it cleanly through the most chaotic laps of the race Wirth began pushing for a better result. After the race Wirth explained, "It was a tough start today, we did what we could but had to play a bit safe in the rain. In the end we had nothing else for the Porsche's and Audi's in the wet10th place was our best. I pushed as hard as possible today, and at one point a little too hard and spun. Unfortunately, it looks like the testing that we did last year didnt work out with the tires that we have this yearthe compounds are different - so well have a bit of work to do. Overall though, I guess we can be happy - were in a better place than we were last year, and its always good to start off with some points. Tomorrow will be tough though, and well have to push hard.
Despite sunny skies for Sundays race Hohenadel and Wirth werent able to make any great gains. During the first stint, Christian managed only to hold position mid-pack in 16th place. At the driver change Wirth was served a drive-thru penalty for leaving pit lane 4/10ths too soon. Upset by the mistake and time penalty Andreas pushed aggressively to try to make up for it. Despite running some fast laps, the best Wirth could do was 13th place. Obviously disappointed, Wirth commented, What can I sayIm definitely not happywe finish 13th and our teammates take the victory. Im happy for Daniel and Diego but it would feel better if we were in their shoes. Well take as much data from the weekend as possible and learn all we can. I really hope we can come back strong for Spawe need to keep strong and consistent if we want to have a good result this season. I know the team will be working hard over the next couple of weeks to make things right, so I just look forward to getting back out there and getting in the fight for a win.
Andreas returns to the track for the second ADAC GTMasters event in less than two weeks, May 1012, as the ADAC GT Masters runs for the first time at Sap-Francorchamps in Belgium.
The ADAC GT Masters Series will be broadcast live and full-length in 2013 on Cable 1 (Kabel1www.kabeleins.de) in Germany, Austria and Switzerland
