Callaway Competition experienced a turbulent weekend at the ADAC GT Masters season opener at Oschersleben last weekend. With one car crashing in the first turn, an unexpected pit stop problem with the second car, and an unexplained power glitch in the third car, Oschersleben proved to be quite challenging. However, the Callaway team was still able to demonstrate the tremendous potential of the new Corvette C7 GT3-R and it is looking forward to the upcoming races.
Callaway Competition brought three Corvette C7 GT3-R’s to Oschersleben. After a shortened development period and limited test sessions prior to the season opener, it was the first time the new cars’ performance was actually measured against the competition.
Patrick Assenheimer, who finished in 9th and 11th Place with his new teammate, Dominik Schwager, was probably the driver who found his way around Oschersleben best with the new AutoArenA C7 GT3-R. It would have been possible for them to advance to fourth place in Sunday´s race, but a problem during the pit stop spoiled their chances for a better finish.
Teammate Daniel Keilwitz did not have luck on his side either. Starting from a great P2 on the grid in the #77 Roller/Valvoline C7 GT3-R for Sunday´s race, he had a terrific start. However, he was taken out in a collision in the very first corner.
Piloting the #31 Whelen Engineering C7 GT3-R, Boris Said and Loris Hezemans were suffering with performance issues since the free practice sessions on Friday. A problem, which could not be located or fixed throughout the weekend resulted in 10km/h less top-speed on the straights.
“In general, we are fairly happy with the weekend, but I would have liked to drive home with three cars”, say Giovanni Ciccone and Ernst Wöhr, Callaway Competition Team Principals. “It was unfortunate that we had to retire right at the start of the second race, but accidents like this one do happen. We know of the potential of the Corvette. All we need are more test kilometers to improve performance and resolve the last details.”
The next ADAC GT Masters race will take place at the Sachsenring in two weeks.
Driver Quotes:
Daniel Keilwitz:“The accident at the start was totally unnecessary and very frustrating for us. The driver took out three cars at once. This should not happen. We could have achieved a really good result. But, all in all, we are happy with our weekend. The potential of the Corvette C7 GT3-R is great and we are looking forward to the races at Sachsenring.“
Patrick Assenheimer:“Ninth position is not ideal. But big compliments to my teammate Dominik (Schwager), who handed me the car in P6. We are on the right way with our speed and the next races will be better.”
Dominik Schwager:“I think the weekend was positive. I would have been happy with a position between 10th and 15th looking at the strong starting grid. We must do more tests; the car is new. We should look better at race tracks that offer faster passages. We are on the right way and I am excited about the next races.”
Boris Said:“The handling felt good in the second race and we made great progress. However, we never could solve the power loss issue at the racetrack. Anyway, I’m sure we’ll be in attack mode for the next race.”
