Double victory and lead in the ADAC GT Masters standings for Birch/Pichler from Razoon – Rainy race with numerous lead changes and exciting duels
Leo Pichler and Simon Birch (Razoon – more than racing) have won again at the Dekra Lausitzring. The two rookies in the Porsche 911 GT3 R braved heavy rain in the second race of the ADAC GT Masters and crossed the finish line with a lead of 8.699 seconds.
“It was an absolute dream weekend. We did everything right and are now heading home with maximum points and the lead in the standings,” beamed Birch, who also won the Road to DTM.
“I didn’t expect it to go so well at all. I knew we were well set up for the season, but I never expected two wins in two races,” added Pichler, who also won the Silver Cup together with Birch.
The top three were completed by Nico Hantke/Denis Bulatov (Scherer Sport PHX) in the Audi R8 LMS GT3 Evo2 and Jannes Fittje/Moritz Wiskirchen (SR Motorsport by Schnitzelalm) in the Mercedes-AMG GT3.
Race interrupted after rain sets in
Just as the cars lined up on the grid, the heavens opened, prompting most drivers to start on rain tires. Fittje benefited from the chaos at the start and took the lead. Simon Connor Primm (Paul Motorsport) slid off the track with his Lamborghini Huracán GT3 Evo2 after a collision and lost fluid on his return, resulting in a race interruption.
After the restart, Fittje retained the lead ahead of Birch and Jonathan Cecotto (Haupt Racing Team) in the Ford Mustang GT3, while Bulatov worked his way up to fourth place. In the first pit stop phase, Razoon opted for a long stop with a tire change, while his rivals only refueled, allowing Hantke to return to the track immediately behind Wiskirchen. A slip by the Mercedes driver allowed Hantke to take the lead and extend it, but he still had to make a long stop including a tire change.
Pichler, who had meanwhile worked his way back up to second place, had the shorter of the two scheduled stops, which meant he came out of the pits side by side with Bulatov. It was an exciting duel for victory, which was only decided by a mistake by the Audi driver.
“I stayed calm throughout and was able to drive home safely in the end. The conditions were really fun,” explained Birch. His rival Bulatov added: ”The rain helped us and without the red flag, we might even have been able to win. When the Porsche came out of the pits after its stop, I knew I only had one chance. Unfortunately, I made a mistake, but luckily nothing happened and we finished second.”
The third-place finishers were also delighted with their podium finish after difficult conditions. “The points are important for the championship,” said Wiskirchen. “I struggled after the pit stop and unfortunately slid into the gravel twice, which caused us to lose the lead. In general, I really like the endurance format. It adds excitement and allows more room for strategy.”
Salman Owega/Finn Wiebelhaus (Haupt Racing Team) finished fourth. Their teammates Dennis Fetzer and Cecotto finished the race in fifth place in the Ford Mustang GT3 after a lap-long duel with Eduardo Coseteng/Julian Hanses (FK Performance Motorsport).
Carrie Schreiner/Alain Valente (Land-Motorsport) in the Audi R8 LMS GT3 Evo2 finished seventh ahead of the BMW M4 GT3 Evos from FK Performance Motorsport with Tim Zimmermann/Leyton Fourie and the Holzem twins Sandro and Juliano (Schubert Motorsport). Alexander Schwarzer/Alexander Fach (Fach Auto Tech) completed the top 10 and also won the Pro-Am classification.
The next race weekend will take place at Circuit Zandvoort. The ADAC GT Masters will kick off its first sprint weekend from June 6 to 8 as part of the DTM. Two races in the familiar format with a duration of 60 minutes will be contested on the 4.259 km course in the Dutch dunes.
