Paddock Radar from the Lausitzring: The ADAC GT Masters season opener brought new records and exciting stories
A successful start: Rookies Simon Birch and Leo Pichler won both races of the weekend. Niklas Kalus also finished in the top three on Saturday, meaning that 50 percent of the drivers on the podium were rookies. The Haupt Racing Team driver also secured pole position for Sunday’s race in his Ford Mustang GT3, which is also new to the ADAC GT Masters.
He was followed by Finn Zulauf from Paul Motorsport, who had put his Lamborghini Huracan GT3 Evo2 on pole position the day before in his very first qualifying session in the ADAC’s GT3 junior league.
First pole for Ford
Ford fans had to wait 3,521 days to see the US manufacturer take pole position in the ADAC GT Masters again. Niklas Kalus put the Ford Mustang GT3 in pole position at the Lausitzring with a time of 1:20.250 minutes. The last time a Ford started at the front of the grid in the ADAC GT Masters was in 2015. Frank Kechele from Lambda Performance set the fastest qualifying time in a Ford GT at the Hockenheimring.
A car from the brand has also started from pole position at the Lausitzring in the past: Marc Hennerici took pole in 2008 with the Ford GT from Matech GT Racing in 1:23.471 minutes. Haupt Racing driver Kalus was 3.221 seconds faster 17 years later with his best time.
Maximum haul
Simon Birch must have had problems with his suitcase when leaving the Lausitz, because the 18-year-old Dane had to stow away a veritable flood of trophies in his luggage. In addition to the two trophies for overall victory in the ADAC GT Masters, he also won two for his successes in the Silver Cup. To top it all off, the Razoon driver also won the “Road to DTM.” Five trophies after his debut weekend—it doesn’t get any better than that.
Home game for Paul Motorsport
The Dresden-based team was looking forward to the big home game with numerous fans, partners, and friends. The team’s headquarters are only 60 kilometers away from the Lausitzring. The omens were good. Finn Zulauf took pole position on Saturday and dominated the race with teammate Simon Conor Primm until a tire failure shortly before the end dropped them back to last place. The local heroes had even less luck the following day, retiring in the first lap.
Class photo from 2025
On Sunday before the second qualifying session, it was time to “smile, please.” The 28 drivers of the ADAC GT Masters gathered for the traditional group photo for the 2025 season.
Best newcomer in ADAC GT Masters history
Razoon has written itself into the ADAC GT Masters history books at the Lausitzring. The Austrian team celebrated two wins in two races on its series debut. No other team has ever achieved this in their debut season in the ADAC’s GT3 junior league. Only Toksport WRT, which contested its first full season in the ADAC GT Masters in 2020, has made a similarly impressive start.
Maro Engel and Luca Stolz finished first and second at the season opener at the Lausitzring. There has only been one double victory on the first race weekend so far: in 2009, Marc Hennerici and Luca Ludwig won both opening races in the Corvette Z06.R GT3 for Callaway Competition.
Endurance premiere proves a success
The endurance format already proved a hit with fans and participants alike last season. At the Lausitzring, both races were held in endurance format for the first time. With a long stop including a tire change and a short stop for refueling only, the teams had many strategic options. Accordingly, the 52,000 spectators at the track and at home on Sport1, Joyn, or ServusTV ON saw exciting duels, tactical tricks, and numerous lead changes.
Birthday party at the Lausitzring
There was a party atmosphere in the Haupt Racing Team pit on Sunday. Salman Owega celebrated his 20th birthday on the second day of racing. The Cologne native was greeted in the pit with a specially decorated chocolate cake. However, the 2023 ADAC GT Masters champion saved his birthday present for the track, where he drove his Ford Mustang GT3 to a front-row start in qualifying.
