Audi Sets Fastest Time at the Season Opener of the ADAC GT Masters as Part of the Truck Grand Prix at the Nürburgring — A Variety of Makes in the Top Spots
Simon Connor Primm (HGL Racing) set the fastest time of the day in the ADAC GT Masters on Friday at the Nürburgring. The driver in the Audi R8 LMS GT3 Evo 2 clocked his fastest lap of 1:25.981 minutes during the morning session.
“We had just one small issue today, which we were able to resolve within a few minutes. Otherwise, it was a smooth day. We tested everything we had planned,” said Primm.
“I did some extra training at home and prepared more intensively for the heat, although the temperatures here are still very comfortable at the moment. Of course, we hope to build on our performance from the Lausitzring weekend, secure pole position again, and, in the best-case scenario, win the race.”
Under bright sunshine and 26 degrees, Felix Hirsiger secured second place. The Team Engstler driver, in his Lamborghini, was just 17 thousandths of a second off the fastest time. The second-place driver in the ADAC GT Masters standings was the only driver in the top 5 to set his fastest lap in the afternoon session.
On Friday, only Primm and Hirsiger managed to break the 1:26 mark. “I’m very happy with the day. The second session was great; we prepared for qualifying. The feeling was there, the car was there, even though the high temperatures certainly didn’t help with setting fast times,” explains Hirsiger. “Finn also showed in the long run that we can be consistently competitive and reclaim the championship lead. I think that’s possible because we’re mentally strong. That’s always the trump card when it comes to the championship battle.”
Leo Pichler (Razoon – more than Racing) rounded out the top three. He is sharing his Porsche 911 GT3 R with rookie Alexander Tauscher this weekend. In his fastest run, Pichler was 0.142 seconds behind the leader.
Leyton Fourie (FK Performance Motorsport) took fourth place. In his BMW M4 GT3 Evo, the championship leader was 0.237 seconds slower than Primm. Baudouin Detout (Comtoyou Racing) finished fifth in the day’s standings. In his Aston Martin Vantage GT3, he was 0.446 seconds off the fastest time.
The first qualifying session of the weekend will take place on Saturday morning at 9:20 a.m. and will be broadcast live on youtube.com/ADACMotorsports. The 60-minute sprint race will be available in full starting at 1:45 p.m. on Joyn, ServusTV On, and YouTube.