News

“PIXUM Team Schubert” powered by Jochen Schweizer travels to the fourth round of the ADAC GT Masters in Spielberg (AT) on the back of its first win of the season. The team from Oschersleben (DE) has a clear goal for the Red Bull Ring, which has been modernised ahead of the return of Formula One in a fortnight: to do considerably better than last year. 

Claudia Hürtgen (DE) and Dominik Baumann (AT) emerged empty-handed from both races in 2013, losing valuable ground in the Drivers’ Championship. This time the duo travels to the Steiermark region of Austria with the wind in its sails, following the first win of the year at the Lausitzring (DE) two weeks ago. However, they also have an extra 30 kilograms of weight on board the BMW Z4 GT3 as a result of their recent success. Despite this, the German/Austrian pair has its sights set on continuing the consistent form they have shown so far this season, and to add more valuable points to their total. Hürtgen and Baumann both currently lie third in the Drivers’ Championship on 82 points. 

Having endured a mediocre season so far, the priority for Jens Klingmann (DE) and Max Sandritter (DE) is to get through the weekend with as few problems and as successfully as possible in the number 20 cars. The BMW Z4 GT3 lines up with a new engine, after the previous power unit overheated in the first race at the Lausitzring. 

Stefan Wendl (Team Manager Schubert Motorsport): “We had a very bad weekend in Spielberg last year. We also had 30 extra kilos of weight on board back then, and went too far in our attempts to compensate for that. We picked up penalties and also made mistakes out on the track. This year, we have tried out some options for coping with the additional weight ahead of the race weekend. Let’s see if we can implement them. It will obviously be difficult again, as the circuit is just as unsuited to our car now as it was last year. However, we have set our sights on continuing the trend so far this season, and finishing in the points with both cars – including our number 20 car, which has a new engine after the overheating issues experienced at the Lausitzring. That certainly promises to give us more performance.” 

Claudia Hürtgen (BMW Z4 GT3, car number 19): “Whatever happens, we want to do significantly better than last year, when we arrived in Spielberg leading the championship but then failed to score a single point. Although our victory at the Lausitzring, which was a real boost for the entire team, means we line up with extra weight on board, I am still confident that we can score important points towards the championship this time around. The key to our good form at the races so far this season is that we have been very consistent and not made any mistakes. We want to continue in this manner at the Red Bull Ring.” 

Jens Klingmann (BMW Z4 GT3, car number 20): “I know the Red Bull Ring from my early years in the ADAC GT Masters. I have also been out on the track at a number of BMW events. I am really looking forward to the circuit and the facilities around it, as it is situated in a beautiful area up in the hills. I am also intrigued by the modifications that have been made to incorporate the return of Formula One to Austria. From a sporting point of view, I really hope our run of bad luck will finally come to an end, and that we can set our sights on the podium. We analysed the car after the weekend at the Lausitzring and found a few things that can hopefully help us take a step forward.”