News

The penultimate race weekend of the ADAC GT Masters season ended with a third place on Saturday, followed by fifth and sixth in Sunday’s race at the Sachsenring (DE) for “PIXUM Team Schubert” powered by Jochen Schweizer. 

Dominik Baumann (AT) and Claudia Hürtgen (DE) started from sixth on Saturday in their BMW Z4 GT3, and climbed into a podium position thanks to a very good strategy and a flawless drive. On Sunday, the same duo started from ninth and, despite problems during the pit stop and a spin, which was through no fault of their own, still managed to come home sixth. 

Jens Klingmann (DE) and Max Sandritter (DE) finished just in front of them in fifth place on Sunday. They were running third until shortly before the finish, but dropped two positions when it started to rain and the track became extremely slippery. The number 20 BMW Z4 GT3 retired from Saturday’s race with a puncture. Victory in both races went to Audi drivers René Rast (DE) and Kelvin van der Linde (ZA), who lead the championship. 

Although “PIXUM Team Schubert” powered by Jochen Schweizer did not enjoy quite the same degree of success as it did last year at the Sachsenring, when it finished one-two on Sunday, it goes into the season finale in Hockenheim (DE) with at least a mathematical chance of winning the title in both the Drivers’ and Team competitions. 

Stefan Wendl (Team Manager Schubert Motorsport): “Unfortunately it panned out exactly as we feared. The Audis were head and shoulders above everyone else here. They obviously did a very good job and adapted their car very well to this circuit, but they obviously also remain far better classified by the Balance of Performance than we are. Our team did an absolutely perfect job when it comes to the car set-up and strategy. We improved greatly on our start positions in both races. However, there was no competing with Audi. Despite this, we will not change our approach for Hockenheim. As long as we still have a mathematical chance in the title race, we will definitely not be giving in. Unfortunately, however, it is no longer in our own hands.” 

Dominik Baumann (BMW Z4 GT3, car number 19): “That was a difficult weekend for us. On Saturday we drove one of the best races of the season, primarily thanks to our outstanding strategy. We simply could not do better than third place. We were running well on Sunday, and could possibly have challenged for a podium again, had we not lost a bit of time during the pit stop. The two wins for our direct rivals this weekend were obviously a set-back in the title race. However, we will still be firing on all cylinders again in Hockenheim.” 

Max Sandritter (BMW Z4 GT3, car number 20): “I am not happy with the weekend. Not due to my retirement on Saturday, however. That kind of contact can always happen at the start. And not because of the place we lost during the closing stages on Sunday, as I was simply unable to hold off the Porsches on the wet track. What annoys me the most is that the 15 kilograms of additional weight, which we still have on board the car, meant we had no chance in terms of speed. If we cannot compete at the very front of the field at a circuit that is actually superbly suited to the BMW Z4 GT3, then I believe that there must be something wrong with the Balance of Performance.”