News

• Turbulent home round at Oschersleben for the two BMW M6 GT3s prepared by Schubert Motorsport
• BMW works driver Nick Yelloly and team-mate Henric Skoog narrowly miss top-ten finish
• Team Principal André Schubert: “We didn’t round off the season with a stand-out result, but I’m still incredibly proud of the entire team.”

Schubert Motorsport’s home round in the 2020 ADAC GT Masters was again characterised by two races with highs and lows. The Super Sports Car League met in the familiar setting of Oschersleben at the weekend to contest the final confrontation of the year. The only BMW M6 GT3s in the field of 30 super sports cars faced a major challenge again because of the Balance of Performance. However, Nick Yelloly and Henric Skoog secured a P12 finish on Sunday against all the odds and thus brought the season to a satisfactory conclusion.

The sister car with BMW works driver Joel Eriksson and Aidan Read laid down the first marker on Friday in FP2. The Swede was some three-and-a-half tenths of a second down on best time in car number 9 and popped up in P10. 30-year-old Yelloly, who had been unable to compete at the Lausitzring due to illness, soon found his feet again in the BMW M6 GT3 and finished the first session in 14th place.

Drivers had to struggle in Q1 on Saturday morning in the extremely cold temperatures just above freezing. Skoog and Read did not manage to get their tyres into the optimal operating window, which was reflected in starting positions 22 and 25. Setup in the race worked much better, but Skoog had no chance to realise the potential. A defective brake disc forced him to retire as a precautionary measure after the opening third segment of the race. Read and Eriksson were classified 19th, having had an unremarkable afternoon.

Qualifying 15th, 22-year-old Eriksson ensured that they were much better placed on Sunday. However, he did not have much luck in the race. Several cars in front of him collided during the flying start. With no chance to take evasive action, Eriksson was involved in the collision and had to retire the BMW with severe damage. His team-mates were more fortunate. Yelloly found himself in 16th position after the restart and gradually worked his way up the field with a long first stint. After the driver handover, Skoog drove supremely well and secured twelfth place at the finish line.

In their first season back in the ADAC GT Masters, Schubert Motorsport finished twelfth in the overall standings on 73 points. The team’s two BMW M6 GT3s took points from this season’s 14 races on nine occasions. Rookie Skoog booked P18 in the drivers’ championship and was ninth in the Junior classification for drivers under 25.

Team Principal André Schubert: “We had certainly hoped to do more in our home fixture at Oschersleben but were able to gain some important insights once again this time. We improved over the course of the weekend and if Joel hadn’t had such bad luck in the second round, points with both cars would definitely have been a possibility. We didn’t round off the season with a stand-out result, but I’m still incredibly proud of the entire team. This first season back has been very intense for the team. We started the year with three newcomers and had to make up for our lack of experience with the BMW M6 GT3 at ADAC GT Masters race tracks. We succeeded in doing that and are looking forward to next year and being able to build on the foundations we’ve laid.”

Joel Eriksson: “Our chances were good in the last race, but unfortunately, I got mixed up in the crash at the start. It was unavoidable. The weekend was very tough again, but I’m very pleased with the progress we’ve made during the year. There’s a big difference between where we started the season and where we finished it. In view of our tremendous progress with the BMW M6 GT3, I would love to race the car again next season and build on what we’ve achieved. I’m pretty certain that Schubert Motorsport will be much stronger next year.”

Nick Yelloly: “I’m really pleased that I was able to shake off the virus in time to compete for Schubert Motorsport again during this final weekend. Oschersleben is not the easiest of race tracks for the BMW M6 GT3 and we knew it would be challenging. Unfortunately, I didn’t get my chance in Saturday’s race, because we had to retire the car as a precaution. In the second round, I got through the collision at the start and was able to improve to twelfth position with an overcut in the first stint. Henric was in charge after the driver handover and managed to achieve a decent result with a supreme effort. I think that was the maximum possible, so we can be pleased with the way the season has ended. It’s been a really amazing season with Schubert Motorsport. They are the best, the atmosphere is terrific and everyone is passionate about what they do and works hard. I would really love to race with them again next year.”

Henric Skoog: “This final weekend was very tough due to the cold temperatures. I struggled to get the front tyres up to temperature in qualifying. As a result, I started a little further down the field in the first race, which I wasn’t happy about. Things went much better on Sunday. Nick put in a superb performance in the first stint of the race and made it relatively easy for me to secure a decent result at the finish. Of course, we also benefited from the fact that other drivers were unlucky at the start. An accident at the start is never nice for those involved, but things like that are practically inevitable in motorsport. The main thing is that no one came to any harm.”