Team Rosberg was able to take further, important steps forward at the first ADAC GT Masters race abroad. The team placed in the top 20 for the first time.
The ADAC GT Masters was hosted at Autodrom Most in the Czech Republic for the first time this past weekend. For Team Rosberg, the last few days meant a lot of hard work. But things got better with each kilometre. “Two weeks ago in Oschersleben, we were still at a considerable deficit. We were able to keep reducing that on the weekend,” says team leader Arno Zensen about the improved performance. “We keep getting better. Things are looking up and we learn something new each time.”
Fast start by Michele Beretta in the first race
Michele Beretta and Jonathan Judek were the qualifying drivers on Saturday morning. On the racecourse with a length of about 4.121 kilometres, the two gave their best and took starting positions 28 and 33 for the first race at noon.
Michele Beretta’s start was like a rocket launch. Avoiding the general starting melee, the Italian found himself in 14th place. The 23-year old largely kept his competitors behind him in check until he was rudely turned around. After his teammate Aaro Vainio took the wheel, he piloted the Lamborghini across the finish line in 22nd place. For the sister vehicle driven by Jonathan Judek and Jimmy Eriksson, the first race went off without major problems so the duo ended up in 20th place.
With 20th and 22nd place, the team obtained its first top 20 result, rewarding the efforts of the entire team and reflecting its initial progress.
Bad luck on Sunday
Although the team headed into the second qualifying round on Sunday morning filled with motivation from the prior day, fate quickly proved unfavourable. Aaro Vainio had to park the Lamborghini Huracán GT3 with engine damage. Jimmy Eriksson on the other hand earned starting position 28 for himself and Jonathan Judek.
The time between qualifying and the race was short. Even though the Rosberg mechanics did everything they could to repair race car #35, it was not enough in the end and the duo of Aaro Vainio/Michele Beretta was unable to head for the starting line. Then the sister car was also struck in the race. Jimmy Eriksson got off to a good start and kept out of the initial turbulences. Yet he was hit a short time later and spun around. In his attempt to get back on the track, he was unable to turn the Lamborghini in the driving direction quickly and therefore headed the wrong way before managing to re-join the race. Race management sanctioned this immediately and disqualified the team.
Team leader Arno Zensen: “We have gained new insights”
First the top 20 placement, then bad luck on Sunday. The weekend was a roller coaster ride for Team Rosberg. Team leader Arno Zensen: “We made progress and were able to demonstrate that. Jonathan was considerably faster in the race. We are working on having him put that to use in qualifying the next time around. Michele had a very good start on Saturday. We are on the right track.” He had this to say about the disqualification on Sunday: “Naturally we had to take the penalty. There are rules we have to follow. But we also learned a lot here and are taking the new insights from this racing weekend with us.”
Team Rosberg will have a six-week break after the races in Most. The third round of the ADAC GT Masters starts in June at the Red Bull Ring (June 6-8).
