The Czech outfit will make it to the start of its second full season in this exciting German series for GT cars fielding an updated version of the Audi R8 LMS for the #33 drivers pairing made by Filip Salaquarda (CZ) and Frank Stippler (GER). The two claimed a spectacular maiden win at Nürburgring last year and secured other important results despite being at the debut.
Salaquarda and Stippler have been teammates for several seasons now and over the years they built a lot of experience in the Blancpain GT Series first and in the ADAC GT Masters afterwards. This year they already had the chance to adjust their driving to the new car in the pre-season testing held on this same circuit in Oschersleben.
Salaquarda, class 1984, is about to contest his third complete season in ADAC GT Masters – the second with I.S.R. racing – after the 2017 and 2018 campaigns. The Czech driver is certainly one of the most experienced racers on the Audi R8 LMS, car on which he has been constantly competing since 2016 and that rewarded him with great satisfaction in GT. Since his debut in 2011, Salaquarda has contested 294 races claiming 16 podium finishes.
Audi Sport’s factory driver Frank Stippler also has an important experience in this championship. Class 1975, Stippler is among the fields of I.S.R. racing since 2016. He has been driving for Audi since 2004 and won the 24 Hours of Spa 2012, the 24 Hours of Nürburgring 2012 and secured several wins in endurance VLN on the complete layout of the famous German track, winning also the VLN Langstrecken Meisterschaft Nürburgring 2018. Stippler came second in the FIA GT Series 2013 and won Audi Sport TT Cup Race of Legends in 2017.
The weekend in Oschersleben will have a starting grid packed with 31 cars, which confirms the high level reached by ADAC GT Masters. The 3.667 meters long racetrack located near Magdeburg is characterized by long straights and heavy braking places that call for spectacular overtaking moves. The circuit can be split into two sectors: the first ends at the McDondald’s corner and is very technical and difficult, while the second is very fast with the only exception of the Zeppelin Kurve that slows down cars before rejoining the pit straight.
The program of the opening weekend will begin on Friday with two free practice sessions at 11:55 and 16:20. The first qualifying session will define the pecking order of race one on Saturday at 8:55, while the first race of the weekend will follow at 13:05. The second qualifying session will take place on Sunday morning at 9:10 and race two will get green lights at 13.05 (all times are GMT +2).
“We are all set to start a new campaign with the same assets and the same line-up, but with an updated car and renewed ambitions. This year we know all the racing tracks of ADAC GT Masters a lot better than last year and we aim to build on the results obtained last year trying to achieve a higher constancy of performance. This is one of the best series for GT cars as it features high-level drivers and teams and we are are proud of having the chance of representing Audi, the brand with which we have been working since 2015. Our potential is good, the testing sessions on the Evo car have been positive and we will be trying to seize the podium every time we will have the chance”.
