Mercedes-AMG Motorsport wins the ADAC GT Masters race at Most in the Czech Republic on Sunday: at the Autodrom Most, Maximilian Götz and Markus Pommer (both GER) drive their #47 Mercedes-AMG GT3 run by the MANN-FILTER Team HTP Motorsport to first place. On Saturday already, two Mercedes-AMG GT3 made it into the top ten. Indy Dontje (NED) and Maximilian Buhk (GER), also MANN-Filter Team HTP Motorsport, finished in fourth place on Saturday. Thus, the duo was classified second in the junior classification.
Race 2: victory for the #47 MANN-FILTER Team HTP Motorsport
Race 1: two Mercedes-AMG GT3 in the Top 10
Race 1: Indy Dontje (NED) and Maximilian Buhk (GER) second in the junior classification
Most (Czech Republic) – Mercedes-AMG Motorsport enjoyed a successful ADAC GT Masters debut at Most (CZE): for the first time, the ‘super sports car league’ staged a round at the Autodrom Most and the Customer Racing Teams with the Mercedes-AMG GT3 already made it clear that they were a force to be reckoned with in the two races on Saturday and Sunday by locking out first to fourth place in free practice on Friday. On Sunday, Maximilian Götz and Markus Pommer (both GER) won the second race of the weekend and thus secured the first win in the fourth race of the season. Götz started race two from pole position and also remained unfazed by an early safety car intervention. Both during the regular start of the race and in the restart following a startline collision, the 2012 champion defended his lead and handed the car to his teammate Pommer at the halfway point of the race. Both drivers showed a faultless performance and concluded the one-hour race in first place with a total of 37 laps and a margin of almost two seconds. The sister car with starting number 48 missed out on second place due to a drive-through penalty for a too short pit stop and eventually was classified in 16th place. Maximilian Buhk and Indy Dontje (NED) finished fourth on Saturday. The two were 0.5 seconds down on third place and secured the best result for Mercedes-AMG Motorsport in race one. In the debut race at Most that also included plenty of action, the #21 Mercedes-AMG GT3 run by Team Zakspeed BKK Mobil Oil Racing was the second car from Affalterbach to finish in the top ten. Sebastian Asch and Luca Stolz finished seventh in the 60 minutes’ race. Both races had a peculiar start. Directly after the start of the race, several cars in the 35-strong field (34 on Saturday) collided and thus caused an early safety car intervention. After a few laps, both races in summerly conditions could be restarted. Indy Dontje and Maximilian Buhk were classified second in the junior standings on Saturday.
Maximilian Götz, MANN-FILTER Team HTP Motorsport #47: “Of course, being on pole position is the decisive basis. On Friday, we saw already that the track really suits the Mercedes-AMG GT3. After fourth place on the grid and our unfortunate retirement yesterday, we managed to do better today. Many thanks to the entire team. Everybody has done a super job. I had two very good starts and I enjoyed completing my laps while in the lead. I wanted to pull a gap and I managed to do so. Markus also raced flat-out and showed strong nerves to drive victory home.”
Markus Pommer, MANN-FILTER Team HTP Motorsport #47: “Maxi showed a great performance and handed the car to me in the lead. Thus, the only thing I had to do was completing the race. Of course, that was tremendous fun. The car is super to drive. After the poor showing yesterday, this is an enjoyable way to conclude our weekend.”
Indy Dontje, Mercedes-AMG Team HTP Motorsport #48: “That was a super race on Saturday. We started from sixth place and I didn’t expect things to go so well in the race. At the start, I gained one position on the outside and then we had a good pit stop after which we were in fourth place. With fourth place in the overall classification and second place in the junior standings, I am very happy. We better forget about Sunday very quickly.”
Maximilian Buhk, MANN-FILTER Team HTP Motorsport #48: “It could have been better in both races. On Saturday, I was clearly faster than the Porsche in front of me, but I never came close enough on the long start-and-finish straight. And I didn’t want to take any unnecessary risks and possibly lose valuable points. When considering that we came from the fifth row on the grid, fourth place is an excellent result. The drive-through penalty on Sunday was simply bitter. We were clearly on course for a podium finish and we would certainly have finished second. At this track, the Mercedes-AMG GT3 worked really well. Therefore, it is a pity that we weren’t able to make it onto the podium in any of the races.”
