A really thrilling qualifying session on Friday evening saw the two junior drivers Luca Stolz (#21 Mercedes-AMG ZAKSPEED) and Indy Dontje (#48 Mercedes-AMG Team HTP Motorsport) secure first and second place on the grid for Mercedes-AMG Motorsport. On the final lap, Luca Stolz managed to post his fastest lap time of 1m22.549s, taking a last-gasp pole position away from his fellow Mercedes-AMG driver Indy Dontje. In the first race on Saturday, the two junior drivers initially made their mark as well: Stolz was able to defend the lead with his #21 Mercedes-AMG GT3 and controlled the race at the front of the field. Indy Dontje started catching up from third place.
At the halfway point, Stolz had bad luck: an opponent coming out of the pits clipped the rear of his Mercedes-AMG GT3 that spun into the grass as a result. This move, in which it was innocent, cost the Mercedes-AMG Team ZAKSPEED the lead and eventually victory. After the subsequent pit stop and driver change to Luca Ludwig, the team was able to continue the race in second place without any major damage and still close up to the race leader. Eventually, the ZAKSPEED duo crossed the line in second place, only 1.5 seconds down. The #47 Mercedes-AMG Team HTP Motorsport with Indy Dontje and Marvin Kirchhöfer finished in fourth place. With eighth position for its #26 entry, the BWT Mücke Motorsport team rounded out the good result on Saturday. The duo with local hero Stefan Mücke and Sebastian Asch (both GER) showed a strong comeback, having dropped back to 15th place following a collision in the opening stages for which the team was not at fault. In the junior classification, Luca Stolz (#21 Mercedes-AMG Team ZAKSPEED) claimed victory from Indy Dontje (#48 Mercedes-AMG Team HTP Motorsport) in third place.
In the race on Sunday, the Mercedes-AMG teams managed to score two top ten results: Maximilian Götz and Patrick Assenheimer (both GER) were the best-placed team in sixth, having started from ninth on the grid. Next up were Kirchhöfer/Dontje (#48 Mercedes-AMG Team HTP Motorsport) in tenth and Asch/Mücke (#26 BWT Mücke Motorsport) in 13th place.
Luca Stolz, Mercedes-AMG Team ZAKSPEED #21: “In qualifying for the first race, we were the last ones to go out and we had good track conditions. The lap was just spot-on and it was enough for pole position. In the race, it was clear to see that we would have deserved the win. We drove a faultless race, but then, unfortunately, an opponent pushed us out. Still, we are happy to have scored many points with second place.”
Patrick Assenheimer, Mercedes-AMG Team HTP Motorsport #84: “In the second race, Max made a really good start and was able to gain a few positions. Unfortunately, we slightly were tapped on the rear of our car and then, the balance of the car wasn’t perfect anymore. Eventually, we made progress from ninth on the grid to sixth at the finish and we were the best-placed Mercedes-AMG GT3 team in the second race. We can be quite happy with this result.”
