Three Winners at the Debut: Successful GT Summer Series Launch at Hockenheim

GEDLICH Racing celebrated the arrival of the GT Summer Series at the Hockenheimring, welcoming a field of experienced competitors and ambitious rookies for three exciting races.

Two 30-minute sprint races were held to begin the inaugural weekend, followed by a 50-minute pitstop encounter. GT3, GT4 and single-make cars made up the grid, with 19 cars on-site to compete in the GT Summer Series at the Preis der Stadt Stuttgart.

Unfortunately, Thilo Goos’ Mucke Motorsport Aston Martin Vantage suffered problems on Friday, and would be withdrawn ahead of the weekend. During qualifying, PTT Racing’s Przemyslaw Bienkowski (Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo) suffered an engine failure, eliminating the Polish entry from the remainder of the weekend. Despite those late withdrawals, the field lining up for the first race was still highly-competitive, and strewn with championship-winning drivers and teams.

Race 1: Kroker Dominates the Opener

The first race of the weekend was held in perfect sunshine, and Alexander Kroker had the honour of starting from pole position for the inaugural GT Summer Series race. The SP Racing Cologne driver lined-up alongside Thomas Westarp (CCS Racing), a familiar adversary in an identical Audi R8 LMS GT3 Evo2. Three-time Danish Super GT champion Ole Petersen started third in his new Lamborghini Huracan Super Trofeo Evo2, and shared row two with DB Motorsport’s Hermann Speck, in his familiar Porsche 991.2 GT3 R.

As the cars rolled to the start line, Gregor Drasal (Leipert Motorsport Lamborghini Huracan GT3 Evo) withdrew to the pitlane. After clutch issues in qualifying, it was a broken brake disc that befell the car during the formation lap.

The rest of the field launched as anticipated, and Alexander Kroker held his lead early on, ahead of Westarp and Cup 4-leading Ole Petersen. However, Petersen would soon be demoted to third, as Hermann Speck made an authoritative move for third at the Spitzkehre hairpin. GABS Competizioni’s Matt Rosner would also take advantage in his Cup 1 Ferrari 296 Challenge, dragging past the Lamborghini on the run to the Arena section.

By the end of the first lap, Marco Reinbold’s Cup 2 XR Racing Porsche had also gotten by Petersen, who was down to sixth overall. However, once his tyres were up to temperature, Petersen soon found his way back past Reinbold and Rosner, and would settle into a comfortable fourth place. Further back, Mike Janser (SA Performance Porsche) was fighting with GT Winter Series Cup 2 champion Igor Klaja, for second in the Cup 2 class. PTT Racing’s Klaja fought hard to try and stay with the Swiss, but would ultimately drop back several seconds.

At the front of the field, Alexander Kroker displayed peerless pace in the SP Racing Audi, and would ultimately finish 24 seconds clear of second-placed Thomas Westarp in the similar CCS Racing entry. Hermann Speck rounded out the overall podium, ahead of Cup 4 winner Ole Petersen and Matt Rosner. Marco Reinbold finished sixth to win the Cup 2 class for XR Racing.

In GT4, Seyffarth Motorsport’s Tobias Erdmann performed a dominant race in the Audi R8 LMS GT4, winning the class by almost 20 seconds over Alexander Danzer (W&S Porsche Cayman). The Cup X class featured two national licence holders competing with restricted cars, due to DMSB regulations. Racing debutant Urs Frick (SA Performance Porsche) won the class despite finishing behind Franz Binder’s Leipert Lamborghini Super Trofeo, after a post-race penalty for Binder.

Race 2: Petersen Prevails in the Rain

The second race of the weekend presented wet conditions to the drivers, and a shifted dynamic was expected as a result.

As the race started, pole-sitter Thomas Westarp held the early lead, but Ole Petersen looked menacing in the OP Motorsport Lamborghini Huracan. Further back in the pack, Hermann Speck spun at the first corner; it would emerge that he was the only driver to gamble on slick tyres, on a wet-but-drying Hockenheimring. He continued on, but the DB Motorsport Porsche was the slowest car on the circuit.

The Leipert Lamborghini of Gregor Drasal also found itself pointing the wrong way after a spin exiting the Arena section. The chasing pack did a fantastic job avoiding the pink machine, which would soon start fighting back through the order.

On lap three of the race, Ole Petersen moved to the lead. The Super Trofeo-spec Lamborghini driver outbroke Westarp heading into the Arena, and powered around the outside on the exit of turn 11. Petersen would drive at the limit throughout the 30-minute race, having a couple of heart-stopping moments on the painted curbs in wet conditions. But, his bravery would continue to be rewarded by a growing advantage.

Further back, Marco Reinbold led Cup 2 early on, but would be dragged into a thrilling battle also featuring class rivals Mike Janser and Igor Klaja, as well as Pierre Lemmerz in the Race One-winning SP Racing Cologne Audi. Lemmerz would move past Reinbold for fourth overall, which would push Reinbold into the clutches of Janser, Klaja, Urs Frick and the recovering Gregor Drasal.

As the final five minutes began, Reinbold still led Cup 2 and the fifth overall fight by a narrow margin. And, before that could change, red flags would fly, owing to an accident for Hermann Speck. The driver of the slick-shod Porsche lost control at the Parabolika, and hit the armco head-on. Thankfully, the DB Motorsport driver was unharmed, though his weekend would end owing to the damage sustained.

The race would not be restarted, and therefore, Ole Petersen claimed the overall victory in the Cup 4 Lamborghini. GT3 AM winner Thomas Westarp finished second overall, ahead of the Cup 1 Ferrari of Matt Rosner. Pierre Lemmerz finished fourth overall and second in GT3 AM. Further back, Bernd Schaible took the GT4 AM victory, finishing ahead of W&S Motorsport’s Gökay Kutlu in class. Kutlu had only gained his racing licence on the Thursday prior to the event, and managed the adversity of the tricky weather to score a strong finish. Urs Frick once again won Cup X, from seventh overall.

Race 3: Westarp Wins Strategic Finale

The third and final race of the weekend saw a return to dry weather and sunshine, as the competitors readied up for the 50-minute pitstop race. CCS Racing’s Thomas Westarp would once again be joined by Ole Petersen on the front row, with Matt Rosner and Pierre Lemmerz in third and fourth. W&S Motorsport’s Alexander Danzer and Gökay Kutlu would miss race three, with the GT4 AM class Porsche Cayman suffering battery issues.

Westarp moved into the early lead as the race began, while Petersen followed him through in second place. That order would not remain for long, however, as Petersen’s Lamborghini slowed dramatically on the third lap. The car would limp back to the pits, but unfortunately, a technical issue had ended the Danish racer’s race three early. As a result of the withdrawal, Matt Rosner moved up to second in the GABS Competizioni Ferrari 296 Challenge.

Further back in the pack, Mike Janser and Igor Klaja fought hard for second in the Cup 2 class, banging doors on the entry to turn two. Janser – on the inside line – got the better of the exchange, and set about building a cushion over Klaja.

The battle for third overall was intensifying with just over a dozen minutes in the books, as Pierre Lemmerz’s SP Racing Audi was under scrutiny from Gregor Drasal in the Leipert Lamborghini. The pair of GT3 AM runners ran side-by-side into turn one. And, as Lemmerz turned in, he collided with Drasal’s front left quarter panel. Lemmerz spun into the runoff area with right-rear wheel damage, while Drasal’s car continued relatively unscathed.

The recovery of Lemmerz’s car triggered a Safety Car, which would bleed into the allocated time for the window, minutes 20 through 30 of the race. While the pit window is typically delayed until green flag racing resumes in GEDLICH Racing events, human error led to the “Pit Window open” bulletin being published at the scheduled time.

Teams therefore scrambled to make a pitstop, and when the green flags flew once again, the order and gaps had shifted. Thomas Westarp was granted a comfortable 37-second lead at the front, ahead of Matt Rosner and Gregor Drasal.

Drasal was just over a second behind Rosner as the pitstop cycle concluded, and would soon begin applying pressure to the Ferrari driver. Coming into the penultimate corner with 13 minutes remaining, Drasal looked to the inside, but ended up spinning out after the door was closed. There was no contact, and while Drasal lost out to Cup 2 leader Fabain Dybionka (PTT Porsche), he continued in the race. Dybionka was charging towards the battle prior to Drasal’s spin, and would soon find his way past Rosner to inherit second overall.

At the front, Thomas Westarp had performed a flawless race, and would ultimately secure overall victory by 30.377 seconds over PTT Racing’s Fabian Dybionka and co-driver Igor Klaja, who won Cup 2 class. GABS Competizioni’s Matt Rosner finished third, after yet another late spin by Gregor Drasal consigned him to fourth overall. Cup 2 runner-up Mike Janser finished fifth overall for SA Performance Anstalt, ahead of Marco Reinbold and Paul Hochberger, whose XR Racing Porsche was one of several teams to lose out under Safety Car.

In GT4, Reiter Racing’s Daniel Reiter and Finn Zulauf (Porsche Cayman GT4 RS CS) combined to narrowly defeat Tobias Erdmann and Bernd Schaible in the Seyffarth Audi. Cup X honours once again went to Urs Frick in the SA Performance Porsche, rounding out a perfect first-ever racing weekend for the Liechtensteiner.

Strong Overall Impression and Promising Start

Across all three races, the GT Summer Series demonstrated a high sporting level, exciting on-track action and an impressive variety of cars and drivers.

With three different winners, varied race outcomes and smooth organization, the series enjoyed a highly successful debut.

The GT Summer Series will continue its inaugural season next month; the teams now set course for Oschersleben, to join the ADAC Racing Weekend event from 29-31 May.