Bruno Spengler and Maxime Oosten lead home a BMW one-two at the Red Bull Ring

Surprise victors at the Red Bull Ring: after the original race winners and runners-up were disqualified for technical infringements, victory in race nine of this season’s ADAC GT Masters went to newcomer Maxime Oosten (NL) and former DTM champion Bruno Spengler (CAN) in a BMW M4 GT3.

For the two BMW drivers and the FK Performance Motorsport team, this was success number one in the ADAC’s iconic GT series. The Schubert duo of Eduardo Coseteng (PHL) and Ben Green (GBR) came home second in another BMW M4 GT3. Third place went to Jannes Fittje (Langenhain) and Nico Menzel (Kelberg/both Huber Motorsport) in a Porsche 911 GT3 R. The first car across the finish line on Saturday was the Lamborghini Huracán GT3 Evo2 of Benjamin Hites (CHL) and Marco Mapelli (I/both GRT Grasser Racing Team), followed by Salman Owega (Cologne) and Elias Seppänen (FIN/both Landgraf Motorsport) in a Mercedes-AMG GT3. However, both cars were subsequently disqualified following the post-race technical inspection. The scrutineers were unable to extract the required amount of fuel from the Lamborghini, as specified in the regulations, while the Mercedes-AMG was below the minimum weight required. 

Race nine of this season’s ADAC GT Masters began under overcast skies and with temperatures around 15 degrees Celsius. The fans at the 4.318-kilometre racetrack in Styria were treated to some thrilling battles from the word go. Hites took advantage of pole position, giving the rest of the international field no opportunity to challenge him out in front. Halfway through the race, the Lamborghini Junior handed over the super sports car to Mapelli. Seppänen was able to close the gap as the race progressed, but it was Lamborghini works driver Mapelli who took the chequered flag. The post-race penalties handed to the two duos in front of them left Oosten and Spengler to take home their first winner’s trophies in the ADAC’s iconic GT series. The BMW pair produced a notable display with a total of seven overtaking manoeuvres. “An incredible race, I still cannot believe it. I found my rhythm very quickly and launched one attack after another. At the same time, I also focussed on ensuring that I did not put too much strain on the tyres. Bruno really had to work hard to defend his position again in the final corners, which frayed my nerves a bit,” said Oosten, who is making his first appearance in the ADAC GT Masters in Austria and also won the Pirelli Junior competition. Second place for Coseteng and Green made it a BMW one-two at the Alpine circuit. Fittje and Menzel completed the top three as the best-placed Porsche drivers. 

Fourth place went to Mercedes-AMG drivers Alain Valente (CHE) and Ralf Aron (EST/both Haupt Racing Team). Michael Joos (Vöhringen) and Christian Engelhart (Starnberg/both Team Joos by Racemotion) came home fifth in a Porsche 911 GT3 R. In sixth place were Petru Umbrarescu (RO) and Philip Ellis (GBR) in Haupt Racing Team’s second Mercedes-AMG GT3. John Paul Southern (Liqui Moly Team Engstler) ended the race in seventh place. The American shares the cockpit of the Audi R8 LMS GT3 Evo2 with Jonas Karklys (LT).