Sachsenring (DE), 1st May 2016. There were two firsts at the second
race weekend of the ADAC GT Masters at the Sachsenring (DE). BMW
Motorsport Junior Louis Delétraz (CH) drove in the first two GT races
of his career. And it was also the first time that Delétraz and Jesse
Krohn (FI), the two best BMW Motorsport Juniors in recent years,
shared the cockpit of the BMW M6 GT3 of Schubert Motorsport. From a
sporting point of view, the weekend didn’t have the desired success,
but Delétraz in particular gained valuable experience for his upcoming
outings in GT racing.
The first race on Saturday got off to a promising start. Krohn was
strong in qualifying and got the fifth-fastest time. However, a
disqualification saw Team Schubert lose their place on the third row
of the grid and they had to start the race from the back of the grid.
Krohn and Delétraz were able to move up a few places during the
turbulent race with numerous safety car periods and crossed the finish
line in 22nd place.
Delétraz took part in the first ADAC GT Masters qualifying session of
his career on Sunday. He initially asserted himself well against some
of the best GT racing drivers in the world, and was top of the
rankings for a while. But he got stuck in traffic in the final minutes
and was unable to improve his lap time. So he had to start the race
from 22nd on the grid. Despite the difficult starting position,
Delétraz and Krohn moved up into 13th place, partly thanks to the
Schubert team’s outstanding pit stop, and were even within reach of
the points. But about 15 minutes before the end of the race, the
bonnet, which was damaged after a slight collision, came off and Krohn
was forced to return to the pit early.
The third race weekend of the ADAC GT Masters will be held at the
Lausitzring (DE) from 3rd-5th June. The eagerly awaited joint event
with the DTM will be held at the EuroSpeedway. Krohn and Delétraz will
share the cockpit of the BMW M6 GT3 again there.
Torsten Schubert (Team Principal Schubert
Motorsport): “It wasn’t the weekend we were hoping for.
It was a shame that we lost the fantastic fifth place on the grid that
Jesse achieved, since starting from the back of the grid meant we had
no chance of picking up any points. Louis drove very well in
qualifying on Sunday, especially considering that he had to compete
with the best GT drivers in the world on his debut. There wasn’t a
huge difference in time. He did a good job overall and improved from
session to session. We would have been able to make it into the points
with a bit of luck in the second race, but unfortunately it wasn’t
meant to be this time. Now we need to keep working hard to be able to
be fighting at the front again at the Lausitzring.”
Jesse Krohn: “In this extremely strong
championship it is crucial to be right near the front in qualifying.
We didn’t manage this for various reasons. So when you start from
right at the back it is really difficult. Louis did a good job at his
first GT race weekend. Naturally, he needs to get used to the new
style of driving first, but he’s making great progress with each lap
that he completes. It’s fun working with him.”
Louis Delétraz: “It was a very special weekend
for me. How many people get the opportunity to contest their first GT
race in a BMW M6 GT3? That makes me very proud. Unfortunately, we
didn’t get the good results we were hoping for, but I learnt a lot
anyway, and really enjoyed the races. The dimensions and the weight of
the BMW M6 GT3 in particular are completely new to me as a Formula
driver. You only really notice it in the race when it gets close in
the first turn and you have light collisions with one or two of your
rivals. But no doubt I will get used to that quickly, and I hope to be
able to finish further up the field at the Lausitzring. I’m already
looking forward to it.”