• Race 1: Second place for Toksport WRT (#2) and sixth place for MANN-FILTER Team HTP Motorsport (#47)
• Race 2: Fourth place for Toksport WRT (#2) and sixth place for MANN-FILTER Team HTP Motorsport (#47)

Mercedes-AMG Customer Racing has continued its successful streak in the ADAC GT Masters: in the first race at the sprint configuration of the Nürburgring Grand Prix track, Luca Stolz and Maro Engel (both GER) of the Toksport WRT team finished second with their #2 Mercedes-AMG GT3, scoring a podium finish for the performance and sports car brand from Affalterbach for the third consecutive event. In the second race, the duo only just missed out on another podium result by finishing fourth. Meanwhile, the MANN-FILTER Team HTP Motorsport with Indy Dontje (NED) and Maximilian Götz (GER) rewarded itself for having made great progress in both races and scored valuable points in the battle for the championship with a pair of sixth places.

The fifth round of the ADAC GT Masters at the legendary Nürburgring had quite some excitement in store for the fans and staged yet another successful race weekend for Mercedes-AMG Motorsport. The Saturday at the 3.629 kilometres long Grand Prix track already got off to a promising start: in first qualifying of the weekend, Luca Stolz secured fourth place and thus got his team Toksport WRT that already participated as a guest at Zandvoort one week earlier a good grid position for the race in the afternoon.

In the turmoil after the start, Stolz commandingly defended his position. Some ten minutes into the race, the 24-year-old then started an overtaking manoeuvre and moved up into third place, a position he held on to until the pit stop with change to Maro Engel (GER). His teammate also continued the charge with the #2 Mercedes-AMG GT3 and was able to make up another position after a perfectly timed manoeuvre. After 60 minutes, Engel was second across the finish line and thus secured the maiden ADAC GT Masters podium finish for Toksport WRT.

Indy Dontje (NED) of the MANN-FILTER Team HTP Motorsport also had a good start. From 13^th place on the grid, the Dutchman was already up into tenth place after a few corners and continued to keep the drivers in front of him under pressure. Eventually, he handed the car to Maximilian Götz (GER), third in the race event at the Nürburgring last year, in ninth place. In this race, the experienced driver again showed a strong performance and eventually crowned his spectacular progress with the #47 Mercedes-AMG GT3 with sixth place. Schütz Motorsport (#36) and Team Zakspeed BKK Mobil Oil Racing (#21) who also scored points in 15^th and 16^th place respectively rounded out the good result.

For the second race on Sunday, Engel / Stolz started from sixth place. Starting driver Engel immediately moved up one place at the beginning and headed into the pits for the driver change in fifth place. Here, the team moved up another position thanks to a quick driver change. In the remainder, teammate Stolz commandingly defended his position against his rivals to secure fourth place. Two positions further down, the MANN-FILTER Team HTP Motorsport crossed the finish in sixth place, adding the next top ten result for the performance and sports car brand from Affalterbach at the Nürburgring. Götz had driven the #47 Mercedes-AMG GT3 from twelfth to tenth place in the first half of the race. Dontje continued the charge and went on to secure sixth place. In 13^th and 15^th place respectively, the Team Zakspeed BKK Mobil Oil Racing (#21) and Schütz Motorsport (#36) also secured further championship points.

The next two ADAC GT Masters races will be held at the Hockenheimring (13-15 September).

First win of the season in the ADAC GT4 Germany

At the same venue, Mercedes-AMG Motorsport also scored its first season win in the ADAC GT4 Germany. On Sunday, the team HP Racing International with drivers Tim Heinemann and Luke Wankmüller was first across the line with the #77 Mercedes-AMG GT4 in the field of 24 cars.

Maro Engel, Toksport WRT #2: “Many thanks to the Toksport WRT team, all have done an undisputed top job. Second place on Saturday in only the third race for the team was great and today’s fourth place, in spite of success ballast, was quite decent, too. We have shown that the team is more than just competitive. For Luca and myself, the two guest starts were great fun.”

Luca Stolz, Toksport WRT #2: “Second place and fourth place, that was a really good weekend for us in the ADAC GT Masters. The successful qualifyings were decisive. Maro in particular has done a very good job at the wet track today, the only driver with a front engine to qualify the car in the top ten. Here at the Nürburgring, you simply have to be at the front of the starting grid and survive the first three corner sequences and then you normally finish up front as well. In the race, we also had a good pace, even though it was a bit tougher today. We just couldn’t help but notice the 20 kilograms of performance weight.”

Maximilian Götz, MANN-FILTER Team HTP Motorsport #47: “We are happy with a pair of sixth place. On both days, we have made up many positions, we had a strong race pace and were among the fastest in the field. Basically, we had hoped for a little bit more, but we have made up some ground in the championship standings. The points we have scored here were good for us. Now, Hockenheim and Sachsenring are coming up, where we will be doing our utmost and then, it will be really close in the championship.” 

Indy Dontje, MANN-FILTER Team HTP Motorsport #47: “I was having a lot of fun, especially in the first race. After the start, I made up four positions and Maxi did a super job in bringing it home. Today, we again made up some places thanks to a good pit stop strategy. Even though the podium is our ambition, we are happy with a pair of top six results here. That means valuable championship points after the not so successful weekend in my home round at Zandvoort.”

* excerpt subject to confirmation by the organiser