• Race 2: 4th place for #47 MANN-FILTER Team HTP-WINWARD
• In total, five Mercedes-AMG GT3s in the point-scoring positions of the race on Sunday
• Race 1: two top ten results for #48 and #47 with P6 and P9

The second ADAC GT Masters race at the Hockenheimring on Sunday made it a placable way to end the tough race weekend: final driver Indy Dontje (NED) secured fourth place overall for MANN-FILTER Team HTP-WINWARD with starting number 47 after his teammate Maximilian Götz (GER) had started the race from third on the grid. In the opening stages, there were hard position fights with bodywork contact that led to a heart-stopping moment for the team. A bodywork part was rubbing the tyres and caused smoke, but thankfully, there was no major consequential damage, so that Götz eventually was able to hand the car to Dontje while in fifth place. Then, the Dutchman made up one position after the pit stop and commandingly defended this position until the end of the race. The #48 sister car also showed a strong performance in the race on Sunday: in spite of a five-second penalty issued for leaving the starting grid position too early, Raffaele Marciello (ITA) and Philip Ellis (GBR) of KNAUS Team HTP-WINWARD managed to move up to seventh position thanks to spirited overtaking manoeuvres. Maro Engel and Luca Stolz (both GER), meanwhile, had a difficult weekend with the Toksport-WRT Mercedes-AMG and were fighting for championship points in vain on Saturday. On Sunday, they were still rewarded with ninth place overall and the valuable points coming with it. Currently, Engel and Stolz are in third place of the championship standings and are seven points down on the leaders. The two Zakspeed Mercedes-AMG GT3s #21 (P14) and #20 (P16) rounded out the good result on Sunday and also scored championship points.

In qualifying on Saturday, during which almost all teams stayed in the pits for a very long time, gambling to get perfect conditions, only Luca Stolz in the Toksport-WRT car with starting number 22 managed to qualify in the top ten (P8). Stolz held on to his top ten position until the halfway point of the race, but as Maro Engel wanted to leave the pits, he found his car blocked by an opponent. The duo lost valuable time and wasn’t able to make up for it. Eventually, they finished outside the points in 18^th place. The two HTP-WINWARD Motorsport cars with starting numbers 48 and 47, on the other hand, were able to make progress in the first race: starting driver Philip Ellis and his teammate Raffaele Marciello moved up from eleventh on the grid to finish sixth with the #48 car. The sister car with Indy Dontje and Maximilian Götz made up nine positions in the high-class field of 33 competitors and finished ninth.

Top 5 results in ADAC GT4 Germany
The ADAC GT Masters support package at the Hockenheimring included the second round of the ADAC GT4 Germany. In the race on Saturday, the car with starting number 48 of MANN-FILTER Team HTP-WINWARD with drivers Julien Apothéloz (SUI) and Luca-Sandro Trefz (GER) was the best-placed Mercedes-AMG GT4 in fifth place across the finish line. On Sunday, the duo again ended up as the best-placed Mercedes-AMG GT4 team and even was able to celebrate on the podium after finishing third. As a result, Apothéloz and Trefz are currently third in the championship standings, 14 points down.

The next ADAC GT Masters round, again with the ADAC GT4 Germany on the support package, will be held at the Sachsenring from 2^nd until 4^th October.

Indy Dontje, MANN-FILTER Team HTP-WINWARD (#47): “I was really fighting, because unlike all the other cars in the group of the frontrunners, we had started with used tyres. That particularly became apparent in the closing stages, especially the left rear tyre was completely worn out. As a result, I wasn’t able to make much progress, so I concentrated on maintaining the position instead. All in all, today was a good day. Finally, we were running where we belong again. The car was really good, otherwise, this pace with these problems would have been impossible.”

Raffaele Marciello, KNAUS Team HTP-WINWARD (#48): “It was a tough weekend for us. Still, we have scored important points for the championship and, according to me, we got the maximum out of this weekend. Now, it is about improving once more with this experience and to attack again at the Sachsenring.”

Luca Stolz, Toksport WRT (#22): “In first qualifying, we waited really long to have the best track conditions, but so did almost all the other teams. At the end, it then was difficult to get a perfect lap in with a track that was really full. In the race, we weren’t quite able to keep up with the pace of the frontrunners and then we also had bad luck during the pit stop. We were blocked and lost many places and important championship points as a result. Ninth place on Sunday and the championship points that come with it were important to stay in contention for the championship. Everything is still possible.”

* excerpt, subject to confirmation by the organisers