- First place for #48 Mercedes-AMG GT3 in all sessions on Friday and Saturday
- Early pit stop helps Luca Stolz to achieve podium finish in Sunday race
- Denis Bulatov and Marcel Lenerz move up into ADAC GT4 Germany points’ lead
By virtue of an outstanding performance at the second race weekend in 2023 at Circuit Zandvoort, Maro Engel (GER) has achieved his second DTM race win. Driving for Mercedes-AMG Team MANN-FILTER, the Performance Driver had already been the fastest man in the field in both free practice sessions on Friday. In the 20-minute qualifying session on Saturday morning, Engel built on this performance with the “yellow mamba”, claiming pole position with a time of 1m 32.585s.
Following a successful start of the one-hour race, the lead of the #48 Mercedes-AMG GT3 was never really under threat. In front of 24,000 spectators, Maro Engel used his routine to control his advantage, posted the fastest lap time of the race and then brought a commanding victory home. The Mercedes-AMG brand ambassador achieved the maximum day score of 28 championship points as a result. Lucas Auer (6th/AUT), Jusuf Owega (10th/GER) and Luca Stolz (11th/GER) also ended up in the point-scoring positions.
Further podium result for Mercedes-AMG Customer Racing in Sunday race
In qualifying on Sunday, a red flag with three minutes remaining got in the way of the strategy of the teams. In spite of the interruption, Maro Engel qualified for third place on the grid while Luca Stolz started the race from sixth. During the race, the Mercedes-AMG Team HRT driver benefited from an early pit stop and fresher tyres that enabled him to move up into third place. Luca Stolz then defended this position with the #4 Mercedes-AMG GT3 until the end and therefore was able to celebrate his first podium of the season. The previous day’s race winner, Maro Engel, again scored valuable championship points by finishing in fifth place.
#4 Mercedes-AMG GT4 secures victory and podium result in ADAC GT4 Germany
As part of the support package at the circuit in the dunes in The Netherlands, ADAC GT4 Germany also staged two races. In the Saturday race, BCMC Motorsport powered by EastSide Motorsport with drivers Denis Bulatov and Marcel Lenerz (both GER) just missed out on the overall win by finishing second. On Sunday, however, the duo made it onto the top step of the podium: having started from pole position, the #4 Mercedes-AMG GT4 dictated the pace and went on to win with a margin of over 22 seconds. As a result, Denis Bulatov and Marcel Lenerz lead the drivers’ standings after two race weekends.
