Ineichen/Engelhart finish second in the second race of the season

Lamborghini was the measure of all things in the Sunday race in the ADAC GT Masters in the Motorsport Arena Oschersleben. Mirko Bortolotti (28) and Andrea Caldarelli (28, both ORANGE1 by GRT Grasser) crossed the line first, 1.8 seconds ahead of Rolf Ineichen (29) and Brose pilot Christian Engelhart (30/Wolnzach, both GRT Grasser Racing Team), likewise in a Lamborghini. Dominik Schwager and Luca Ludwig (both HB Racing) finished third to capture the first podium placement for the Ferrari 488 GT3, which is making its debut in the “league of super sports cars” this year. “That was perfect,” said a delighted winner Bortolotti. “The performance was really good. We didn’t make a mistake and we’re very satisfied.”

In front of more than 25,000 spectators, the second race of the season was dominated by the two Lamborghini Huracáns, which had secured the first two positions on the grid in qualifying. Christian Engelhart started from pole position and defended his lead at the start against Andrea Caldarelli. Whereas there was no change in the placings among the leaders until the mandatory pit stops midway through the race, the duo steadily extended their gap over their pursuers. However, the lead changed hands shortly after Rolf Ineichen took over from Engelhart and Mirko Bortolotti replaced Caldarelli. Bortolotti passed Ineichen on lap 23 to move into first. The two Lamborghinis continued to dominate the race after that. By the time the safety car was called out so that the Mercedes AMG of Kim-Luis Schramm could be recovered, they had already built a lead of around ten seconds over their pursuers. Bortolotti then managed to win comfortably, taking the checkered flag 1.8 seconds in front of Ineichen. It was the third win for Bortolotti and the first for his new teammate Caldarelli in the ADAC GT Masters. Ineichen came second to clinch victory in the Pirelli Trophy rankings.