Thrilling fight for the lead for Engelhart and Ammermüller in the SSR Porsche

The 4th race in the ADAC GT Masters on the Sachsenring once more produced unadulterated excitement and top-class racing, as Christian Engelhart and Michael Ammermüller from the SSR Performance team demonstrated their skills in their Porsche and impressed with their strong fighting spirit.

Qualifying on the Saturday was highly promising: Michael Ammermüller was able to capture second place on the grid in the SSR Performance’s Porsche – a very good springboard for the first race on the Sachsenring. The flying start, which is always a challenge given the very strong field in the ADAC GT Masters, did not go ideally and Michael Ammermüller had “his hands full” trying to keep the Porsche on the track unscathed. He managed to do that, even though the duo dropped back to 7th.

After an error-free pit stop, Christian Engelhart took over behind the wheel and finally crossed the line in sixth in a very exciting second half of the race. “It’s really difficult to overtake here on the Sachsenring because you pick up so much rubber when you’re not on the ideal line. You have to wait for the others to make mistakes and then pounce right away. At the end of the day, we can be satisfied with sixth spot on the Saturday,” said Engelhart.

However, things did not go to plan at all in qualifying for the race on the Sunday. Traffic when his tires were at their peak and a better performance by the competition from other brands meant he was only able to capture 18th place on the grid. The clear objective for the race was therefore to get as far into the points as possible. Yet right after the start, there was a collision in the front of the pack after the first bend, with the result that five rivals had to withdraw with damaged cars. Christian Engelhart had a superb start and it seemed like he would climb a few positions, but he had to pass the cars that had collided directly in front of him and so brake in order to prevent his Porsche hitting them.

That meant he fell back to 17th before the race restarted after the safety car phase. Engelhart, who is sponsored by Brose, was able to move up a few places in the further course of the extremely thrilling and entertaining race and, after a smooth pit stop, handed over to Michael Ammermüller, who then slotted himself into 12th.

After another safety car phase, Ammermüller also drove an outstanding race and, after exciting tussles for position and various other collisions by the competition, was able to capture sixth spot like on the day before. “This result on the Sachsenring means we’ve been able to defend our second place in the drivers’ championship in the ADAC GT Masters and are within striking distance of the leaders. In terms of fights, that was our strongest race together so far. It was really fun. Sometimes finishing sixth feels like you’ve won,” said both pilots after the Sunday race.

The next weekend of racing will be on the Red Bull Ring in Austria from October 16 through 18, 2020.