Austrian GT3 competitor Mick Wishofer’s prediction from Friday turned out to be spot on – BMW would win at the Red Bull Ring on Saturday. Ben Green and Niklas Krütten dominated the first race of 2022 at Spielberg for the German manufacturer ahead of a Porsche and a Mercedes duo. “It was so much fun to take my first GT Masters win. It got tight in the first corner, and the tyres were a bit dirty, but it was all good! I pushed to get past the Porsche, tried going on the outside at Turn 4 and was able to pull away. We might have touched briefly, but it wasn’t bad, I didn’t feel anything. I went to the limit, and it was a tough battle with the Porsche. Niklas also did a sensational job!”, said Green.
And his BMw partner Niklas Krütten added: “The fact that the door was open after the pit stop really bothered me. I took some corners with one hand to try to close it, but nothing worked. I decided to let it be, and as if by magic, the door slammed shut in a right turn. The tyres wore off at the end and the Porsche got closer. The priority was not to make any mistakes, so I eased up on the last lap. The team and Ben did such a good job, and all I had to do was drive it home.”
The Austrian quartet all finished in the middle of the pack. Christian Klien’s McLaren partner, Dennis Lind of Denmark, started from 8th place with good chances of a podium finish and handed the JP Motosport car over in 5th place. The Austrian former Formula 1 driver was not able to complete the driver change properly though and had to battle his way to a 12th place finish. The top 5 finish he wanted at his home race proved elusive. Mick Wishofer finished 15th with his Lamborghini partner Konsta Lappalainen, ahead of the Austrian duo of Norbert Siedler and Simon Reicher, who battled it out in an Audi R8 GT3 Evo II from Austrian team Eastalent Racing.
There was a home win to celebrate too
Austrian KTM team True Racing scored maximum points in the Fanatec GT2 European Series. The big winners though were once again the fans at the race track. They enjoyed a total of five racing series with an incredible line-up of local motorsport aces, fantastic autograph sessions, grid and pit walks as well as the chance to see the world of motorsport up close and personal in the open paddock. Anyone who doesn’t want to miss this year’s Austrian finale of the International German GT Championship can snap tickets up at the box office on Sunday 22 May from 8:00 in the morning!
Impressions from Saturday.
