Mercedes-AMG wins twice at the Nürburgring.
09-08-2022 19:20 - MOTORSPORT
Race 1: Victory and podium for Mercedes-AMG Customer Racing in Saturday's race
Already in free practice on Friday, Marciello set the best time of the day with the Mercedes-AMG GT3 #48 from the MANN-FILTER Team LANDGRAF and confirmed this lap in the first qualifying. With his time of 1:25.544 minutes, he even set a new ADAC GT Masters qualifying record on the short circuit of the Nürburgring. For the first race of the weekend, this meant pole position ahead of fellow Mercedes-AMG driver Fabian Schiller, who had qualified second in the #4 Drago Racing Team ZVO Mercedes-AMG GT3 to complete the front row of the grid for Mercedes-AMG.
In the one-hour race on Saturday afternoon, the number 48 was again the fastest car in the field. During his stint, Marciello twice managed to establish a reassuring lead over Schiller as his main rival. However, he lost his lead every time due to safety car interventions. Nevertheless, Maro Engel took over the wheel of the #48 at the mandatory pit stop with a time advantage of around five seconds. Engel mastered this comfortable situation with all his routine and drove home a confident start-finish victory on Saturday, also the first success of the season for the MANN-FILTER Team LANDGRAF.
Race 2: A one-two and four Mercedes-AMG GT3s in the top five on Sunday
In qualifying on Sunday morning, the Mercedes-AMG Customer Racing Teams picked up where they left off the day before. Maro Engel did the same as his team-mate and put the car with starting number 48 on pole position for the second time this weekend. Three more Mercedes-AMG GT3s followed in places two to four: #4, #48 and #8. The Mercedes-AMG Customer Racing teams used this ideal starting point to assert themselves well in a turbulent initial phase. While Luca Stolz had to park the #8 Mercedes-AMG GT3 early on his comeback due to a collision through no fault of his own, the vehicles with starting number 48, starting number 4 and starting number 84 lined up in places one to three.
Maro Engel then led the field in the first stint with the #48 Mercedes-AMG GT3 driven by Jules Gounon from Drago Racing Team ZVO and Frank Bird in the #48 MANN-FILTER Team LANDGRAF GT3. In order not to lose any time lapping, the two leading cars came into the pits after 30 minutes. Marciello took over the number 48 car from Engel, while Schiller replaced Gounon in the number 4 car. Because Marciello allegedly drove too slowly into the pit lane, the race control imposed a penalty loop. This allowed Fabian Schiller with the number 4 car to take the lead, while the number 48 car remained in second place. As there was not enough time to catch up, Gounon, Schiller and Drago Racing Team ZVO celebrated their second win of the season. Marciello and Engel secured second place. With the #84 sister car, Frank Bird and Elias Seppänen finished the race in fourth place, topping their sixth place rom the previous day. The drivers of the #90 Mercedes-AMG GT3 run by Madpanda Motorsport, who started the race from 14th on the grid , benefited from the chaos at the start and put on a spectacular race to catch up. At the finish, Maximilian Götz and Ezequiel Perez Companc took fifth place, the best result so far for the Spanish team in its debut season.
In qualifying on Sunday morning, the Mercedes-AMG Customer Racing Teams picked up where they left off the day before. Maro Engel did the same as his team-mate and put the car with starting number 48 on pole position for the second time this weekend. Three more Mercedes-AMG GT3s followed in places two to four: #4, #48 and #8. The Mercedes-AMG Customer Racing teams used this ideal starting point to assert themselves well in a turbulent initial phase. While Luca Stolz had to park the #8 Mercedes-AMG GT3 early on his comeback due to a collision through no fault of his own, the vehicles with starting number 48, starting number 4 and starting number 84 lined up in places one to three.
Maro Engel then led the field in the first stint with the #48 Mercedes-AMG GT3 driven by Jules Gounon from Drago Racing Team ZVO and Frank Bird in the #48 MANN-FILTER Team LANDGRAF GT3. In order not to lose any time lapping, the two leading cars came into the pits after 30 minutes. Marciello took over the number 48 car from Engel, while Schiller replaced Gounon in the number 4 car. Because Marciello allegedly drove too slowly into the pit lane, the race control imposed a penalty loop. This allowed Fabian Schiller with the number 4 car to take the lead, while the number 48 car remained in second place. As there was not enough time to catch up, Gounon, Schiller and Drago Racing Team ZVO celebrated their second win of the season. Marciello and Engel secured second place. With the #84 sister car, Frank Bird and Elias Seppänen finished the race in fourth place, topping their sixth place rom the previous day. The drivers of the #90 Mercedes-AMG GT3 run by Madpanda Motorsport, who started the race from 14th on the grid , benefited from the chaos at the start and put on a spectacular race to catch up. At the finish, Maximilian Götz and Ezequiel Perez Companc took fifth place, the best result so far for the Spanish team in its debut season.