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There was reason to celebrate in the C.Abt Racing team, who come from the Allgäu. After a tumultuous start at the ADAC GT Masters in Belgian Spa-Francorchamps, C.Abt Racing proudly celebrated their first victory in the Gentleman's evaluation and can now add extra points to their championship account after a strong team performance.
Beaming winners on the platform. In the sixth ADAC GT Masters race, Andreas Weishaupt and team colleague Christer Jöns were convincing with a strong performance. The race was begun behind the Safety Car in heavy rain, and the weather gods did not give in until the end of the race. Due to the weather, the duo managed to gain only one championship point, but managed to celebrate victory in the Gentleman's evaluation. "We had a great weekend with an excellent finish“, said a happy Andreas Weishaupt. "The car was tuned perfectly and the team did a great job“. Christer Jöns chipped in to say "In a difficult race like the one we've run today, in which you have to fight against rain and aquaplaning, one can actually be twice as proud of the result at the end of the day“.
Also proud are Jordan Lee Pepper and Nicki Thiim who impressed in the rain-soaked race with a rapid chase. Although Qualifying did not go as expected and both started from 18th place, they fought their way forwards, place by place, and fascinated the spectators as they jockeyed for position on the track. They finished in 4th, narrowly missing out on a podium place. "This was my first visit to Spa-Francorchamps. It didn't go well for us at the beginning", said Jordan Lee Pepper at the end of the race weekend. "The team did a fantastic job and we can be very proud. Of course the podium at the end would have been a real reward, but 4th place is, nevertheless, more than we'd expected“.
It didn't go so well for last year's champion Kelvin van der Linde and team-mate Stefan Wackerbauer. On Friday the team was celebrating its fourth start place for the Sunday race, but the duo experienced bad luck on Saturday. Shortly after the chaotic start phase, Stefan Wackerbauer had to bring the Audi R8 LMS ultra back to the pits with some damage, meaning an untimely end for both drivers. Once again, the team around ex-DTM driver Christian Abt proved its worth: Overnight the Audi was completely repaired in time for the second race. In the race itself, the youngest members of the C.Abt Racing Team fought the heavy rain. "The view of the person in front was incredibly bad and this was extremely dangerous“, said Wackerbauer, describing his race. "We had strong pace at the beginning of the weekend and we were the fastest Audi in the field“, said van der Linde. "Unfortunately the second race was more than difficult“. At the end, they had done enough to come in in twelfth place.
Christian Abt summed up the weekend's racing: "I believe we had a very strong, second race. Nicki and Jordan drove from 18th up to fourth. What more can you ask for? Andreas and Christer did a very good job too, and were able to keep up with the leaders at times. We're looking forward to the next circuits as we're sure they'll suit us better“.
The upward trend for Christian Abt and his team goes on. In two weeks the C.Abt Racing team will be at the Lausitzring (03.-05.07) and then they'll attempt to perform strongly once again.