HEICO Motorsport Attacks from the Back of the Grid 11.06.2012: ADAC GT Masters Sachsenring (DEU) 8 - 10 June 2012 The ups and downs of the Sachsenring make for many thrilling car racing moments. “The track is a challenge

ADAC GT Masters Sachsenring (DEU) 8 - 10 June 2012



The ups and downs of the Sachsenring make for many thrilling car racing moments. “The track is a challenge. You drive up and down again and sometimes you do not see where a certain turn begins or ends. You need a lot of experience on the track. I like this track because it is technically challenging”, gushed HEICO driver Dominik Baumann.


The many spectators of the ADAC GT Masters share the enthusiasm of the race drivers. With 25,000 spectators this year, this event draws spectators like almost no other races in the GT calendar.


The four gull-winged HEICO Motorsport cars (Mercedes Benz SLS AMG GT3) competed in the third round of the German GT3 series which features many brands. Alexandros Margaritis and Lance David Arnold shared the SCHÖNER WOHNEN Polarweiss Team HEICO car #10.


Austrian drivers Dominik Baumann and Harald Proczyk competed in the Gize SLS AMG GT3 (#8). The HEICO junior team, Maximilian Buhk and Swede Andreas Simonsen, took over the cockpit of the Mercedes Benz #9. Christiaan Frankenhout and Kenneth Heyer shared the HEICO SLS #7 for the races in Saxony.


This weekend’s ADAC GT Masters qualifying sessions were ill-fated. The first session on Friday evening was interrupted after a car crashed into the barriers a few minutes after the start. Repairing the barriers was to take about two hours. Q1 was cancelled as a result of a big chaos of discussions and decisions.


The starting grid for race 1 was based on the current overall standings (Art. 35 of the official regulations). Consequently, Arnold/Margaritis (#10) started race 1 on Saturday from P17, Frankenhout/Heyer (#7) from P15, Simonsen/Buhk (#9) from P12 and Proczyk/Baumann (#8) from P9.


Q2 was delayed and then disrupted by yellow flags and two long red phases. “You only get a few laps to set a good time. These kinds of situations can easily throw you. If you lose a few tenths of a second on the track you will also lose places due to the tight grid“, explained Maximilian Buhk. Frankenhout/Heyer (#7) secured P17 for the race on Sunday. Simonsen/Buhk (#9) P25, Proczyk/Baumann (#8) P26 and Arnold/Margaritis (#10) P32.


Surprisingly, the HEICO drivers had no problems taking places in the Top 10. Proczyk/Baumann (#8) pushed hard and grabbed P5, scoring 10 championship points. The HEICO junior team, Simonsen/Buhk (#9), were close behind, in P7. Frankenhout/Heyer (#7) finished the race in eighth place.


“Even though the qualifying sessions were challenging for us, we proved during the race that we can keep up with the pace of the top group”, said a pleased Brice Bosi (team manager). Arnold/Margaritis (#10) did great at first but were kicked into the gravel in the last third of the one-hour race.


Margaritis in the cockpit collected a lot of gravel and had to go to the pit. The HEICO team removed all the gravel from the car and Margaritis rejoined race 1 without any chance for success. “That was important to us. Every kilometre driven in a race is valuable”, said Bosi.


The start positions of the HEICO drivers for the race on Sunday were not as good as on the previous day. “We worked until very late on Saturday. We made some modifications to the cars and our drivers and the engineers did a lot of brain work up until late in the evening. The positive result became evident during the warm up in the morning. Frankenhout/Heyer took P2“, said Bosi.


Margaritis had bad luck again in race 2. After a hard battle with a BMW Alpina (Engstler team) the 2011 champion got stuck in the gravel in the second lap, an early retirement for the SCHÖNER WOHNEN SLS (#10).


The Mercedes Benz SLS AMG GT3 (#7) with Frankenhout/Heyer in the cockpit suffered a big setback during the start. After being hit in the rear he dropped to the back of the grid (P35). “That was really frustrating. We would have had a real chance scoring points. The car was just perfect. It really showed in the race when you take a look at the result”, said Dutch Christiaan Frankenhout. Frankenhout/Heyer had no problems pushing hard. They flew to P13 in their gull-winged car.


The SLS with Simonsen/Buhk (#9) in the cockpit started from P25. “The car ran really well. We gained a lot of places. We are still at a disadvantage on the straight due to the BoP but other than that we are doing great. We are very pleased about finishing in P12 after starting from P25”, said a happy Simonsen.


The SLS with Austrian drivers Proczyk/Baumann (#8) crashed with the Engstler team BMW Alpina before Margaritis’ crash. The BMW was forced to go to the pit with a damaged tyre. Proczyk/Baumann secured a place in the Top 10 in their stint. Unfortunately, the Stewards of the Meeting modified the final result for the duo in the evening. The involved BMW team entered a protest regarding the duel and Baumann received a 30-second penalty. Baumann was angry but showed understanding. “Maybe I pushed a bit too hard. I am sorry about that”.




Brice Bosi (team manager): “All things considered we are very pleased. Our drivers did a great job. I would also like to thank the team. They worked very hard again”.


The HEICO Motorsport team will now prepare for the next races of the GT3 European Championship in July before the next ADAC GT Masters race at the Nürburgring from 13th to 15th July, 2012.
 


- Motioncompany, photos by Marco Knisse automobilsport.com