ADAC GT Masters: Masterful performance for Audi pair Ellis-Hofer

Two rookies performed like experienced drivers and won the season-opening race of the ADAC GT Masters at Motorsport Arena Oschersleben. The 18-year-old Austrian Max Hofer secured the pole position for the #5 Phoenix Racing Audi R8 LMS and then drove a perfect race to take his maiden victory in German premier sports car racing competition, together with 25-year-old Briton Philip Ellis.

Philip Ellis held off Andrea Caldarelli by 0.245 seconds on the finish line. Caldarelli was sharing the #63 GRT Grasser Lamborghini Huracan GT3 with Mirko Bortolotti. Van der Linde brothers, Sheldon and Kelvin, finished the race in the third place in the #28 Audi R8 LMS of Montaplast by Land-Motorsport.

ADAC GT Masters, Oschersleben race 1 podium

Race 1 podium at Oschersleben

Two-time DTM champion and ADAC GT Masters newcomer Timo Scheider nearly missed a podium by finishing fourth in the #42 Schnitzer BMW M6 GT3. He was sharing a car with Mikkel Jensen. The fifth-placed Sebastian Asch and Luca Stolz were the fastest Mercedes drivers in the #21 Zakspeed Mercedes-AMG GT3, ahead of Mathieu Jaminet and Robert Renauer in the #99 Precote Herberth Motorsport Porsche 911 GT3 R.

Thirty-five crews started the race, all but one completed 39 laps during the one-hour race.