Nico Menzel takes pole position by narrowest of margins
If you wanted excitement on Sunday morning, then you needed to look no further than ADAC GT Masters qualifying at the Norisring. Nico Menzel (Kelberg) set the fastest time of 0:49.107 minutes in his Porsche 911 GT3 R. The Huber Motorsport driver edged out Porsche racer Sven Müller (Bingen/Team Joos by Racemotion) by just 0.08 seconds in the race for pole. Jaxon Evans (NZ/Huber Racing) was third fastest in another Porsche GT3 car.
The drivers were once again greeted by sunshine and temperatures around 23 degrees Celsius on Sunday morning – ideal conditions for qualifying. The 20-minute session really took off towards the end. In the end, it was Menzel who secured pole position and the best starting position for an ADAC GT Masters race. “Everything came together nicely on that lap and I timed it perfectly with the Pirelli tyre at its peak. Before qualifying I had been joking with Sven Müller that it would be very close. And it was certainly that. There are limited overtaking opportunities on the street circuit, so first place on the grid is very important,” said the winner of the Pirelli Pole Position Award.
In second place was Müller, who was marginally slower than pole-sitter Menzel and now joins him on the front row of the grid. The signs are good for the second-placed man: the current championship leader has not started from pole position in any of his previous three victories in the ADAC GT Masters. Third place for Hockenheim race winner Evans completed a strong result for Porsche (+0.068 seconds). The fourth-fastest time went to Lamborghini works driver Marco Mapelli (I) of the GRT Grasser Racing Team from Austria (+0.193 seconds). Yesterday’s winner, Elias Seppänen (FIN/Landgraf Motorsport) qualified fifth in a Mercedes-AMG (+0.201 seconds).
The ADAC GT Masters continues its search for a fourth race winner of the season from 15:15. Sport1 is broadcasting the race live and in full on free-to-air TV. Fans can also follow the Norisring spectacle on the free YouTube channel @adacmotorsports.