As at the Nürburgring two weeks ago, Team Car Collection Motorsport experienced a difficult weekend in the ADAC GT Masters at the Lausitzring. While the Verstappen.com Audi R8 LMS evo II with the #33 and drivers Thierry Vermeulen and Mattia Drudi finished the two races in positions 13 and 15, the No. 69 with Florian Spengler and Markus Winkelhock had to face an early retirement on Sunday, while they only finished in 22nd place on Saturday.
Saturday
The Saturday was not under a good star. In qualifying, which was held in wet conditions, the field was close together as usual. With positions 13 (Vermeulen) and 17 (Spengler) the two Car Collection pilots could rank in the midfield.
At the start of the race it rained heavily in the Lausitz. As expected, the race was very eventful and was marked by many spins and accidents. Florian Spengler in the No. 69 also went off the track and lost valuable positions. After Markus Winkelhock took over the steering wheel, he reported over the radio that the car was very difficult to drive. The crew then used the remaining race time to locate the problem and solve it for Sunday.
Thierry Vermeulen was also involved in several fights in the No. 33, which cost him some positions. However, the young Dutchman stayed calm and was able to finish his stint without damaging the car. His partner and Audi Sport driver Mattia Drudi tried to make up ground and was able to move up to 13th place again.
Sunday
Things didn’t go much better on Sunday. In qualifying, which became a gamble due to drying track conditions, both crews initially relied on slicks. Mattia Drudi in the No. 33 changed to rain tires shortly before the end of the session and was able to secure eighth place on the grid. Markus Winkelhock’s crew played the tire poker on slicks. Unfortunately, this did not pay off in the end and the No. 69 only finished 22nd.
Mattia Drudi had a good start from P8, but was then pushed back a bit and lost a few places. Nevertheless, the Italian was able to move up to P9 again and drove the third fastest lap of all participants. During the pit stop phase, however, the team lost many positions, so that Drudi’s partner Thierry Vermeulen ended up 15th.
The race of the No. 69 was over much earlier. Markus Winkelhock had a fantastic start from the last position and was able to make up nine positions on the very first lap. Unfortunately, he subsequently had contact with an opponent, as a result of which he had to pit the damaged Audi.
Credit: Christopher Otto, Michael Ehrensperger, Roland Hasenmüller