Dream weekend for Schubert Motorsport, with triumphs in the DTM and the ADAC GT Masters. Sheldon van der Linde (RSA) won both Saturday and Sunday’s DTM races at the Lausitzring (GER). Thanks to a total haul of 56 points, van der Linde has moved to the top of the Drivers’ Championship after the second event of the season. At the same time, Schubert Motorsport also leads the Team standings after the first two wins in the DTM for the new BMW M4 GT3. The BMW M4 GT3 also claimed its first victories in the ADAC GT Masters at the Red Bull Ring (AUT). Schubert Motorsport and drivers Ben Green (GBR) and Niklas Krütten (GER) triumphed on Saturday and Sunday in Austria. Nick Catsburg (NED) and Jesse Krohn (FIN) finished runner-up in the Sunday race to join their team-mates on the podium.
At the Lausitzring, Sheldon van der Linde clocked the fastest lap of the race, as he came through from second place on the grid to take victory on Saturday. On Sunday, he overcame the success ballast to win again, this time from pole position. These were victories number two and three in the DTM, having previously won in 2020 in Assen (NED). The South African now leads the Drivers’ Championship with 66 points. His team-mate at Schubert Motorsport, Philipp Eng (AUT), battled his way to fourth place on Sunday, having failed to finish on Saturday. Schubert Motorsport now leads the Team competition with 79 points. It was a difficult weekend for Walkenhorst Motorsport. Marco Wittmann (GER) came home tenth to pick up one point on Sunday, recorded a DNF on Saturday. Esteban Muth finished 12th and 18th.
Green and Krütten lead the Drivers’ Championship in the ADAC GT Masters with 60 points. Catsburg and Krohn are fourth on 55 points. In the Team competition, Schubert Motorsport leads the way with 73 points.
Quotes from the DTM weekend at the Lausitzring.
Andreas Roos (Head of BMW M Motorsport): “Congratulations to Schubert Motorsport on an incredible weekend. Four wins in four races, and the lead in the Driver and Team competitions in both the DTM and the ADAC GT Masters – that is unbelievable! Let’s hope it continues this way next weekend at the Nürburgring 24 Hours. Sheldon van der Linde did a perfect job in both races at the Lausitzring and showed what he and our new BMW M4 GT3 were capable of at this circuit. The same goes for Philipp Eng with his hard-fought fourth place on Sunday. It is great to see the BMW M4 GT3 proving it is competitive at many different racetracks. It is a shame that Walkenhorst Motorsport did not have such a good weekend at the Lausitzring. However, I am sure that they will also have some success to celebrate again soon.”
Torsten Schubert (Team Principal Schubert Motorsport): “I don’t believe there are enough superlatives for a weekend like that. I am a little lost for words. I am just happy and pleased that we are up there at the front from the word go in both racing series. I might have to pinch myself this evening to make sure that it was not all a dream. Congratulations to both my crews, at the Lausitzring and the Red Bull Ring, on a perfect job on this intensive weekend.”
Sheldon van der Linde (#31 BMW M4 GT3, Schubert Motorsport): “That was the best race weekend of my career. After Saturday, I did not think it could get any better – but I was wrong. Sunday was even better! BMW M Motorsport has built a very good car in the BMW M4 GT3. And the team did a perfect job all weekend. The success ballast made race two much tougher, and Maro Engel put me under a lot of pressure. However, we did enough to get the win. I am overjoyed.”
Philipp Eng (#25 BMW M4 GT3, Schubert Motorsport): “The weekend did not get off to a good start. A technical issue meant I was unable to take part in the first practice session, and the technology put an end to my Saturday race too. I only started from 11th place on Sunday, but I did have a very good race. I managed the tyres well and the team did a perfect job with the strategy and the pit stop. Fourth place is a good result, and the weekend was obviously sensational for Schubert Motorsport, with four victories. I am now looking forward to the next challenges at the Nürburgring 24 Hours and then in the DTM in Imola.”
Marco Wittmann (#11 BMW M4 GT3, Walkenhorst Motorsport): “That was a disappointing weekend for us. We did not have enough pace, especially compared to Schubert Motorsport and Sheldon van der Linde. I had a good start on Sunday, but was then forced out wide and immediately lost the positions I had gained. In the end, it was one point for tenth place. We must now analyse exactly what happened here at the Lausitzring and do better next time.”
Esteban Muth (#10 BMW M4 GT3, Walkenhorst Motorsport): “We did not find the right balance for qualifying on Saturday, and had to start from a long way back. I managed to make up some positions in the race, but all in all it was pretty hectic. It was a similar story today. We took a bit of a risk with the strategy and pinned our hopes on a yellow phase. Unfortunately, that was not to be. Congratulations to Sheldon! As a team, we remain very motivated and will definitely find our way back to the top.”
Source: BMW
