Frikadelli Racing gains valuable experience in the ADAC GT Masters
19.08.2019
After the Frikadelli Racing Team has almost exclusively completed long-distance races at the Nürburgring Nordschleife in recent years, the team of Klaus Abbelen & Sabine Schmitz now celebrated their premiere in the ADAC GT Masters as part of a guest start. The cult troupe from Barweiler managed to complete two flawless races and gain valuable experience with regard to a possible commitment in the 2020 season.
"I am really satisfied with our performance. For us it was not about getting involved at the front, but just getting to know this racing series with our Frikadelli Racing Team. All in all, everything worked very well this weekend and we were able to gain a lot of new impressions", said team boss Klaus Abbelen.
However, throughout the weekend the Frikadelli Racing Team was also able to set a good performance in the heavily occupied field. So Porsche Young Professional driver Matt Campbell was already able to position the Porsche 911 GT3 R in the free practice sessions on the 8th and 12th place overall. With this, the Australian successfully left behind some established teams from the more than 30-strong field during the time hunt. This trend should also be confirmed on the following two days.
Imposing catch-up race in the Saturday race
After team boss Klaus Abbelen started on Saturday from the 29th overall position, he handed over the cockpit at the middle of the race to his teammate Campbell after a faultless stint. He started in the final stages of the one-hour showdown on the Nürburgring a impressive catch-up. After some remarkable overtaking maneuvers, he finally crossed the finish line in 23rd place overall in the Porsche 911 GT3 R, which also meant third place in the Trophy ranking.
"It was important for us to get through without major damage. We did that and even managed to leave some cars behind us. Tomorrow we want to build on this performance", said Abbelen subsequently. His teammate Matt Campbell added: "It was the first race ever for us in the ADAC GT Masters, so we did not know what to expect. In the end, thanks to a perfectly prepared car, we were able to work our way forward very well. I had great battles that were extremely fun."
Strong qualifying result on Sunday
After the Eifel presented itself from its best side the day before, the conditions changed for the second qualifying on Sunday. On a wet track, Matt Campbell secured the Frikadelli Racing Team a strong fifth place on the grid. In the race, the 24-year-old picked up on the great performance and was able to assert himself successfully in the top group during his stint. Although the Frikadelli Racing Team fell back to 24th overall after the pit stop, they were extremely satisfied with their debut in the "League of Supercars."
"Matt was incredibly strong throughout the weekend and was able to keep up with the top times at the top of the field. This shows that we can keep up with our Frikadelli Racing Team in this highly competitive championship. Overall, the ADAC GT Masters is extremely professionally organized, which I feel is very good. Whether we will compete here in the next year, the next months will show. If we take this step, then of course only with pure professional drivers”, explains Abbelen.
"Of course I've been following the ADAC GT Masters since I'm traveling in Europe. It is always impressive to see how close it gets here and that really trivial things are crucial, whether you are at the top or have to sort yourself at the end of the field. A great race series that I would love to return to”, says Campbell.
For the Frikadelli Racing Team is now from 30.08.-01.09.2019 the 24h race of Barcelona on the program.
