Last round of the ADAC Masters this weekend: Hockenheim

[neil]

Press Release from ALPINA

Match point for ALPINA drivers
Margaritis and Lunardi


The BMW ALPINA B6 GT3 is one of the most successful cars in the ADAC GT Masters
history and won eight races of the ultra-competitive German series since 2009. This
weekend, ALPINA drivers Alexandros Margaritis (GR) and Dino Lunardi (F) can add
a further chapter to the success story of the BMW ALPINA B6 GT3. The former DTM
driver and the French sports-car-ace have a match point, when they enter the ADAC
GT Masters finales at Hockenheim in their BMW ALPINA B6 GT3 run by the LIQUI
MOLY Team Engstler with a solid 28 point championship lead.

The starting position for the eights and final race weekend of the ADAC GT Masters
season 2011 looks promising for Margaritis and Lunardi. At the penultimate round
in the Netherlands, the championship leaders took their third victory of the season
and a seventh place finish. “After the good result in Assen, we can start in Hocken-
heim without success ballast”, Dino Lunardi explains. “This and our good lead in the
championship is a very good basis for the last two rounds.” Starting at the Formula 1
track in Hockenheim without success ballast has never been more important,
not only because it’s the final race weekend, but the ADAC GT Masters expects it’s
most competitive grid so far with more than 40 cars, featuring ten different brands,
including for example Porsche, Lamborghini, Audi, Ferrari, Mercedes AMG and
Corvette.

“It looks good that we can take the championship victory, but we can’t be safe yet”,
Margaritis said before the title deciding two races in Hockenheim. “We have a solid
lead and Hockenheim should be a good track for our BMW ALPINA. But the last
couple of races have shown that still a lot can happen.” There are several mathematical
possibilities for the two BMW ALPINA drivers to win the championship. When they
finish minimum fourth in both races, they won the championship, regardless where
their closest pursuers, Ferdinand and Johannes Stuck in a Lamborghini Gallardo and
Christopher Mies in an Audi R8, entered by the Audi-DTM-factory team Abt, will finish.
The easiest way to decide the championship would of course be to finish both races
ahead of their pursuers. If Margaritis/Lunardi maintain their 28 point lead in Saturday’s
race, they would be automatically crowned as new champions.

In the second BMW ALPINA B6 GT3 of the LIQUI MOLY Team Engstler, Florian Spengler
is joined by a new teammate for the final round of the season. Andrei Romanov from
Russia, a participant of the World Touring Car Championship (WTCC) and former
team-mate of Spengler in the ADAC PROCAR touring car series, will join the ADAC GT
Masters at Hockenheim. The LIQUI MOLY Team Engstler has also very good chances
to claim the team championship. Currently the team from Bavaria is second in the
team standings, only nine points behind the Lamborghini Team Reiter.

Andreas Bovensiepen, ALPINA managing director and head of motorsport, is opti-
mistic before the final two races of the season. “Our starting position for the last two
races is very promising, but we have to be aware that our competitors got stronger
and stronger during the last races, which will make it more difficult for us. It will be
thrilling until the last lap, but that will be perfect for the spectators.”

Both ADAC GT Masters races from Hockenheim will be broadcasted live in Germany,
Austria and Switzerland by kabel eins on Saturday and Sunday at 11:45 hours. The
pan-European motorsport channel Motors TV will air both races on a delayed base
Tuesday, 4th October at 21:00 hours (CET) with several repetitions the following
days.

[neil]

Just checked the site looks like car 41 qualified in 1st for both of the weekend's races

Car 40 qualified in 7th and 30th

[neil]

Car 41 finished 1st in yesterday's race

[olli]

Car 41 DNF in Sunday's race. Problems after the pit stop and driver change.

Just watching it on Kabel 1 German tele.

Nevertheless, they are the new driver champions in front of the Stuck brothers on their Lambo.

Well done to the Alpina, Liqui-Moly, Engstler team

[ALPB1033]

Great result only after a few yrs back to racing even better than some F1 team and those exotica.

[neil]

ALPINA just sent out their post season press release:

http://www.thealpinaregister.com/news/3032

Copied here for simplicity

Margaritis and Lunardi win the ADAC GT Masters Championship on BMW ALPINA B6 GT3

Alexandros Margaritis and Dino Lunardi are the 2011 Champions of the ADAC GT
Masters. The two ALPINA drivers claimed the victory in style with their fourth victory of
the season at the final round in Hockenheim. In front of 33.200 spectators they were
able to celebrate the championship with their BMW ALPINA B6 GT3 entered by the
LIQUI MOLY Team Engstler. Margaritis/Lunardi swept the title in the best possible way
and took not only a perfect lights-to-flag victory in the penultimate race of the season,
but also scored the fastest lap of the race. The title in Europe’s most competitive
GT championship is the biggest success so far for the BMW ALPINA B6 GT3 and adds
another chapter to the rich and successful motorsport history of ALPINA.

Margaritis/Lunardi came as the championship leaders with a solid 28-point gap to the
final round at the Formula 1-track in Hockenheim. In the qualifying the two ALPINA
drivers laid a perfect foundation for the two final races of the season with two Pole
Positions. Lunardi claimed his first ever ADAC GT Masters-Pole for race one and
Margaritis set the quickest time in the Qualifying for the second race.

The title-deciding race of Margaritis/Lunardi can only be named perfect. Lunardi went
into the lead from the Pole Position despite a hard challenging second placed Porsche
911 in the opening stages of the race and could built a gap of 3,1 seconds until the
mandatory driver change halfway through the race. Margaritis maintained the lead
until the end of the race and nailed the championship with the fourth BMW ALPINA
victory of the season ahead of the Lamborghini Gallardo of their closest competitors
for the championship, Ferdinand and Johannes Stuck.

After winning the championship in the first of the two final races, Margaritis/Lunardi
could start relaxed from the Pole Position in the second race, but still had a mission.
The target was also to win the team championship for the LIQUI MOLY Team Engstler
in the BMW ALPINA B6 GT3. Margaritis chased Lamborghini driver Johannes Stuck
from second position in the first part of the race, but soon after the driver change,
Lunardi retired with a gearbox issue.

“I’m really glad that we took the championship win already in the first race”, Alex
Margaritis said after winning the first championship in his racing career. “The last three
laps were very hard. I listened into the car with every gear change. At the same time
I enjoyed the last laps, hoped that the car will make it to the end and was scared that
something could happen. When I tested the BMW ALPINA B6 GT3 for the first time
before the start of the season, the car and also the ALPINA team convinced me
from the first moment. But I never would have expected that we could win the
championship against this strong opposition as there were almost 40 cars entered.
I want to thank the LIQUI MOLY Team Engstler and ALPINA for preparing such a good
car and making a perfect job.”

”Its just perfect”, Dino Lunardi said after the race. ”I really feel free now, there was
a high pressure on us. I really wanted to win the title in the first race, otherwise there
would have been even more pressure on us. Winning this championship, against the
very hard competition of Mercedes AMG, Ferrari, Lamborghini, Corvette, Audi and
Porsche is great.”

ALPINA managing director and head of motorsport, Andreas Bovensiepen, who was
the initiator of ALPINA´s return to racing and the BMW ALPINA B6 GT3, was more
then pleased with the success. ”We expected that we would be quick on this track,
but didn’t expect to take a double Pole Position. In the race our tactic was to stay
out of trouble and race with the championship in our mind. With the brilliant victory,
that worked very well for us. The championship title with the BMW ALPINA B6 GT3
continues the tradition of ALPINA to practice motorsports with big BMW Coupés.
Already in 1970, 1973 and 1977 ALPINA was able to win three times the European
Touring car championship with the BMW ALPINA CSL Coupé.”

Florian Spengler did a great job in the qualifying and secured himself and his new
team mate Andrei Romanov in the second BMW ALPINA B6 GT3 of the LIQUI MOLY
Team Engstler the 7th position in the starting grid. He even was able to overtake
two competitors and so he was on the 5th position when a drive-through-penalty
destroyed a very good result. In the first race, Spengler/Romanov finally finished 24th,
in Sunday’s race they finished on the 19th position out of 40 starters.

In the team championship, where the fastest car of each team counts, the LIQUI
MOLY Team Engstler with the BMW ALPINA B6 GT3 was able to finish second. This
highlights again the success of ALPINA in the ADAC GT Masters 2011.

The LIQUI MOLY Team Engstler and ALPINA celebrated the championship victory
in style, but are busy preparing the BMW ALPINA B6 GT3 again for the next race,
which will be the debut race in the Blancpain Endurance Series. ALPINA joins forces
with the Belgian MarcVDS Racing Team and enters the BMW ALPINA B6 GT3 at the
final round of the series in Silverstone/England. The race (start 13:00 hours CET) will
be broadcasted live by Motors TV and also streamed online on the series website
www.blancpain-endurance-series.com.

Final Result in the Drivers Championship:

1. Dino Lunardi / Alexandros Margaritis
BMW ALPINA B6 GT3 (189 Points)

2. Johannes Stuck / Ferdinand Stuck
Lamborghini Gallardo LP600+ (164 Points)

3. Christopher Mies
Audi R8 LMS (133 Points)

Final Result in the Team Championship:

1. Reiter Engineering
Lamborghini Gallardo LP600+ (215 Points)

2. LIQUI MOLY Team Engstler
BMW ALPINA B6 GT3 (199 Points)

3. Team Abt Sportsline
Audi R8 LMS (168 Points)