Niederhauser: The title is a fact
WIN AND CHAMPIONSHIP In front of many Swiss fans, Patric Niederhauser and partner Kelvin van der Linde secured the championship title in the fiercely contested ADAC GT Masters at Hockenheim ahead of schedule. No Swiss driver has ever achieved this before. After a ninth-place finish the day before, Patric Niederhauser and Kelvin van der Linde climbed into the third-last race of the season with a clear points lead, making the early [...]
After a ninth-place finish the day before, Patric Niederhauser and Kelvin van der Linde climbed into the third-last race of the season with a clear points advantage, making the early title win perfect. Starting from pole position for the first time in several years in the ADAC GT Masters, the South African handed over the Audi R8 LMS of HCB-Rutronik Racing to his Swiss teammate in first position at the mandatory pit stop. After that, the driver from Bern left no stone unturned and drove to his second victory of the season with a lead of 5.158 seconds.
The first Swiss ADAC GT champion in 14 years
This meant that their triumph in the 2019 ADAC GT Masters was already certain before the finale at the Sachsenring. A premiere in the championship for GT3 cars, which has been held since 2006. 50 points will be awarded on the final weekend in September, and Niederhauser/van der Linde already have an unassailable 55-point lead.
For "Nidi" - and for a Swiss driver in general - it is the first in the so-called league of super sports cars, for van der Linde the second after 2014. Among the 18,000 or so spectators at the Hockenheim race weekend were many fans from Switzerland and also the parents of the new title winner, who were delighted with him.
Patric Niederhauser: "Watching was definitely more exhausting for me than sitting in the car. Kelvin actually did all the work and laid the foundation for victory with his best time in qualifying. After the driver change I didn't know where we were at first. That's why I pushed until it was clear that I was still in front. I was then able to manage the lead and really enjoy the drive. The car was super. My thanks go to the whole team, who have done an incredible job all year."
Three Swiss on the podium
Second place in the race was decided between two other Swiss. Franck Perera held second place until the pit stops, but when the V10 engine of the Lamborghini Huracán did not restart immediately after the driver change, Ricardo Feller took over second place. The 19-year-old from Aargau maintained this position until the chequered flag fell after 69 minutes. Feller thus also won the Pirelli Junior classification, whose overall ranking he took over after his third victory of the season. So here, too, the first Swiss title win beckons.
Perera's partner Rolf Ineichen finished 7.3 seconds behind the Land Motorsport Audi in third place. The Lucerne native thus also won the Pirelli Trophy classification for non-professionals for the sixth time in 2019. Because of the more advantageous coefficient used to assess the performance strength of each pairing, this title (which the professionally minded Ineichen is sure to make nothing of anyway) nevertheless goes early to the German Sven Barth on Corvette.
