Daniel Uckermann has won the first race of the Competition102 GT4 European Series at Circuit Park Zandvoort. The German AM driver made his way to the top spot of the podium with his KTM X-BOW GT4. Teammates Sascha Halek and Peter Ebner seemed to be able to cruise to victory, but an unfortunate timing for the mandatory pit stop prevented them to take the win. However, Ebner gained thirteen places and finished in third. Ricardo van der Ende and Bernhard van Oranje made it into second after a strong drive with the BMW M3 GT4 and they took victory in the PRO division.
Halek defended his pole position very well in the opening lap against Hendrik Still (GER) with the Sin R1 GT4. Just behind the two Duncan Huisman made a great move into third, passing Ricardo van der Ende. The BMW M3 GT4 driver on his turn was eager to make it onto the podium and chased his fellow countryman. It took a few laps before Van der Ende was able to make a successful overtaking manoeuvre.
Just a minute earlier teammate Simon Knap passed Jose Manuel Balbiani for fifth. The driver from Argentina lost a couple of places but was still trying to defend a top ten position. That resulted in a great battle with other AM drivers like Peter Larsen (SWE), Oskar Krüger (SWE), Marcus Clutton (GBR) and Pavel Lefterov (BGR).
Lefterov became a victim, spinning off the track and got stuck in the gravel trap. The safety car neutralised the race but meanwhile the pit window had opened. Most drivers came in for the mandatory pit stop. Only Halek stayed on track and that was an unfortunate decision as the he lost valuable time during his driver change. Teammate Ebner received the honour to force his KTM X-BOW GT4 through the field, starting in sixteenth position.
Bernhard van Oranje, who took over from Van der Ende, kept first position at the restart. Uckermann was positioned in fifth and quickly moved up into third. He even got into second very quickly and chased Van Oranje. With thirteen minutes to go the KTM driver passed his rival and never gave his leading position away.
Jörg Viebahn (GER) charged for a podium position in the PRO division in the end of the race. With his Aston Martin Vantage GT4 he chased Marcel Nooren. But the Dutch driver with the Chevrolet Camaro GT4 defended brilliantly and was happy to make it onto the podium together with his teammate Jelle Beelen.
Daniel Uckermann after his win said: “Although we knew we had a good car, I still did not expect to win straight away. We had a fantastic race and a little bit of luck with the safety car. I saw my chance and pushed. It was a fair fight and I think the spectators have enjoyed it as well.”
Bernhard van Oranje passed the chequered flag in second overall, but first in the PRO division. Reflecting on his race, he said: “To win your home race is the coolest thing out there. And after the previous event in Nogaro we hoped to take revenge. I couldn’t hold Daniel behind me because he was much faster in the final stage of the race. But winning in our division is a great achievement.”
Teammate Ricardo van der Ende added: “After qualifying we already thought that we could do a great job. The start wasn’t easy, but fortunately we showed a strong performance throughout the race. Winning for your home crowd feels amazing.”
The second race starts on Sunday 13:30 (CET) at Circuit Park Zandvoort and can be watched live at www.gt4series.com/live and via the official app.