Jaxon Evans and Huber Motorsport driving partner Tim Zimmermann have dropped to third in the ADAC GT Masters standings despite a strong round at the Norisring Ring over the weekend.
The duo, driving the #92 Porsche 911 GT3 R, finished Race 1 in seventh before taking a podium in Race 2 with third over the narrow street circuit in Nuremberg.
Zimmermann took control for Race 1 qualifying and managed the fourth-best time, nearly three-tenths shy of the pole-setting time of 49.384 seconds achieved by Landgraf’s Motorsport’s Salman Owega.
A difficult start saw Zimmermann drop to tenth over the early laps before moving forward as he handed over to Evans, who brought the car home seventh.
Owega and Elias Seppänen would convert pole into a convincing 4.4-second victory in the #48 Mercedes-AMG Gt3 in Saturday’s Race 1, bettering Huber Motorsport’s Jannes Fittje and Nico Menzel. Team Joos by RACEmotion’s Finn Gehrsitz and Sven Müller rounded out the podium, a further 7 seconds up the road.
Evans took the reigns in qualifying for Race 2 and fell just 0.068 seconds shy of pole. Menzel would qualify top, pipping Müller by 0.008 seconds to leave the Kiwi’s time as third fastest and make for an all-Porsche top three.
Sunday morning’s qualifying results carried over to the race, with Menzel and Fittje taking a half-second victory over Gehrsitz and Müller, while Zimmermann brought home the #92 Porsche for third.
Evans and his partner had been in contention in stages of the race, with Zimmermann ultimately dropping off over the final laps as the Porsche’s pace faded.
“We were lacking a little pace at the end, and I was no longer able to match the pace of the leaders,” said Zimmermann, following the race. “I also decided at that point not to take too many risks. The season is gradually picking up speed, and every point is important,”
The results of Rounds 3 and 4 at Norisring see Fittje and Menzel jump to the top of the 2023 standings, holding a 1-point lead over Gehrsitz and Müller. Evans and Zimmermann are now third, 12 points behind the leaders.
The ADAC GT Masters returns this weekend for two races at Nürburgring. Keep an eye out for Friday’s Motorsport Diary to see what times Evans is in action and how you can follow.
Images: ADAC Motorsport
