HB Racing finishes just outside top ten in Race-2 at Zandvoort

The 488 GT3 of HB Racing finished twelfth in the second race of the ADAC GT Masters weekend at Zandvoort. The Austrian team car enjoyed a great outing. Sebastian Asch and Luca Ludwig finished a few seconds outside the top ten after the red flag had hampered the former’s performance in qualifying. The German started in 16th place on the grid and early on at the Tarzan, had to fight off the cars that sought to take advantage of the design of the first turn. Asch attempted to stay glued to the lead group, repelling Cairoli's attacks and at times also threatening the Audi ahead of him.

Safety Car. Forty-seven minutes from the end, the Safety Car came on to allow the removal of Jahn's Corvette, stuck at the end of the main straight. The race resumed seven minutes later, shortly before the opening of the mandatory pitstop window. Ludwig replaced Asch with 29 minutes to go, with the experienced German driver in sixteenth position, 12 seconds behind the leader.

Masterpiece of overtaking. Ludwig's excellent race pace allowed him to close in on the Mercedes driven by Dontjie who suffered a drive-through penalty for speeding in the pit lane during his stop. Having gained a position, Ludwig then slipped into the wake of the Audi of Rogivue and began to attack him. He finally passed his rival 11 minutes from the flag with a spectacular manoeuvre. At the Tarzan, the Ferrari driver faked an attack on the outside before making his move on the inside. The Audi was moving faster thanks to its line, so the two cars went into the next chicane in lockstep. However, it was Ludwig who came out best, pulling ahead before the hairpin bend. With the track free in front of him, the HB Racing driver reduced the gap to the group fighting for positions eight to twelve and, in the last lap, caught up with the Audi of Salaquarda without being able to mount an actual attack.

Next stop the 'Ring. Ludwig crossed the chequered flag in twelfth, three-tenths of a second behind the Czech driver and eighteen behind the winners, Feller and Vanthoor in an Audi R8. After this excellent outing for the 488 GT3, the third last race in the ADAC GT Masters takes place in a week at the Nürburgring.