Filip Salaquarda started the race from pole position in an Audi R8 LMS GT3 and dominated from start to finish. In the early stages of the race, he had to be cautious of Neil Verghagen in a BMW, but after the pit stops, he confidently circled his way to his first victory of the 2023 season.
As spectators could see from the early laps after the start, Oschersleben is a technical track where overtaking is difficult. A train of drivers formed behind Antonín Herbeck in a Pagani Zonda, followed by Petr Lisa, Petr Brecka, Bartosz Groszek, and Bastian Heine. Different cars from various speed categories followed each other in a line without any indication of overtaking.
To get ahead, a driver usually needs to constantly pressure the opponent in front of them and force them to make a mistake. This is what Neil Verhagen attempted to do with his BMW M4 GT3 from the Racing Trevor team, but experienced Salaquarda didn’t let himself be provoked into making an error and held the first place firmly.
When the black Mercedes AMG GT4 of the Andrej Lah-Matej Kosič duo ended up facing the wrong way a few laps later, the LEMA Racing team could breathe a sigh of relief as the Mercedes continued after U-turn. However, not for long. In the middle of the race, the Mercedes collided with the tire barrier, and the safety car had to be deployed.
The drivers circled behind the safety car for five minutes. The pit window was delayed, and as soon as the safety car left the track, the pit window opened. The cars gradually disappeared into the pit lane, where in some cases, there were drivers changes. Verhagen was replaced by Zsigo. Piotr Wira was replaced by the equally fast Daan Pijl, who took the lead and immediately began setting the fastest laps. It should be noted that the blue and white Mercedes AMG GT3 did not spend the prescribed time in the pits during the driver change and left its mechanics earlier than allowed. Although he settled in first place, Filip Salaquarda remained the actual leader.
Salaquarda thus won the opening sprint of this year’s season, followed by the duo of Piotr Wira and Daan Pijl, who were classified second after a time penalty. Libor Milota with a Mercedes moved up to third place during the race, and Gregor Zsigo and Neil Verhagen finished fourth. Miro Konopka, who started with a Lamborghini Huracan GT3, did not finish the race due to an accident.
In the GT4 category, local driver Bastian Hein won in a BMW M4 GT4 from the RS24 Racing team. The German initially struggled in the train of cars behind Antonín Herbeck, but he eventually broke free and finished fifth overall. Zénó Kovács with a BMW M4 GT4 from the Racing Trevor team finished second in GT4.
In the GTX and GTC categories, Petr Lisa with a KTM X-Box and Petr Brecka with a Porsche 911 Cup won respectively. The Audi RS3 LMS TCR 2021 driven by Bartosz Groszek and Radim Adámk won the TCX category.