Mercedes-AMG Motorsport had twenty GT3 cars racing around the world last weekend, with the penultimate rounds of the DTM at the Sachsenring and the Intercontinental GT Challenge at Suzuka taking centre stage. Jules Gounon scored his first podium of the DTM season on Saturday, but a wet Sunday turned a pole position into no points at all. At the Suzuka 1000km, Mercedes-AMG Team Craft-Bamboo Racing recovered from a pit-lane-start scenario to finish fifth. Both championships now go down to their October finales.
A total of 20 Mercedes-AMG GT3s were in action worldwide over the weekend, the manufacturer says, with the focus on the Intercontinental GT Challenge (IGTC) at Suzuka and the DTM at the Sachsenring – the penultimate rounds of both seasons.
Saturday at the Sachsenring: Gounon’s first podium of the year
Saturday’s qualifying session ran in dry conditions, and ended three minutes early for Lucas Auer, who had celebrated his 32nd birthday on the Friday. A broken right-rear wheel hub allowed the wheel to come off, and the car struck the barrier at turn eight, bringing out the red flag. Mercedes-AMG Team Landgraf repaired the #22 in time for the race, which Auer started from the back of the field.
The stoppage left Maro Engel with just one flying lap, and a grid penalty carried over from the Sunday race at the Nürburgring moved him back to eighth. That promoted Tom Kalender one place to sixth. Best of the Mercedes-AMG drivers in qualifying was Jules Gounon in third.
Overtaking opportunities are limited around the 3.645 km (2.264-mile) Sachsenring, but Gounon gained a place at the start and then moved into the lead through a successful overcut. On cold tyres after his own pit stop he was unable to defend it, and after 41 laps he crossed the line second – his first podium of the season. Engel improved from eighth on the grid to fifth, Auer made up the most places of anyone and recovered to eleventh thanks to a late stop and a tyre advantage, and Kalender came home 14th after several duels to collect two points.
Sunday: pole position, then no points
In a wet Sunday morning qualifying session, Engel took pole in the #80 Mercedes-AMG GT3 with a 1:26.307 – half a second clear of the field. Gounon qualified third, Auer eighth and Kalender twelfth.
The circuit began to dry before the start, and Mercedes-AMG Team RAVENOL switched to slicks while the car was still in the grid box. Gounon and Auer also started on slicks, while Kalender chose wet-weather tyres. Spins were widespread on the formation lap and at the start, and the wet tyre choice proved to be the right one; Engel subsequently had to surrender the lead.
Kalender’s race ended prematurely after contact with an advertising barrier, and Gounon retired early following a collision. Engel finished fifth on the road but a subsequent 15-second penalty for contact dropped him to 17th, promoting Auer to fifth.
Mercedes-AMG leads the DTM manufacturers’ standings on 372 points, while Engel lies second in the drivers’ championship, 23 points off the lead. The 2026 DTM finale takes place at the Hockenheimring from 9 to 11 October.
“The Sachsenring is actually a technically demanding circuit that suits our Mercedes-AMG GT3. With the championship in mind, however, we would have liked a bigger points haul for Maro. Sunday’s pole position unfortunately could not be converted into a corresponding result. In Hockenheim we now need a top weekend to turn things around.” – Thomas Jäger, Sporting Manager DTM, Mercedes-AMG Motorsport
Suzuka: 23 places gained after a technical exclusion
Mercedes-AMG Team Craft-Bamboo Racing finished fifth in the Suzuka 1000km after a lengthy recovery drive. At the 50th running of the Japanese endurance classic, the crew of Maxime Martin (BEL), Kakunoshin Ohta (JPN) and Luca Stolz (GER) gained 23 positions in total.
The three drivers had originally set the best average time in Saturday qualifying, but the #77 Mercedes-AMG GT3 was found to be underweight at the subsequent technical inspection. All of its qualifying times were deleted and the car had to start from 28th on the grid.
The trio worked their way forward from the outset with consistently quick lap times. With the race running without major incident there was little scope for strategic swings, and the car was already up to fifth by half distance. Stolz took the final stint in the dark and brought the result home after six and a half hours and 183 laps.
The second Craft-Bamboo Racing entry, the #28, finished 25th overall and sixth in the Pro-Am class after a long repair stop. For 75 Express the race ended early: after the first pit stop, Kenny Habul (AUS) put the #75 onto the dirty part of the track at the fast 130R, touched the wall and had to park the car.
Both IGTC titles go to the finale
After the fourth round of the Intercontinental GT Challenge, Engel still leads the drivers’ standings on 68 points, with Stolz second on 61 and Martin third on 60. In the manufacturers’ ranking, Mercedes-AMG sits second, 38 points behind. Both titles will therefore be settled at the season finale, the Indianapolis 8 Hour on 10 October.
“We unfortunately didn’t get everything exactly right at the Suzuka 1000km. That would have been necessary to reach the podium. Starting from the back, we were able to achieve fifth place with our strategy and pace. I would like to thank our teams, who worked hard this weekend. The full focus is now on the season finale in Indianapolis and our goal of bringing the championship home to Affalterbach.” – Stefan Wendl, Head of Customer Racing, Mercedes-AMG Motorsport
What the drivers said
“We got the maximum out of Saturday’s race despite the grid penalty. The second race was disappointing – when you put in a perfect qualifying lap, start from pole and leave without any points. Of course we had hoped for more. We now have to analyse that closely.” – Maro Engel, Mercedes-AMG Team RAVENOL #80
“After the good qualifying we had to start from the back because of the underweight, which naturally made the race harder for us. We worked our way forward solidly at the beginning. As the race went on, though, we had to accept that our pace wasn’t enough for more than fifth place. Now we have Indianapolis ahead of us, where we want to fight for the win and of course for the championship again.” – Luca Stolz, Mercedes-AMG Team Craft-Bamboo Racing #77
“Starting from last place was a challenge. In the end it was fun to overtake so many cars in the first stint. That brought us forward quickly. From there we tried to make the best of the race. We had bigger goals before the weekend, but with fifth place we collected important points.” – Maxime Martin, Mercedes-AMG Team Craft-Bamboo Racing #77
The Indianapolis 8 Hour closes the Intercontinental GT Challenge season on 10 October, followed by the DTM finale at the Hockenheimring from 9 to 11 October.
Source: media.mercedes-benz.com