Carrie Schreiner ends ADAC GT Masters season with points finish at Hockenheim, returns to the top 10

Carrie Schreiner and teammate Alain Valente concluded a challenging ADAC GT Masters season on a positive note, scoring a top-ten finish in Race 1 at Hockenheim after starting from the back of the grid, fighting back from a technical issue.

Photo credits: Gruppe C Photography

Carrie Schreiner concluded the ADAC GT Masters season with a points result at Hockenheimring: in a mixed-fortune weekend for the Land Motorsport team, Schreiner and teammate Alain Valente secured a top-ten finish in Race 1, the third of their campaign, bringing home some positives from the season finale.

Qualifying for the final round ended before it had even begun for the Land Motorsport duo. Transmission problems crippled their Audi and prevented them from setting a competitive lap. Starting driver Schreiner therefore had to line up from the back of the grid in 14th place.

The weather, however, offered a glimmer of hope. Heavy rain between qualifying and the start of the race left the track damp for the opening stages, reducing the performance gap between the cars and creating unpredictable conditions.

The #6 Lamborghini immediately demonstrated how treacherous conditions were — spinning on the first formation lap at Turn 4 and losing significant time while trying to find reverse. By the time the race finally got underway after a second formation lap, he was 20 seconds behind the field, promoting Schreiner by one position before the start.

The Saarland native, who typically does not particularly enjoy driving in the wet, got off to a strong start. She overtook the second Engstler Lamborghini at the chicane and pulled away along the Parabolica, though the move cost her time to Fetzer ahead, forcing her to catch back up before mounting another challenge.

Just minutes later, major drama unfolded: after contact at the start, title contender Zimmermann suffered a puncture and had to limp back to the pits, dropping behind Schreiner, who had already climbed to 11th place.

At the pit window, Schreiner stopped for the mandatory driver change; Valente rejoined the track 1.5 seconds after the minimum pit time and immediately began attacking the top ten. He steadily reduced the gap, aided by Coseteng sliding off into the gravel at the Motodrom.

Valente closed in on his rivals and battled hard for position, eventually managing to overtake with around three minutes remaining to secure 10th place and valuable championship points.

It was the team's third top ten finish of the season, recovering well from a difficult qualifying and with a convincing first stint by Schreiner.

Photo credits: Gruppe C Photography

For Sunday’s second race, the team was at least able to participate in qualifying. Valente went out early and stayed on track throughout the session. He was among the early contenders for pole, but as others switched to fresher tyres later in the session, he slipped down to 10th on the grid.

The weather stayed dry for Race 2. Valente made a clean start and gained one place. While the Schnitzelalm Mercedes tried to attack around the outside of the Parabolica, Reis in the Mustang went for the inside line across the grass, using his power advantage to force Valente wide and take the position. Valente dropped back and defended 10th.

Up to the pit window, Pichler's Porsche repeatedly challenged Valente; after a small mistake under braking, Pichler passed him on the inside, but Valente responded and briefly retook the place through Turn 7.

With 28 minutes remaining, Valente pitted and handed over to Schreiner, who rejoined at the back of the field. She quickly overtook Hütter’s Lamborghini, but the gap to the cars ahead had grown too large to make significant progress. Despite closing in on Karklys in the final laps, she had to settle for 13th at the chequered flag.

“Hockenheim was very mediocre again,” Schreiner admitted. “The race on Saturday was okay.”

Despite the 6 points from Race 1 and the 3 points from Race 2, Land Motorsport finished 14th in the team standings. Schreiner concluded with12th in the Silver Cup — a result she was far from satisfied with.

“We obviously entered the season with completely different expectations,” she said. “Ultimately, the Lausitzring was almost our best weekend performance-wise.” The season opener, where the team scored 12th and 7th, remained their most successful event of the year.

“Yes, we had a lot of bad luck, and often we just weren’t fast enough. We didn’t really understand what the issue was until the end. We all wanted more, but unfortunately, it didn’t work out.”

Now, the Saarland native is already looking ahead: “This weekend I’ll be driving in the Porsche Sports Cup again,” she said. “I hope to end the year on a positive note at Hockenheim — then I’ll take some time to reflect.” After her guest appearance, Schreiner will take a short break before considering her options for next season.