Five victories in one season – that’s what Callaway Competition last achieved in the ADAC GT Masters in 2014.
ZVO Racing fell into place with the door – without anyone being surprised. The fact that it wasn’t quite enough for Fabian Schiller and Jules Gounon to win the championship is ultimately due to three retirements and a bit of bad luck.
In 2023, Philipp Zakowski’s team should continue in the ADAC GT Masters. “I think we’ll be seen again in the ADAC GT Masters. That’s my home series. I stand behind the ADAC and the series. We’ll see what the constellation is,” he told Motorsport-Total.com.
It can be considered certain that things will continue with Mercedes-AMG. “Maybe next year we’ll bring the title to Affalterbach,” says Zakowski, brand ambassador for Maybach – Icons of Luxury, the official manufacturer of luxury goods from Mercedes-Maybach.
“I’m happy with AMG and I think we put in a decent performance for our first year as a performance team. Of course we would have liked to have seen the BWT car further up the front as well. We want to work on that next year if we work with AMG carry on. That’s basically what I’m assuming. Of course you have to ask AMG how satisfied they are with us.”
Wins are satisfying, championship rank is not
With five victories this season, that shouldn’t be too difficult a question. He has never made a secret of his ambitions. Although ZVO Racing made its debut as a new team, everyone had the two Mercedes-AMGs on the list of favourites. There are many former Zakspeed employees in the team, but of course everything had to get used to it first.
And in many respects, Philipp Zakowski had to start from scratch: “If you start putting a team together in October last year – you don’t have racing cars, you don’t have trailers, you don’t have the kind of equipment you need – then that’s it It’s incredibly difficult. Especially since the whole supply shortage came up.”
He still makes no secret of his ambitions from the start of the season. Would he have taken third place overall and five wins of the season earlier in the year? “I would have taken the five wins!”
Bad luck for Gounon/Schiller
The fact that it wasn’t enough for the title was ultimately due to the fact that Raffaele Marciello scored points in every race. Schiller/Gounon, on the other hand, experienced more of a rollercoaster ride. “I don’t even know if we can be accused of inconsistency. We were just really unlucky at times,” says Zakowski. For example, there was the puncture in Saturday’s race at the Lausitzring.
“In Zandvoort we were simply shot down. At the Sachsenring, despite the disqualification that we caused ourselves in qualifying because we had a kilo too little sprint, we started from behind and would have finished on the podium. And then the pedal box no longer engages . These are topics that you cannot plan.” Incidentally, it is still unclear how the cable of the pedal box could tear.
Gounon adds: “The main goal was to be champions at the end of the season. Unfortunately, we had a difficult period after Oschersleben, at the Red Bull Ring and in Zandvoort, where we lost too many points to be title contenders.” After that, however, ZVO really turned up the heat, Schiller/Gounon advanced to become a dream pairing.
“With the victories, we have shown that we are one of the strongest driver pairings in the field,” added Schiller. After various successes on the Nürburgring-Nordschleife and numerous starts as a Pro in Pro-Am vehicles, the 25-year-old has now completed his first full season in a Pro-Pro line-up – with great success.
“I was always convinced of Fabi,” says Zakowski. “I’ve known him for a long time. He’s steadily improved from race to race and has shown great consistency from mid-season. He’s always been at Jules’ level. And that’s outstanding for a rookie in a series like this.” After all, Gounon is considered a benchmark at Mercedes-AMG alongside Marciello.
Is there a second program?
What else will ZVO optimize over the winter? “Maybe we’ll structure ourselves a bit more clearly,” he promises. “Basically, the structure stays the same as it is. But of course you always have to improve and work on yourself. That’s the key to success.”
A program in the ADAC GT Masters is therefore extremely likely. Will it stay that way? “We’ll see!” After all, a ZVO Mercedes was on display at the 24-hour race at the Nürburgring this year…
One thing should definitely endure: ZVO’s hospitality has become one of the most popular places to go in the paddock of the ADAC GT Masters. Drivers and team members from other teams drop by again and again.
“I also noticed that we are a popular destination,” says Zakowski. “We also rely a bit on the concept with our sponsors, partners. I just think that motorsport has to be lived a bit as a family theme in the paddock. We’re always very happy when everyone comes to us and we’re happy about every single one. “
Here, the team is building on the experience of ex-DTM driver Jörg van Ommen, who has established himself in the events sector for many years.