Championship thriller in Zandvoort: Benjamin Mazatis fights for the title until the last race of the season
Dunes – Drama – Dynamics. The season finale of the GT4 Central European Cup at the beginning of October in Zandvoort was a rollercoaster of emotions for Benjamin Mazatis. On the traditional Dutch circuit near Amsterdam, the Bruckmühl native and his teammate Ilmari Korpivaara battled for the Pro-AM Cup title. After an extremely turbulent race weekend, the duo finished the season in third place in the championship.
The two Reiter Engineering drivers started the final weekend just two points off the top of the standings. During free tests on Thursday, Mazatis underlined his title ambitions with strong lap times in the KTM X-Bow GT4 and confirmed his performance with second place in qualifying for Saturday's race. Mazatis and his team-mate ultimately finished the race in fourth place in their class.
The championship was to be decided in Sunday's race. Starting from third place, the chances were good until a competitor forced Korpivaara off the track. The KTM X-Bow GT4 touched the wall, but was able to continue and even make up a few positions. The scheduled driver change to Mazatis finally turned the tide for the title contenders. A safety car phase helped them to catch up in third place. As there were only guest entrants ahead of the Bruckmühler, the duo were in first place in terms of points and therefore on course for the title. Just a few laps before the end of the race, however, all hopes were dashed. Due to consequential damage from the accident at the start of the race, Mazatis lost control of his car and also stopped in the wall. After a repair stop, he still crossed the finish line, but the championship was out of reach.
Three questions for Benjamin Mazatis
With second place in your qualifying session, you laid the groundwork for a great weekend…
It was our best qualifying result of the season and I was really pleased with it, because against the Porsche at the front, it was the maximum. Our car was simply mega and it was a really special feeling to start from the front row. The race itself was a bit difficult. My start was good, but I couldn’t hold off a Maserati with more power from behind. Due to an oil slick in front of me, I couldn't play to our advantage on the brakes either, and so the teammate of our championship rival overtook us and blocked everything. Ilmari also had to concede to an opponent and so we came fourth. In the end, it wasn’t that dramatic, as we knew it would come down to an ultimate showdown on Sunday.
You were well positioned for this final with third place on the grid. Please explain from your point of view why it didn't work out in the end?
We thought we had a very good chance of finishing in front thanks to our balanced driver pairing. Ilmari had a great start and was able to maintain third place. Unfortunately, the team-mate of our championship rival sent him into the crash barrier on the straight. He got a drive-through penalty for that, but we were at the back of the field with bent steering. I couldn't believe at first that the well-timed driver change just before the safety car meant that I ended up in third place. We were ahead of our rivals and suddenly the top favourites for the title again. Everything was going in the right direction until the car suddenly broke away while accelerating out of the penultimate corner. I had no chance of catching it and simply crashed into the crash barrier. We all suspect consequential damage after Ilmari hit the wall at the start of the race. I returned to the pits and came back out with a repaired car two laps before the end. We didn't want to end the season with a retirement, so we showed everyone that we never give up!
Third place in the championship is a great result. Can you see that yet, or does disappointment still outweigh it?
At the moment, the lost title is clearly in the foreground. We had all the chances and the hope was destroyed in an instant. The championship was within our grasp, and now we are narrowly beaten and only third. It will surely take some time until I realise that third place in this championship is a really strong performance to be proud of. I would have also wished for success for all our lads at Reiter Engineering. The team worked so hard all season and was not rewarded for it in the end.