GT4 European Series Northern Cup: Benjamin Mazatis celebrates two podium finishes at Zandvoort

21 August 2017

GT4 European Series Northern Cup – Benjamin Mazatis celebrates two podium places in Zandvoort

Second and third place for Benjamin Mazatis in the Pro-Am standings
Two strong comebacks from the RYS Team Pankl pilots in the KTM X-Bow GT4

Given such a difficult starting position, finishing on the podium twice was, of course, immense.

The penultimate round of the GT4 European Series Northern Cup took Benjamin Mazatis to Zandvoort last weekend. He and his US team-mate August MacBeth impressed with two podium finishes in the supporting programme of the DTM. In front of 38,000 spectators, the duo celebrated a third and a second place in the Pro-Am classification in the KTM X-Bow GT4. Mazatis takes on the role of professional driver within the team alongside the 35-year-old MacBeth.

After the top 10 were within reach in practice, a technical problem prevented Mazatis and his team-mate from realising their potential in qualifying. Starting from 27th and 28th place, the talented driver from Bruckmühl put in a spirited fightback on the demanding dune rollercoaster. On their way to the Pro-Am podium, Mazatis and MacBeth finished the two races in 11th and 12th positions overall in the 33-car field.

After the successful premiere on the traditional race track in the Netherlands, Mazatis will be competing in the finale of the GT4 European Series Northern Cup 2017 on 16 and 17 September. The 19-year-old wants to build on his strong performance at his home race at the Nürburgring and aim for the podium again. Before that, he will compete in a KTM X-Bow GT4 from Isert Motorsport in the sixth round of the VLN Championship on the Nürburgring-Nordschleife on 2 September.

FOUR questions for Benjamin Mazatis

Benjamin, congratulations on your two podium finishes. The starting position was more than difficult...

Things actually went very well for us in the training sessions. We were on the pace right from the start and were very happy with our lap times. We were very confident about our performance in qualifying. It then rained and qualifying took place on a drying track. These conditions actually suit me, but the front wheels kept locking up under braking because there was a problem with the ABS. This made it very difficult to set a good lap time. Of course, the wet track didn't make it any easier. August and I tried to make the best of it.

You managed to make it onto the podium from the back third of the field. How did you fight your way up so far in the first race?

From so far back, we realised that it would be very difficult with the high power density. We coped well with the situation. Overtaking is very difficult at Zandvoort. There are no 100 per cent overtaking opportunities there, but we found the right way. We took a close look at the corners beforehand where we had the best chances with the KTM X-Bow. We were able to put this into practice, drive our opponents into mistakes and thus create space for us to overtake. The podium in the first race felt great, especially because we came from so far back.

On Sunday, you managed to take second place in the Pro-Am classification.

We knew for the second race that it would be tough again to finish on the podium from our starting position. However, we were highly motivated by the result from the previous day. Although a red phase due to a burning car shortened the race considerably, we ultimately managed to move up to 12th place in the overall standings. In my stint, I had to prevail in a tough battle against a Porsche at the end to secure the podium for us. To finish on the podium twice in the face of such a difficult starting position was obviously huge. I'm really happy with both races.

The GT4 season finale at the Nürburgring is just under a month away for you. But before that, you have a guest appearance in the VLN...
That's right, I'm driving the sixth VLN race in a KTM X-Bow GT4. Hans Reiter made this possible for me and I would like to thank him for this great opportunity. I'm really looking forward to driving the X-Bow on the legendary Nordschleife. For the GT4 finale at the Nürburgring, we have set ourselves the target of finishing on the podium again. If qualifying goes smoothly, we might even be able to finish first or second in the Pro-Am classification. In any case, I'm already looking forward to it, because the Nürburgring is one of my favourite tracks and I've always been very successful there in the past. Ending the season with a win would be the best thing.

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GT4 European Series Northern Cup – Benjamin Mazatis celebrates two podium places in Zandvoort

FOUR questions for Benjamin Mazatis

info@bm13.de

BENJAMIN MAZATIS