David Griessner: "I was so nervous watching Fübrich fight"

The shining gold of the #650 Pixum Team Adrenalin Motorsport BMW M240i Racing Cup befitted that of a triple champion as David Griessner crossed the finish line of the last race of the season to take the VLN title. Griessner and co-driver Yannick Fübrich were the gold standard of the BMW M240i Racing Cup championship in 2019 with seven wins, enough to just edge out their teammates for the championship.

For Griessner it was the crowning of a breakout season in which he won the VLN championship, BMW M240i Racing Cup and VLN Junior Trophy.

“This has been a dream for me since a long time and now that it’s real it’s great,” said David Griessner. “The last stint felt like ages. Eventually I came over the finish line and now we are champions, it’s amazing.”

As the toughest contested class in VLN, the competition in the BMW M240i Racing Cup class gave the Adrenalin Motorsport crew a run for their money in the season ending 44. DMV Münsterlandpokal with the lead changed hands countless times. Griessner took the chequered flag 44 seconds ahead of second place, but it was only a few hours ago when the lead battle was an all-out war.

“It was an exciting first stint! I didn’t drive the first stints – Yannick was in the car – and had to watch from the box and I was so nervous because I had to wait and wait and saw him fighting all the time, it was so close with all the other cars. I really had to be patient and wait until I got in.”

Once the Austrian took over for the final two stints the battle died down as the challenging #695 Team AVIA Sorg Rennsport BMW M240i Racing Cup faded.

“At some point I knew it would be enough. The last two laps I just tried to keep the car on track and not make any mistakes and it worked out. This was our best win of the season. It was one of the closest races this year, especially in the beginning and the middle of the race. It was awesome.”

Griessner and Fübrich went into the season on the back of a successful 2018, having won the BMW Cup class but just missing out on the VLN title. Adding the crown jewel was always on the pilots’ mind. Starting the year with four wins out of four, the tone was set for the rest of the season.

“The goal to win the title was there from the beginning on because I knew that we are a very strong driver pairing and then the season evolved in a very positive way with many victories. The pressure was obviously there in the last race.”

A permanent career in GT3, David Griessner hopes, is the next step. The 24-year-old already got a taste when he made his ADAC GT Masters debut in September at the Hockenheimring piloting the ProPeak Performance Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT3 to compliment his ADAC GT4 Germany campaign with the same team.

“In GT4 we had quite a lot of test days so switching between the different cars wasn’t an issue, but I have to say that when I came back from GT3 to VLN, it was a big change,” David Griessner describes how he coped with the three different categories he raced in 2019. “Although I had already done lots of races in the BMW Cup car, I got used to the GT3 and then jumping back into the BMW – they are two very different cars driving-wise. With the BMW you have no aero, it’s close to a road car, while the GT3 is a proper race car. It was all fine after the free practice, I had adapted to the BMW again.

“My main goal is to go into GT3 next year. I did one race this year in GT Masters and I think that’s the championship where I want to go. But there are always many factors which play a role there. For next year we will see, I don’t know anything at the moment.

“I would also like to stay in VLN because I’ve been here for many, many years and it’s a fantastic championship and a lot of fun. The team, Adrenalin Motorsport, is amazing, the guys do such a good job.”