Seven manufacturers will be competing in the 2024 ADAC GT Masters with a much improved entry, well over 20 cars across 16 teams had been registered by the New year.
Six of those 16 teams in 2024 will be competing over a whole season for the first time, or are returning to the ADAC GT Masters after an extended break.
Ferrari will be represented again, while Aston Martin will be celebrating a comeback with the latest Evo version of the Vantage GT3. They join Audi, BMW, Lamborghini, Mercedes-AMG and Porsche in the confirmed ranks ahead of the season-opener from 26 to 28 April 2024 on the DTM support roster at the Motorsport Arena Oschersleben.
The 2024 series will feature a total of six events in Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium and Austria and will appear together with the DTM on four occasions.
A new class structure sees ADAC GT Masters focus increasingly on talented youngsters and amateur drivers. ADAC with a Pro-Am Cup, the Silver Cup and the Am Cup and a prize pot of 570,000 Euro, in the form of cash and material prizes.
The new “Road to DTM” for the DTM 2025 will see the best youngster from the Silver or Pro-Am Cup presented with a financial reward corresponding to the entry fee for the competition.
Grasser Lamborghinis
Grasser Racing Team will field a second Lamborghini Huracán GT3 Evo2 this season.
Team principal Gottfried Grasser: “The ADAC GT Masters has always been an attractive platform and we are very proud to be involved with two cars again.” Chilean Benjamin Hites will again take his place at the wheel of the Italian bull, with support from the returning Tim Zimmermann. The second Grasser Lamborghini will be driven by youngster Jannik Julius-Bernhart, who steps up from the karting scene straight into the popular GT3 series. The Austrian team will also field Taylor Hagler.
In the pairing of Hites and Zimmermann, the Austrian team has put its faith in two experienced GT3 drivers. Last season, they went head to head with rival teams – this year, they go into battle side by side. “It is fantastic to start with GRT again in the GT Masters. The first season was very successful and the package totally competitive. This year, the focus is definitely on winning the championship,” says Hites, setting out his goals for the new season. His team-mate also has his sights set on the top of the table: “I am looking forward to the year ahead and to working with Benja. We have had a few thrilling battles out on the track. He is fast and we will push each other to top performances.”
In the #19 car, the Lamborghini outfit is fully committed to youth development and the new “Road to DTM” concept. 19-year-old Bernhart comes from a karting background and will make his first GT3 appearance at the season-opener from 26th to 28th April at Motorsport Arena Oschersleben. He is excited about this experience: “The step up from a kart to a GT3 car is a huge challenge. That makes it all the more important for me to take it with an established team like Grasser Racing. Pushing ahead with my development into a professional environment in this environment is a great advantage for me.”
He’ll be joined on the #19 by US racer Taylor Hagler who continues her European GT racing adventure for a second season.
Hagler will partake in a four race schedule spanning some of the most notable tracks in Europe starting with a test weekend at Hockenheim before the season begins at Motorsport Arena Oschersleben in late April. Hagler first made her debut in professional GT3 racing in 2022 with Racers Edge and her European debut with W&S Motorsport in the GT4 European Series. Additionally, Hagler represented Hyundai Motorsports in the legendary Nürburgring 24 Hours where she finished the race in third place in class.
Taylor Hagler:
“I am looking forward to joining the GRT Grasser Racing Team in the 2024 ADAC GT Masters championship. The motorsport experience and fans in Germany are amazing. It has been a priority of mine to do more racing there and I’m looking to build upon the experience gained in Europe in 2023 and find success in the GT3 category. Gottfried Grasser and GRT have built a powerful program all over the world and I’m excited about the opportunity to develop with them. We can’t wait to get started with GRT, TGI, and Jannik Julius-Bernhart at the test in Hockenheim next month.”
Walkenhorst Aston Martins
Walkenhorst Motorsport is fielding two driver pairings in the Silver Cup with the new Aston Martin Vantage GT3 for the team’s debut in the Series.
Aston Martin Academy winner Mike David Ortmann and Denis Bulatov, 2023 runner-up in ADAC GT4 Germany form the first driving duo, while Nico Hantke and 2023 Asian Le Mans Series Champion Chandler Hull will share the second Vantage.
Mike David Ortmann is a familiar face in the ADAC GT Masters, having previously started in the series with Audi and Lamborghini between 2017 and 2021. He has claimed the title in ADAC GT4 Germany for the past two years, and also won the Aston Martin Racing Driver Academy in 2023.
Jörg Breuer, Managing Director of Walkenhorst Motorsport: “We fully support the ADAC and their plans to position the ADAC GT Masters as a junior racing series, and the number of entries shows they are right.”
Niclas Königbauer, also Managing Director at Walkenhorst Motorsport: “After the transition year in 2023, the ADAC has made the right adjustments and made the ADAC GT Masters an extremely attractive series for talented youngsters in GT racing. We are very happy with our driver line-up. We have some of the best GT4 drivers of recent years in our team, as well as our long-term driver Chandler Hull. We know that it will not be easy, but the goal is clear: we want to be at the front of the field with both cars!”
FK Motorsport BMWs
FK Performance Motorsport doubles up from one BMW to a pair of M4 GT3s for 2024.
In Leon Köhler and Maxime Oosten, the FK Performance Motorsport team has an experienced pairing at the wheel of its second BMW M4 GT3. Both drivers have made guest appearances in the ADAC GT Masters and will be contesting their first full season in the series this year.
“We are delighted that Leon and Maxime will be starting for us in this year’s ADAC GT Masters,” said team owners Fabian Finck and Martin Kaemena. “We are confident that we will have a big say in the battle at the front of the field with these two drivers and the experience we gained last year!”
Leon Köhler has been racing on the ADAC platform for many years. As well as numerous outings in the Porsche Carrera Cup Deutschland, he also made his debut in the ADAC GT Masters and the DTM in 2022. Now 24 years old, Köhler finished eighth at the Hockenheimring Baden-Württemberg at only his second race weekend in the DTM, scoring his first championship points in the prestigious series in the process.
Maxime Oosten enjoyed a successful ADAC GT Masters debut last year. Racing alongside 2012 DTM champion and BMW works driver Bruno Spengler, the Dutchman took victory on his first outing in the ADAC GT Masters at the Red Bull Ring.
Switzerland’s Grégory de Sybourg and Eduardo Coseteng from the Philippines will drive the team’s second BMW.
Swiss racer Grégory de Sybourg was signed by FK Performance after the team invited ten international drivers to a test before selecting their race seats. After 2 days of testing at Portimao circuit in Portugal, team boss Fabian Fink offered de Sybourg a contract for the 2024 season with an option for 2025.
Runner-up in the Ultimate Cup Series in 2023 with Karen Gaillard, Grégory de Sybourg’s goal is to become a BMW works driver and to compete at the Le Mans 24 Hours, a race his grandfather Jo Siffert won twice with Porsche.
Grégory de Sybourg said “After a really strong season last year, where we only just missed out on the championship I am delighted to be stepping up to ADAC GT Masters with FK Performance and strengthening our links with BMW. Of course we already have a great relationship with them thanks to my partner DIMAB Group and my Grandfather raced for many years with BMW power in Formula 2. Our initial tests have been really positive, the BMW M4 GT3 is a great car to drive and I can’t wait for the first race of the season at Oschersleben.”
Eduardo Coseteng enters his second season in the ADAC GT Masters this year. The 20-year-old drove a BMW M4 GT3 last year and claimed three podiums with the Schubert Motorsport team. Grégory de Sybourg, on the other hand, is set to make his GT3 debut when the season gets underway at Motorsport Arena Oschersleben (26th to 28th April). The grandson of two-time Formula 1 Grand Prix winner Jo Siffert, the youngster was exposed to motorsport from an early age and started out on the karting scene at the age of seven. After two seasons in various prototype series, he now switches to the popular GT3 championship.
In its first season, the BMW team claimed its maiden victory in race one at the Red Bull Ring. Back then, it was BMW works driver Bruno Spengler and Dutchman Maxime Oosten who crossed the finish line in first place. One focus for the new duo at the wheel of the BMW M4 G3 is the “Road to DTM”. This new youth development concept sees the top youngster rewarded with support for the 2025 DTM, in the form of the entry fee.
HRT Mercedes AMGs
After winning the Team championship last year, Haupt Racing Team will continue its involvement in the ADAC GT Masters in 2024. Reigning ADAC GT Masters champion Salman Owega and David Schumacher are set to form a formidable pairing for the team. Youngsters Finn Wiebelhaus and Kwanda Mokoena will also line up for HRT.
In Salman Owega, Haupt Racing Team has acquired the services of the reigning ADAC GT Masters champion. The Cologne-born driver switches to the HRT Mercedes-AMG GT3 this year. Owega may only be 18 years old, but he gained his first experience of GT3 racing in 2021, since when he has tasted success in a wide range of renowned GT series. Winning the Drivers’ Championship in last season’s ADAC GT Masters was a sporting highlight for Wega.
David Schumacher is also new to Haupt Racing Team and will contest this season’s ADAC GT Masters alongside Owega. The 22-year-old Mercedes-AMG Junior switched from Formula racing to sports cars in 2022 and has since been racing in the DTM and the Fanatec GT World Challenge Europe. Schumacher produced some impressive performances on his way to third place in the Gold class in last year’s GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup.
Young drivers Finn Wiebelhaus and Kwanda Mokoena will also line up in the ADAC GT Masters. Both racers are already undergoing a programme of preparations for the ADAC GT Masters with HRT.
Emil Frey Racing Ferrari
The championship-winning team from 2022, Emil Frey Racing, returns to the series this season and is set to give the Ferrari 296 GT3 its first outing in the ADAC GT Masters. At the wheel for the Swiss team will be youngster Jean-Luc D’Auria, who sees the “Road to DTM” as a great opportunity in the early stages of his career. D’Auria’s team-mate will be announced later.
Jean-Luc D’Auria competed in the sprint competition within last year’s Italian GT Championship, ending the season in fourth place.
“This is a huge step forward for me. I will work hard to achieve success, in order to use the “Road to DTM” as a springboard to a place in the pinnacle of German motorsport.”
Team principal Lorenz Frey-Hilti: “We gained a lot of experience with the Ferrari last year, and are confident that we can be successful with the 296 GT3.”
Emil Frey Racing also continues to race in the DTM, with the team’s two Ferrari driven by last year’s driver Jack Aitken and Thierry Vermeulen.
Fach Auto Tech Porsche
Fach Auto Tech returns to the ADAC GT Masters with Porsche in 2024. The Swiss outfit returns to the Series after an eleven year absence and will field a Porsche 911 GT3 R.
Swiss pair Alexander Fach and Alexander Schwarzer are the duo behind the wheel for Fach Auto Tech.
Youngster Fach has primarily learned his trade in the Porsche Carrera Cup Deutschland, which has featured on the support programme of the ADAC GT Masters for a number of years.
For Fach, the step up to the popular GT3 series is an important move: “I am very much looking forward to the season ahead. My team-mates and I are getting on superbly and have great respect for each other. It is particularly important for us to work well as a team.”
His team-mate, who last year started with his current team in the Porsche one-make cup in Switzerland, is new to the ADAC platform. Fach Auto Tech from the Swiss canton of Schwyz made its first appearance in the ADAC GT Masters back in 2011, and won the Driver title in the Pirelli Trophy competition the following year with Swen Dolenc.
Liqui Moly Team Engstler Audi
Engstler is sticking with the Audi R8 LMS GT3 Evo2 in 2024.
In Lithuanian Jonas Karklys and Pablo Schumm from Heilbronn, Liqui Moly Team Engstler has put together a mix of experience and youth. The opening round in Oschersleben will also represent the first GT3 race for Schumm.
He has previously gained valuable experience with a Lamborghini Huracán Super Trofeo in a national championship.
Karklys raced in last season’s ADAC GT Masters for the Allgäu-based team and for Lithuanian team NordPass by Juta Racing, and is also familiar with the ADAC platform from ADAC TCR Germany.
“In my second season in a GT3 car, I am focussing on expanding my skillset. It is always a pleasure to return to the ADAC field. It is always a very professional and high-class environment,” says Karklys.
