With the Mercedes-AMG GT GT3 making its international race debut at the Dubai 24 Hours, DSC caught up with Mercedes’ customer motorsport head Jochen Bitzer ahead of the race to get the latest on the programme…
So, how’s the new car’s international debut going so far?
“It’s going well, we’re happy to be here. We did a 30-hour endurance test at Portimao last year without major issues, so we’re not worried about reliability, but you never know what can happen!”
Is there any prospect of the AMG-GT switching to the new engine used by the road car, or will you stick with the old SLS engine?
“It was an early decision to carry the engine over, we felt this was the best decision for running costs and ease of running by the teams. So we won’t be changing that any time soon.”
How’s the order book looking?
“We’ve sold more cars than expected, we’ve had to ramp up production from our initial plans and even had to turn some teams away for this year. At the moment we’re looking at 30+ cars being delivered this year.”
You’ll be working with Black Falcon at the Nurburgring and Spa 24 Hours – are there any other major programmes confirmed for the car yet?
“Team AKKA-ASP will be running a car in the Blancpain series. We’re also talking with HTP Motorsport, who ran the SLS up to 2014, but nothing is confirmed there yet. If it goes ahead I’m sure Blancpain including the Spa 24 will be part of their programme.”
And what about the US market?
“We have one car confirmed for Pirelli World Challenge with the Weisstec team. As for IMSA, we’re still in discussion about their Automotive Partner programme. Whatever we do over there would have to be in collaboration with Mercedes Benz USA. There are some meetings coming up, but I don’t see any full-season IMSA effort with a Mercedes happening this year.”
Any prospects for GT Asia?
“Again, we’re having discussions with teams. I don’t see any full-season Mercedes entries there for this season at the moment.”
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