Zakspeed to field young drivers in second GT Masters entry
AMG-Team Zakspeed will compete with two new Mercedes-AMG GT3’s in the ADAC GT Masters this season. Whilst Driver’s Champions Sebastian Asch and Luca Ludwig will drive its number one car, there are two young guns behind the wheel of the second AMG GT3.
The Swiss Nikolaj Rogue is making his GT3 debut this year and has been able to prove his talent in various test sessions. The 19-year-old comes directly from formula racing and was a regular in the top-15 during last year’s ADAC Formula 4 races.
“It is great to have made the move up into GT-Sport and to drive for one of the most renowned teams from Germany in the ADAC GT Masters,” says Nikolay Rogivue. “AMG-Team Zakspeed looks upon a incredible history in motorsport and now I am a part of it all of a sudden! I am very proud and it really motivates me further to ensure I deliver the best possible job, recommending me for the future.”
Rogivue´s teammate for the opening round will be Felix Rosenqvist. The 24-year-old has been a fixture in the Mercedes-Benz Driver Development Programme and is also acting as official DTM test driver for Mercedes-AMG.
Rosenqvist showed off his speed in the Mercedes-AMG GT3 at last week´s Blancpain Sprint Cup race in Misano.
“Following my race in Misano I am very much looking forward to driving in the ADAC GT Masters this weekend”, says Rosenqvist. It’s all happened very quickly and I’ve never worked with the team before, so once again it will take some adapting. Technically, however, it’s going to be quite similar to Misano – it’s the same car, the same tyres and a similar type of track. Hopefully that will help me get into things.”
The Norwegian Ulrik Pedersen, who tested with Zakspeed last week, will take part in further tests with the team based in Niederzissen. He will enter the ADAC GT Masters later on in the season.
Bonaldi Motorsport bring pair of Lambos to GT Masters
Bonaldi Motorsport will run two Lamborghini Huracan GT3s in the 2016 ADAC GT Masters championship. The team from Bergamo will receive support directly from Lamborghini and will field two good lineups.
The young Finnish Patrick Kujala and the expert Serbian Milos Pavlovic driving the first car, while Emanuele Zonzini from San Marino and Florian Spengler from Germany will be driving the second Huracan.
Kujala and Zonzini will compete in the Junior Classification, reserved for “silver” drivers under the age of 25.
Max Mugelli joins Francesco Sini for Solaris Motorsport Italian GT campaign
Solaris Motorsport has finalised its lineup for the 2016 Italian GT Championship season: Max Mugelli joins Francesco Sini in the cockpit of the brand new Aston Martin Vantage GT3.
Mugelli and Sini compose one of the most competitive duo in the Italian series, able to point both the overall classification and the ‘Super GT3’ one, the class reserved to the newest GT3 cars, where Solaris Motorsport will debut as an Aston Martin Racing Team Partner, position that will provide the Italian team support from Prodrive.
Roberto Sini, Solaris Motorsport team principal, is confident about the upcoming season: “Last year was very difficult for us, we didn’t reach the performance we expected but we learned a lot of things. This year we have took a completely new way, accepting a new and important challenge with Aston Martin. I’m sure that Max is the right guy at the right time. He’s a fast driver with a lot of experience in GT races and this could help us grow.
The debut of Mugelli on the Solaris Motorsport Aston Martin Vantage GT3 will be on Friday April 16th at Autodromo di Monza track, theater of the season opener in the 1st May weekend, during a test session on the Italian circuit.
