What do you think of the Mercedes-AMG GT3? Have you driven it before?

"I drove it last year in the 24-hour race at the Nürburgring and will be lining up in it again for AMG in 2017, so the car is not unfamiliar to me. However, the sprint setup required for the ADAC GT Masters is different to that needed for an endurance race, so posting the first few kilometres during ADAC GT Masters testing in Oschersleben proved very interesting. Still, I feel quite confident."

You will now be contesting races in Germany alongside your commitment as a driver in the FIA WEC endurance championship. How did that come about?

"The ADAC GT Masters is a terrific series and very competitive. We've joined the series with BWT Mücke Motorsport. It was a logical move. The plan is for three of us to share the drive in the car. Sebastian (Asch) will be the regular driver while Lucas (Auer) and I will share the race weekends between us. It's going to be great for me to be able to contest a couple of other races alongside my involvement with the WEC, so I'm really looking forward to it."

Is it easy to switch from a GTE mid-engined car as used in the WEC to a GT3 vehicle with engine mounted up front as in the ADAC GT Masters?

"No, it's not difficult, because at the end of the day, they're both racing cars, have four wheels and have to be driven around a circuit as fast as possible."

The 30 cars or so in the ADAC GT Masters are practically neck-and-neck, but only eight cars compete in your category in the WEC. Does that make a big difference in terms of competitiveness?

"All the cars from the same manufacturer are very evenly matched in the WEC. We compete with the same cars essentially. The ADAC GT Masters field is huge with 30 vehicles. A small difference can matter a lot. The WEC races are now just like sprint races, only over six hours, and are consequently just as challenging as races in the ADAC GT Masters."

What are your goals for this year in the ADAC GT Masters?

"There's a lot that's new for the team and myself in the ADAC GT Masters. We used testing to simulate race weekends and go through certain procedures, like how to tackle pit stops. We've got lots of good, experienced drivers in the team, which should benefit us. Our goal has to be to finish as far up the field as possible as soon as we can, to achieve podiums and maybe even win the championship."