Lance David Arnold’s debut in the ADAC GT Masters was sensational. At the Nürburgring in 2008, on only his first outing in the Super Sports Car League, he and co-driver Frank Stippler claimed victory in the Sunday race. It was also a maiden win for Porsche in the series. No wonder the 31-year-old from Duisburg has such fond memories: “That was of course a great success. It was always a special feeling to compete in the ADAC GT Masters. There have always been such a lot of great cars on the grid. And there was plenty of action, no matter whether you were starting from the first, second or fifth row. The drivers did not give each other any quarter. That was what distinguished the ADAC GT Masters and made it so exciting even back then.”

Up until 2012, he contested 37 races in the series, ending that stint of his career in a Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG GT3. In 2013, he became a TV presenter on VOX channel (auto mobil – das VOX Automagazin). Now he is back in the hunt for championship points, sharing the cockpit of a Mercedes-AMG GT3 entered by Car Collection Motorsport with promising junior Christopher Friedrich. “Recently, I haven’t been available for the ADAC GT Masters because of other racing commitments,” explains Arnold. “I’m happy to be back. I’ll be driving a cool car in a great series. Every year, you think that the starting line-up can’t get any better, but then it does. I’ve known Car Collection Team Principal Peter Schmidt for a long time, and we’ve stayed in touch over the years. Now, the relationship has just got a bit deeper. His team has developed strongly in recent years and put on a mega show.”

Arnold’s team-mate Christopher Friedrich contested his first ADAC GT Masters season in 2017 behind the wheel of a Porsche. With his extensive experience, Arnold sees himself cast in the role of mentor to the 23-year-old: “In Chris, we have a young driver on the team who takes his chosen career very seriously. He has a lot of potential. I want to support him in whatever way I can and pass on what I have learned in recent years. As team-mates, we are the perfect fit. He’s the same size and weight as me, so we don’t have to make any adjustments when changing drivers. I myself intend to have a lot of fun and to be successful.”

Car Collection Motorsport are currently preparing for the test days. “For Chris, it will primarily be a matter of getting accustomed to a car with front engine and transaxle design. I have to get used to the tyres. Because with the field being so competitive, it’s enormously important to get the maximum out of them. A tenth of a second can be the difference between ten places.”

Asked what targets he has set himself for the season, Arnold replies: “I hope we can get some standout results. I think it would be presumptuous to say that we see ourselves featuring on the podium, but results in the Top Ten should be achievable. And in difficult weather conditions, we may be able to use clever strategy to spring a surprise.”