After two years in the DTM, Götz returned to the ADAC GT Masters last season. In his comeback campaign, he and his HTP Motorsport Mercedes-AMG co-driver Patrick Assenheimer made one podium appearance and set consistently fast lap times in qualifying. In 2018, he stays loyal to the Altendiez-based outfit but has a new team-mate in the shape of Markus Pommer.

Although the extreme winter frustrated the team's plans for testing, Götz feels ready for the opening fixture of the 2018 ADAC GT Masters next weekend at Oschersleben: "On a personal level, I'm better prepared than ever before. I didn't really have a winter break, as I was testing for other series all the time and also competing in some races. My last outing of 2017 in a racing car was on 23rd December, and I was back behind the wheel again on 10th January. That was as long a break as I was going to get."

The 32-year-old, whose Mercedes-AMG sports a bright yellow Mamba-style livery for the first time this year, is pleased to have Markus Pommer as his new partner: "Markus has settled in well with us in the team. He doesn't know the car quite as well as I do, but he brings plenty of prior experience. He has a thirst for knowledge and learns very fast. He also knows from last year how to win races. That's why I think our prospects are good."

Götz has correspondingly set himself ambitious targets for 2018: "My expectations are very high. There is no question that we intend to be up there with the front-runners. We have a strong driver pairing, and I get on just great with the whole team. With our setup here, I'm very much looking forward to us taking on the best teams in GT racing. It is vital that you get through a weekend without any mistakes, keep up with the leaders and score points on a consistent basis. You don't have to win every race. That was also the formula for success during my title win in 2012. In the Mercedes-AMG, we have a car that is good on every track, and we intend to exploit that fact."

Götz has great respect for the opposition in the ADAC GT Masters: "This is now my fifth full season in the series, and you can see that the field is getting stronger and better matched with each passing year. New manufacturers and teams have signed up, and GT racing is currently experiencing a boom. But even when you go back a few years, there were strong competitors like René Rast and Maxime Martin. It's nice to be able to compete with some of the drivers from back then. During the official test in Oschersleben, we showed that we are on song. But tests are tests and races are something else. That's why we won't see where we really are until qualifying next weekend."