The 21-year-old is the only contestant in the line-up for the 2020 Super Sports Car League whose permanent residence is outside Europe. Last year - his debut season in the ADAC GT Masters - the Australian made the long journey from his home country to every race venue. But due to the corona pandemic, this is no longer a viable option. Read and Schubert Motorsport have therefore come up with the more practical solution of a move to the vicinity of the team base at Oschersleben. Read will contest his second campaign in the series as a member of the Schubert squad after one year with Schütz Motorsport. “The team is currently helping me to find an apartment so that I can settle in,” says the Aussie. “I am therefore going to take six months off from my degree course in Mechanical Engineering so that I can concentrate on racing and on life in Germany - all this with a view to the 2021 season.”

Even though Read will have to leave his home country for several months, he sees a positive side to it: “This will allow me to be much closer to my team. I want to integrate myself into the squad much more at the team headquarters in Oschersleben and at the race tracks. We are toying with the idea of organising an internship for me at Schubert, which will help with my studies. With the race calendar being so tight and with venues spread across Germany, Austria and the Netherlands, I am going to be spending quite a lot of time in the company of the team.”

Read is impatient for the season opener at the Lausitzring in less than a month: “I’m looking forward to getting back behind the wheel. I tested in the BMW earlier this year. Even though the car and the Lausitzring are new to me, I’m confident that I and my co-driver Joel Eriksson will be among the front-runners right from the start.”

Read and Schubert Motorsport still have two test dates between now and the opening weekend. The team plans to spend two days at the upgraded Zandvoort circuit before proceeding to the official ADAC GT Masters preseason tests which take place on 18th/19th July at the Lausitzring.