31 GT3 sports cars, from 20 teams and seven manufacturers, line up in 2021. Roughly 30 professional drivers to do battle for race wins and the title. TV broadcasts from the RTL media group, with knowledgeable commentators and experts.
A strong field, top-class drivers and a wealth of diversity, with seven different manufacturers: the ADAC GT Masters boasts a strong package in its 15th season, in which the title of International German GT Champion is up for grabs for the first time. ADAC Sport President Hermann Tomczyk, ADAC Board Member Lars Soutschka, and ADAC Motorsport Director Thomas Voss presented the 2021 ADAC GT Masters at the official pre-season test, which took place on Tuesday at Motorsport Arena Oschersleben, near Magdeburg. A total of 31 super sports cars from 20 teams and seven different manufacturers plan to take to the grid this year. At the wheel of the cars – from Audi, BMW, Corvette, Honda, Lamborghini, Mercedes-AMG and Porsche – will be more than 30 top-class, professional drivers. New TV partner NITRO, which is broadcasting all the races in the German GT Championship for the first time this year, also presented its plans.
“Fans can look forward to another great field in this year’s German GT Championship,” said ADAC Sport President Hermann Tomczyk. “In these times, such a large and strong field cannot be taken for granted. It underlines the growing appeal of the series. We are looking forward to an exciting first season of the International German GT Championship. Our new TV partner NITRO will play a key role and is well positioned with an excellent team.”
“This year’s ADAC GT Masters is once again arguably the strongest GT sprint series in Europe. The quality of the field and the number of cars and manufacturers are without parallel. The live broadcasts on NITRO and the cooperation with the RTL media group open up fantastic opportunities and will thrill even more fans this year. Our aspiration is clear: the ADAC GT Masters will be the best GT sprint series in Europe,” says ADAC Board Member Lars Soutschka.
NITRO brings a wealth of motorsport expertise to the table
NITRO also presented its on-air team in Oschersleben. The quartet in front of the camera boasts a wealth of experience in sport reporting and a great knowledge of motor racing. Presenter Eve Scheer will welcome spectators and head NITRO’s live coverage of the ADAC GT Masters. Co-presenting will be Nico Menzel, with former racing driver Dirk Adorf providing expert commentary. Reporter and presenter Anna Nentwig completes the TV team. This year, the live broadcasts on NITRO commence at 16:00 – later than usual. The races start at 16:30 on the Saturday and Sunday, with the Red Bull Ring and Lausitzring the only exceptions to this rule. As well as NITRO, news station n-tv will continue to report on the ADAC GT Masters.
NITRO producer Oliver Schablitzki: “Together with Europe’s largest automobile club, we are looking forward to an unprecedented motorsport package from this season of the ADAC GT Masters. Our on-air crew is the manifestation of the high level of motorsport expertise within the RTL media group: journalistic expertise goes hand in hand with real race experience here. Whether 56 victories in the ‘Green Hell’, 20 years’ experience of presenting a wide range of racing series, or the enthusiasm of a talented youngster – our team is packed with passion for this extraordinary sport.”
Diverse range of manufacturers in the ADAC GT Masters field
With nine cars registered, the Audi R8 LMS is once again the most popular race car among the teams in the ADAC GT Masters. Former championship-winning teams Montaplast by Land-Motorsport and Rutronik Racing by Tece are both putting their faith in two of the mid-engine sports cars, as is Belgian outfit Team WRT. Car Collection Motorsport and the returning Yaco Racing and Phoenix Racing teams will both run one R8 LMS. Aust Motorsport also plans to run an Audi.
Lamborghini, with the Huracán GT3 Evo, and Porsche, with last year’s championship-winning car – the 911 GT3 R, will each be represented by seven cars. The 911 contingent is spearheaded by defending champions SSR Performance, who will run one car, just as they did last year. Küs Team Bernhard and Precote Herberth Motorsport will each field two 911 GT3 R. After several seasons with other manufacturers, MRS GT-Racing returns to the ranks of the Porsche teams. Like the newcomers from Joos Sportwagentechnik, they line up with one 911 GT3 R, which is powered by a Boxer engine. The Lamborghini are spread across two teams: the Austrian GRT Grasser Racing Team has expanded its involvement and takes to the grid with four Huracán GT3 Evo. T3 Motorsport will run three Lamborghini Huracán in its first year.
Mercedes-AMG sends four cars into battle. The Zakspeed BKK Mobil Oil Racing team, Toksport WRT, and Mann-Filter Team Landgraf HTP-WWR each line up with one of the powerful V8 cars. The diverse field is completed by a BMW M6 GT3, a Honda NSX GT3 Evo and a Corvette C7 GT3-R. While BMW will be in the hands of one of the most experienced teams, in Schubert Motorsport, Profi-Car Team Honda is making the step up from ADAC TCR Germany to the German GT Championship. Callaway Competition, the most successful team in the history of the series, is still working on running its internally-developed Corvette again this year.
Big-name drivers
62 drivers from more than ten countries, including eight former champions and over 30 professionals – the international field in the ADAC GT Masters not only impresses with quantity, but also quality. SSR Performance has not one champion in its ranks, but two: making his comeback in the German GT Championship alongside defending champion Michael Ammermüller is Porsche works driver Mathieu Jaminet, who won the title in 2018. Christian Engelhart, the second defending champion, and Porsche works driver Thomas Preining drive for Küs Team Bernhard. Precote Herberth Motorsport lines up with Robert Renauer, the 2018 champion, and Porsche works driver Simona De Silvestro, the only woman in the field. Former champions Christopher Haase, Christopher Mies (both Montaplast by Land-Motorsport) and Patric Niederhauser (Phoenix Racing) start for Audi. Jules Gounon, the 2017 champion, returns to the series with Zakspeed. Almost half of the 60-strong field has tasted victory in the ADAC GT Masters in the past. The field also features seven partners with Formula 1 experience: while Audi driver Markus Winkelhock has taken to the grid in a Grand Prix, Ammermüller, Bortolotti, Perera, De Silvestro, and Mercedes-AMG drivers Raffaele Marciello and Marco Holzer (Team Joos Sportwagentechnik) have worked as test drivers in the pinnacle of motorsport.
New partners for the ADAC GT Masters
The ADAC GT Masters also presented a new partner in Oschersleben. Water technology company BWT is working with the ADAC to achieve greater sustainability at the racetrack within the International German GT Championship. True to the message “Change the World – sip by sip”, the long-term partnership between BWT and the ADAC GT Masters will see the paddock become a bottle-free zone. The goal: to reduce unnecessary transportation of drinking water, whilst at the same time doing away with single-use water bottles. In the future, spectators and teams will be able to swap disposable water bottles for refillable water containers from BWT, which can be filled at BWT water dispensers.