The anticipation is rising: this weekend (14th to 16th May), the ADAC GT Masters kicks off the 2021 season at Motorsport Arena Oschersleben.
The opening weekend of the German GT Championship throws up many fascinating facts, figures and statistics. NITRO will broadcast the two races in the Magdeburg Börde region live and in full, from 16:00 on Saturday and Sunday. The races will also be streamed live online on TVNOW and at adac.de/motorsport.
Power
The ADAC GT Masters field generates roughly 17,000 hp in total.
Packed programme
New TV partner NITRO will provide almost five hours of live coverage from the two opening races in Oschersleben, starting at 16:00 on Saturday and Sunday. The TVNOW livestream will show roughly nine hours of qualifying and race action from the ADAC GT Masters, ADAC GT4 Germany and ADAC TCR Germany at the weekend.
The full fifteen
The ADAC GT Masters is in its 15th season in 2021. On the grid every year since the first race in 2007: the Callaway Competition Corvette.
Tradition
The ADAC GT Masters kicks off the new season at the circuit in the Magdeburg Börde for the 13th time. In total, this is the 16th time that the track has hosted a race weekend. Only in 2007 and 2020 did the series not start the new season in Oschersleben.
International
Drivers from twelve countries will line up at the season-opener in Oschersleben. With 30 drivers, Germany is the most strongly represented nation, followed by Austria (7) and Switzerland (5).
Soundtrack
The sound of the ADAC GT Masters is unmistakable: six-cylinder Boxers, beefy V8 power, and high-revving mid-mounted V10 engines produce an inimitable soundtrack. The four-litre naturally-aspirated engine in the Porsche 911 GT3 R is the smallest engine in the field. Capacity kings are the Corvette C7 GT3-R and the Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo, which both have 6.2-litre V8 engines.
Shooting star
The fastest car in Oschersleben is the Mercedes-AMG. It was in this car that Marvin Dienst set the existing ADAC GT Masters lap record in 2019 and Raffaele Marciello clocked a new qualifying record at the finale last autumn.
Young and old
Series newcomer Hugo Sasse is the youngest driver in this season’s German GT Championship. When the opening race gets underway on Saturday, the ADAC Stiftung Sport driver will be just 17 years and 28 days old. The oldest starter is Pierre Kaffer at 44 years, six months and nine days.
Loyal spirit
Christopher Mies has been driving for Montaplast by Land-Motorsport since 2016. No driver has remained true to one team in the ADAC GT Masters for longer.
Experience
The most experienced driver in the field is double champion and record starter Sebastian Asch, who has contested 177 ADAC GT Masters races so far.
Rookies
In Jusuf Owega, Dylan Pereira, Hugo Sasse and Luca-Sandro Trefz, four newcomers line up at the season-opener.
Natural born winners
Audi driver Daniel Keilwitz is the most successful driver in the ADAC GT Masters, with 22 race wins to his name. He is followed by defending champion Christian Engelhart with 15 victories. The third most successful driver in the field is Christopher Haase (12). In total, 29 drivers in the 2021 field – roughly half – have won at least one ADAC GT Masters race.
Top marks
With 44 race wins to its name, Audi is the most successful manufacturer in the ADAC GT Masters, followed by Corvette (36) and Porsche (33).
Circuit specialist
Christian Engelhart has tasted victory in Oschersleben on four occasions. No other driver in the current field has climbed onto the top step of the podium in the Magdeburg Börde as often as Engelhart.