New teams, drivers and 30 GT3 sports cars ring in the new season. Press conference this coming Tuesday with all the info on the new season. Extensive live reporting from Oschersleben.
Curtain up for the 2021 ADAC GT Masters: The German GT championship enters its season with the official pre-season test at the Motorsport Arena Oschersleben next week (20th/21st April). Around 30 GT3 sports cars will line up for the first showdown for the upcoming seven race weekends. All the news on the new season will be revealed in a press conference via live stream starting at 12.00 p.m. CEST on Tuesday, 20th April. Two episodes of PS on Air – The Ravenol ADAC GT Masters Talk will round off the live reporting on the test. The season opener of the ADAC GT Masters will also be held at Oschersleben, from 14th-16th May.
Presentation of the season on Tuesday
During a press conference, ADAC sports president Hermann Tomczyk and Lars Soutschka, member of the ADAC executive board, will provide an overview of the upcoming ADAC GT Masters season and the plans for the live broadcasts of the new TV partner NITRO, who will show all 14 races of the season live and in full. The press conference will be broadcast via livestream on adac.de/motorsport and youtube.com/adac. There will also be an overview of the supporting race series ADAC GT4 Germany, ADAC Formula 4 and ADAC TCR Germany, as well as an overview of the season’s activities at the Motorsport Arena Oschersleben.
Who will be racing for SSR Performance?
PS on Air – The Ravenol ADAC GT Masters Talk will be building up excitement for the test on Monday evening from 7.00 p.m. CEST. This is when SSR Performance boss Stefan Schuld will reveal the well-kept secret of who will be representing the defending champions in the Porsche 911 this year. Then, from 5.00 p.m. CEST on Tuesday, live images from the final session and all the info from the first test will be available on adac.de/motorsport and youtube.com/adac to round off the first day of testing.
Premieres, newcomers and returnees
Around 30 GT3 sports cars in total will be taking part in the dress rehearsal for the ADAC GT Masters. The Honda NSX GT3 Evo, fielded by Profi-Car Team Honda, will be making its first appearance in Oschersleben. And there is also the return of Phoenix Racing to look forward to: The successful team from the Eifel region will be contesting the ADAC GT Masters with an Audi R8 LMS again for the first time since 2018. Also making an ADAC GT Masters comeback is Jules Gounon (26/F), the 2017 champion. The Mercedes-AMG works driver is completing his first test kilometres for Zakspeed BKK Mobil Oil Racing.
Drivers’ excitement
The official pre-season test brings the ADAC GT Masters winter break of almost five months to an end. “The test is the starting point for the whole year,” said defending champion Christian Engelhart (34/Starnberg), who after changing teams will be competing in one of Küs Team Bernhard’s Porsche 911 GT3. “Since it is the first time that the whole starting field comes together, the test is a good indication of how you measure up. It is only afterwards that you can guess where you stand. In our new configuration it is essential for us drivers to get used to working with our engineers and to learn a lot. It is also about practicing certain processes and even pit stops.”
The pre-season test will be held under strict conditions and in line with an infection prevention concept developed by the ADAC GT Masters and approved by the authorities. Official regulations stipulate that spectators are not allowed at the test. On both days, adac.de/motorsport and the various digital channels of the ADAC GT Masters will release videos, photos, reports and results from the first and only coming together of the teams ahead of the season. In addition to the ADAC GT Masters, the competitors in the ADAC GT4 Germany, ADAC TCR Germany and ADAC Formula 4 will also be taking part in their official pre-season test in Oschersleben.