Eduardo Coseteng is contesting his first ADAC GT Masters season in a BMW M4 GT3. The 19-year-old from the Philippines was inspired by his father, who once drove in the famous Macau Grand Prix. As well as the ADAC GT Masters, his team Schubert Motorsport also lines up as the defending champion in the DTM – something Coseteng and his British team-mate Ben Green are able to benefit from.
“The two DTM drivers – Sheldon van der Linde and René Rast – are unbelievable. They know exactly how they need to set the BMW M4 GT3 up before the sessions. It is a big advantage for Ben and me to be able to call on their expertise,” says Coseteng, summing up the benefits of Schubert Motorsport’s dual racing programme.
To a certain degree, Coseteng has his father to thank for the opportunity to showcase his talent on the high-profile DTM platform. “My dad, Jody, drove touring cars in the Philippines. In doing so, he inspired me and got me into motorsport. He even drove a BMW at the Macau Grand Prix, and ended the race in the top ten in 2004,” says the Filipino. Motor racing is nowhere near as popular in his homeland as it is in Europe. With that in mind, he was drawn to Great Britain, where he started out in karting before switching to British Formula 4 in 2021. The BMW driver has now been living in Great Britain for six years, but flies as often as possible to the state in the Pacific Ocean, which comprises more than 7,000 islands.
In recent months, Coseteng has completed his switch from a single-seater cockpit to GT3 cars. “I consciously opted for the ADAC GT Masters. The standard is extremely high, and anyone racing in this series is capable of winning. You cannot afford to make any mistakes. This year, my goal is to gain as much experience as possible and develop as a driver,” says Coseteng. Green will also help him in that regard: the 25-year-old won the Pirelli Junior competition in the 2022 ADAC GT Masters and is one of the more established drivers in the iconic GT series. “I get on really well with Ben. I am very happy to have such an experienced racing driver by my side. He is particularly helpful when it comes to data analysis. We work very professionally together, including on the set-up. It is advantageous that we both have a similar feel for the car and are on the same wavelength. At the same time, I am also trying to develop my own approach,” says Coseteng.
The Schubert duo showed how well they work together at the opening round of the season at the Hockenheimring Baden-Württemberg. They claimed their first podium of 2023 at the first attempt, finishing runner-up in race one. Coseteng is currently fifth in the Pirelli Junior competition, within striking distance of the top three. The next race is just around the corner: from 8th to 10th September, the ADAC GT Masters features on the DTM support programme at the Sachsenring.
