The Konrad Motorsport team fields up to two Ginetta G61-LT-P3 in the Prototype Cup Germany in 2022. Franz Konrad, who has led the long-established outfit for 55 years, takes stock and offers an insight into the history of the team.

Konrad Motorsport is a racing team of international renown. The team from Verl in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia lines up in the new Prototype Cup Germany with a Ginetta G61-LT-P3, with regular driver Axcil Jefferies (28/ZWE) at the wheel of the British prototype. A second car was run in the practice sessions at the Nürburgring race weekend, with team principal Franz Konrad (71/AUT) himself taking on the driving duties. Konrad is a genuine motor racing legend, and can point to 17 starts at the 24 Hours of Le Mans among other achievements. In 1990, he finished runner-up in a Silk Cut Jaguar XJR-12 at the endurance classic on the banks of the river Sarthe in France. Parallel to his work in the driver’s seat, Konrad has also built and developed his own racing team. “Konrad Motorsport is now 55 years old,” says the proud owner on his life’s work.

One of Konrad Motorsport’s many highlights was the outings with Porsche cars during the Group C era of the World Sportscar Championship in the 1980s and 90s. For the 1991 season, the team even built its own Group C car – the Konrad KM-011, which was powered by a Lamborghini V12 engine. The spectacular racer is still in Konrad’s own collection and is currently being restored.

Around the turn of the millennium, Konrad Motorsport put pedal to the metal with prototypes from British company Lola. “At the Race of a Thousand Years in 2000, on the Adelaide Street Circuit in Australia, we finished runner-up, just behind the works Audi. That was a huge success,” says Konrad, gleefully recalling the Lola period roughly 20 years ago. As well as prototypes, Konrad Motorsport was also a regular on the GT racing scene, running such cars as the American Saleen S7-R.

Take a look at the history of the team and one thing is clear: off-the-shelf race cars were never really Konrad Motorsport’s thing. The team from Verl preferred to focus on extraordinary and rather exotic cars. “When we entered LMP3 racing, we consciously decided on Ginetta, rather than Ligier or Duqueine,” Konrad explains. “At the moment, there are only five Ginetta on the market. We did not want the same car as everyone else, we wanted something special.” Two of the five existing Ginetta are in the Konrad garage for the outings in the Prototype Cup Germany – Gebhardt Motorsport runs another model.

Konrad has also taken a very special and above all top-quality approach on the pit wall. Here, the team has put its faith in the experienced Ralf Jüttner, who spent many years with former rivals Joest Racing, during which time he accompanied cars from Audi, Bentley and Porsche, and was involved in 15 victories at the 24h of Le Mans. “I met Ralf at a vintage event run by Gebhardt Motorsport in Sinsheim in the middle of last year. I told him then that Konrad Motorsport was looking to return to prototype racing. He was immediately won over and has been on board ever since,” says team principal Konrad.

The 2022 Prototype Cup Germany has gone well for Konrad Motorsport. Axcil Jefferies lies third at the halfway point of the season. Their best result of the season so far was second place in the Saturday race at the Nürburgring, alongside Maximilian Hackländer (32/Rüthen). “We are obviously very happy with that,” says Konrad. “However, we still definitely want to win a race this season. That is why we are here.”

In order to be well prepared for the coming Prototype Cup Germany races at the Lausitzring and the Hockenheimring, the team recently undertook more testing with the Ginetta. This was an opportunity for other drivers, who are interested in joining the series. “We are working on running two cars in the coming races,” says Konrad. “We are also already planning for the 2023 season. The Prototype Cup Germany is a great racing series, in which we feel right at home.”