Prototype Cup·29.11.2024

Gebhardt Motorsport – The team champions in profile

Established racing team from Sinsheim won the Team competition in the Prototype Cup Germany. Gebhardt Motorsport lined up with two Duqueine D08 cars and won two of the season’s twelve races.

Great success for Gebhardt Motorsport: the established racing team won the Team title in the 2024 Prototype Cup Germany. Gebhardt Motorsport fielded two Duqueine D08 with the pairings of Jacob Erlbacher (24/Böblingen) / Maxim Dirickx (20/BEL) and Valentino Catalano (19/Westheim) / Markus Pommer (33/Untereisesheim) behind the wheel. Catalano and Pommer also won the Drivers title in the LMP3 racing series, which is organised by the ADAC and Creventic. “These two titles have a special place in the history of our team. As such, we are delighted with the success we achieved,” says team principal Fritz Gebhardt. “It is a triumph for the whole team, and I would like to take this opportunity to thank them again for their efforts in the 2024 season.”

This Duqueine D08 was driven by Valentino Catalano and Markus Pommer © Photo: ADAC

The season began perfectly for Gebhardt Motorsport. Markus Pommer and ADAC Stiftung Sport driver Catalano won the opening race of the season at the Dekra Lausitzring, and then added a further two podiums. In doing so, they immediately underlined the team’s title ambitions. Pommer and Catalano were back on the podium at Circuit Zandvoort in the Netherlands. The outing at the Hockenheimring in mid-August was clearly a big race weekend for Gebhardt Motorsport. Fritz Gebhardt’s team is based roughly 45 minutes from the “Motodrom” in the state of Baden-Württemberg. As such, there were obviously a lot of guests and partners with their fingers crossed at the circuit. “Hockenheim is always very special for us, as it is undoubtedly our home track,” says Gebhardt. “We know every corner there like the back of our hand, and do countless kilometres of testing in Hockenheim over the course of the year. Many team members were able to sleep in their own beds on the race weekend. You don’t get to do that anywhere else during the season.”

From a sporting perspective, the home event did not initially go to plan. Catalano and Pommer had to sit out the first race due to a technical issue. Up stepped Erlbacher and Dirickx to score valuable points for the team in fourth place. However, Catalano and Pommer were back waving from the podium after races two and three. And they were in fine form again at the Nürburgring, scoring 41 points in total to leave Gebhardt Motorsport at the top of the table ahead of the season finale at the Sachsenring. Catalano and Pommer picked up win number two of the season in the opening race, before wrapping up the Team title with third place in the Sunday race.

Gebhardt Motorsport was founded by brothers Günter and Fritz Gebhardt at the end of the 1970s. The team initially put pedal to the metal on the Formula racing scene, before switching focus to sports cars from 1983. Gebhardt designed its own racing prototypes and competed in the German Motor Racing Championship. In 1984, the team also made the step up to the World Sportscar Championship, where it continued to race until 1992. The work of Gianpiero Moretti during this time, when he brought the iconic Momo design to the Gebhardt race cars, became the stuff of legends. After a break, the team returned to the racetrack with the Gebhardt G4 at the end of 1998. The car, which had an open cockpit, was used in races until 2002.

After that, Gebhardt initially concentrated on vintage motorsport, before deciding to enter the Prototype Cup Germany in 2022. “We have been racing in the Prototype Cup Germany for three seasons, so have been involved in the series from the word go. Over the years, we have improved continuously from a sporting perspective,” says team principal Fritz Gebhardt. “This is reflected in the way we won the Team competition.”

Following the triumph in the Prototype Cup Germany, there was a very special experience in store for Gebhardt Motorsport. The team flew across the Atlantic to compete in the IMSA VP Racing Sportscar Challenge on the support programme for the Petit Le Mans in Road Atlanta at the start of October. The previous time the team had been in North America was back in 1991 with the Gebhardt C91. As such, this was something of a journey back in time. Gebhardt fielded two Duqueine cars, driven by Markus Pommer and Valentino Catalano. With success: both drivers made it onto the podium in the opening race, before finishing third and fourth in race two.

As is well known, as soon as the season comes to an end, preparations begin for the next one – and so Gebhardt Motorsport is already looking ahead to 2025. The team wants to remain in the Prototype Cup Germany in the future. “We feel right at home in the Prototype Cup Germany,” Fritz Gebhardt emphasises. We can definitely imagine defending our title. Initial plans are already being put in place.”