Gebhardt Motorsport and its drivers Markus Pommer (33/Untereisesheim) and Valentino Catalano (18/Westheim) claimed their first victory in the Prototype Cup Germany at the season-opener. The team has now announced that it will field a third LMP3 car, under the name Team Momo, in the series organised by the ADAC and Creventic. The car in question is the Ginetta, which team principal Fritz Gebhardt and his outfit ran in 2022 and 2023, before switching to Duqueine at the end of 2023. The driver pairings are also to be rearranged.

Taking his place alongside Maxim Dirickx (20/BEL) in the number 80 Duqueine will now be Jacob Erlbacher (23/Böblingen). Erlbacher knows the team very well, as he drove for Gebhardt Motorsport in the first two years of the Prototype Cup Germany. “I have had an association with Gebhardt since 2019 and it was very nice for me to be able to work on the LMP3 project with them. Unfortunately, I did not have the financial means to be involved at the start of this season.” Erlbacher had to watch the opening round from his sofa and had stopped believing he would be racing in an LMP3 prototype in 2024. “As such, I was thrilled to receive the call. I am very happy to form a duo with Maxim and to benefit from the experience of multiple Le Mans winner Marco Werner, who supports Maxim as his coach.” What goals has Erlbacher, who last season twice narrowly missed out on his first podium in fourth place, set himself for his Prototype Cup Germany comeback? “Firstly, I hope that Maxim, who has come straight from karting into the Prototype Cup Germany and thus has very little experience, feels ever more comfortable in the LMP3 car and gets to know the circuits better. I want to help him with that, as well as developing personally alongside him, so that we might come out on top at some point.”

The returning Michael Herich (46/Brühl) does not have such lofty ambitions. The managing director of a medium-sized business will share the Ginetta with Sven Barth (43/Eberbach) in Zandvoort and at the Hockenheimring. They line up under the name Team Momo. “I raced together with Jacob Erlbacher in precisely this Ginetta in 2022, and I believe we did a good job back then. You have to consider that, before then, I had not driven in such a professional environment for 16 years and that the LMP3 class was not only new territory for me, but also for Jacob and the whole team. At the end of 2022, I thought it was time to leave the job to the younger drivers. However, the racing bug just will not let go.” As such, Herich could not say “no” when the question was asked. “I did not have to think about it for a minute.”

Herich, who actually shifted focus completely to historic motor racing in 2023, is also happy with his partner. “Sven and I are no longer the youngest out there. We are relaxed, but also focussed. For me personally, having fun is the most important thing; I want to enjoy the race, as motorsport is my hobby. Despite that, I will obviously put my foot down and hope to create the odd surprise, which we are capable of doing. I want to get the best out of our package together with Sven, who is a really fast racing driver.”