The youngster is switching to Gebhardt Motorsport and a Duqueine in 2024, and is hungry to have a big say in the title race alongside champion driver Markus Pommer. Catalano has also been called into the ADAC Stiftung Sport squad.
2024 sees Valentino Catalano (18/Westheim) line up in his second season in the Prototype Cup Germany, which is organised by the ADAC and Creventic. However, there have been a few changes for the rapid young driver since his rookie season in 2023. Catalano has moved to established team Gebhardt Motorsport, for whom he will share the driving duties in a Duqueine D08 with last year’s champion driver Markus Pommer (33/Untereisesheim). The young German has grand plans for the coming season. “Our goal is really clear: we want to win the title in the 2024 Prototype Cup Germany,” he says, determinedly. “My age means I am also eligible for the Junior competition. I would obviously also love to win that in 2024.”
Catalano is full of praise for his experienced team-mate Pommer, who also has multiple race wins to his name in the ADAC GT Masters. “I have a super team-mate in Markus Pommer. He is a really nice guy,” he explains. “We have not had a test day together yet. I am excited to see how he applies his wealth of experience. I will definitely be able to learn a few things from him. However, maybe I can also teach him a thing or two. We are a strong pairing and will complement each other well.”
The 18-year-old is looking forward to working with Gebhardt Motorsport. “The team is quite simply excellent. I have already been to the headquarters in Sinsheim a few times and am regularly in contact with them. I actually already know everyone in person, and all their names,” he adds. “The team is extremely motivated. It is great fun to be a part of the team. Sinsheim is only about 50 minutes from my home, which obviously makes it easier to work together. Plus, I have been able to establish a lot of personal contacts.”
As well as a new sporting environment, there has been another important change for Valentino Catalano in 2024. The youngster will now be supported by ADAC Stiftung Sport as a member of Motorsport Team Germany. “It is a huge honour to have been accepted into the national squad. For me, it reinforces the fact that it has been worth all the effort and work I have put into improving over the past few years,” says a beaming Catalano. “ADAC Stiftung Sport is now also helping me to achieve my goals. That will definitely be a huge help in my career. Maybe it will give me the boost I need to become a professional racing driver. After all, that is my ultimate goal.”
Together with the rest of Motorsport Team Germany, Catalano visited the ADAC Supercross at the Westfalenhalle in Dortmund in January. “That was a very impressive event with a really big backdrop,” Catalano recalls. “I was also able to chat to the other young drivers in Dortmund. I already knew a few of them from my time in karting.”
Spa-Francorchamps hosts the opening round of the 2024 Prototype Cup Germany from 19th to 21st April. The so-called “Ardennes Rollercoaster” in Belgium is always popular among racing drivers. Catalano is already familiar with the circuit, which is just a few kilometres over the border from Germany. He raced there in the French Formula 4 championship in 2020 and in an LMP3 car in the European Le Mans Series (ELMS) in 2022. “Spa is just mega. When you take the famous Eau Rouge flat-out in an LMP3 car, it is really awe inspiring. The whole circuit is great to drive on,” says Catalano. “I am really looking forward to the season-opener, as Spa allows some extremely good racing.”
