Overview of the starting field with teams and drivers

(Motorsport-Total.com) – Everything is different in the ADAC GT Masters 2023. For a long time the flagship German GT3 series with high standards, it is now the stepping stone for young drivers in the DTM, which has also been organized by ADAC since this year it is.

Of course, this means big changes, on the end of pairs of drivers and two professional drivers. Instead, a driver with an FIA silver or bronze standard is a must.

This is not the only reason why the starting field in 2023 will be very different from that of previous years. ADAC also relies on various guest starters for individual races.

Overview (confirmed vehicles):
#2 – Main Racing Team – Ralf Aron/Alain Valente – Mercedes-AMG GT3
#7 – Engstler Motorsport – Kwanda Mokoena/Dylan Yip – Audi R8 LMS GT3 Evo II
#20 – Schubert Motorsport – Eduardo Coseteng/Ben Green – BMW M4 GT3
#91 – Team Joos Sportwagentechnik – Finn Gehrsitz/Sven Müller – Porsche 911 GT3 R
#92 – Huber Racing – Jaxon Evans/Tim Zimmermann – Porsche 911 GT3 R
TBA – Landgraf Motorsport – TBA/TBA – Mercedes-AMG GT3
TBA – Juta Racing – Jonas Gelzinis/Jonas Karklys – Audi R8 LMS GT3 Evo II
TBA – GRT Grasser Racing Team – Marco Mapelli/Benjamin Hites – Lamborghini Huracan GT3 Evo2
Total waiting time: 8

Potential candidates to join:
– HRT 2 car
– Land Motorsport cars 1-2
– Schubert 2nd car
– Test
– The new Porsche team

Possible:
– FK Performance (1x BMW)

Expected number of beginners: 15-18 + beginner guests

Engstler Motorsport (Car: Audi R8 LMS GT3 Evo II, Cars: 1, Drivers: Kwanda Mokoena, Dylan Yip)
Touring car legend Franz Engstler started his own racing team back in 1996 when he entered the STW Touring Car Cup. He later fueled the WTCC World Touring Car Championship with his own BMW team, where he also achieved great success in the TCR. And the squad from Allgäu has also been active in the ADAC GT Masters.

In 2011 and 2012 the BMW Alpina B6 GT3 was used and in the first year the two drivers Dino Lunardi and Alexandros Margaritis even won the drivers’ title. At the end of 2022, the team, which at the time was built around Luca Engstler, made the decision to venture into GT3 racing again and enter DTM with Audi. DTM legend Manuel Reuter was brought in as project manager.

Haupt Racing Team (Car: Mercedes-AMG GT3, Cars: 1, Drivers: Ralf Aron, Alain Valente)
Former DTM driver Hubert Haupt’s Haupt Racing team has only been around since 2020. Haupt took over the successful Black Falcon squad backed by Mercedes-AMG and relies on their GT3 cars. Race wins in the NLS series at the Nürburgring-Nordschleife and in the GT World Challenge Europe were already achieved in the first year. In addition, the team of former racing driver and real estate manager Hubert Haupt is involved in the DTM.

Huber Racing (Car: Porsche 911 GT3 R, Cars: 1, Drivers: Jaxon Evans, Tim Zimmermann)
The Huber Racing team, founded in 2016, has until now been primarily associated with Porsche one-make cups. However, Huber had previously held management positions for a while, including in Lechner’s team. Huber Racing quickly established itself as a top team and has already won the German Porsche Carrera Cup twice. 2022 saw the event’s entry into GT3 racing and a newcomer started in the 24h Series. The ADAC GT Masters has now been added to the Porsche Cups, with Huber also represented in another GT3 series through a partnership with Italian team Dinamic Motorsport.

Juta Racing (Car: Audi R8 LMS GT3 Evo II, Cars: 1, Drivers: Jonas Gelzinis, Jonas Karklys)
The Juta Racing Team, which has been around since 1988, is closely associated with the Gelzinis family of car dealers from Lithuania. The team was active in karting and rallying and ventured into the circuit in 2007. In 2021, we entered the GT3 scene through the various Porsche Cups. With the ADAC GT Masters, the Lithuanian team faces a completely new challenge.

Landgraf Motorsport (Car: Mercedes-AMG GT3, Cars: 1, Drivers: TBA)
The team founded in 2000 by Klaus Landgraf, who himself raced for many years, has been active in various motorcycle series ever since. The team from Bad Kreuznach has been using the Mercedes-AMG GT3 since 2018, and in 2021 they won their first and first victory in the ADAC GT Masters before taking the championship in 2022 with the “Mamba design” by Raffaele Marciello.

Schubert Motorsport (Car: BMW M4 GT3, Cars: 1, Drivers: Eduardo Coseteng, Ben Green)
Team Schubert from Oschersleben was founded in 1999 by racing driver Torsten Schubert, who also owns a number of BMW car dealerships and is one of the largest dealers of his brand in the region. In 2010, after success on the Nürburgring-Nordschleife, they ran for the first time in the ADAC GT Masters.

The team has received operational support from BMW since 2012 – and is quickly becoming a contender for victory. In 2015 they got a team classification, in 2019 they returned to BMW after a Honda year. After more victories, the team entered the DTM in 2022 and became driver and team champion with Sheldon van der Linde in the first year, but remained active in the ADAC GT Masters.

Team Joos Sportwagentechnik (car: Porsche 911 GT3 R, cars: 1, drivers: Finn Gehrsitz, Sven Müller)
Founded in 2007 by Hans Joos, Joos Sportwagentechnik was originally active in the historic sport of motorsport for a long time and celebrated several successes there. With his son Michael “Michi” Joos, the team took a big step in the ADAC GT Masters in 2020 and thus made a first in the high-level motorcycle sport. Although it is one of the smaller teams, the team has always been successful and recently even received support from Porsche. In 2022, Christian Engelhart and Ayhancan Güven took the runner-up title.

Grasser Racing Team (Car: Lamborghini Huracan GT3 Evo2, Cars: 1, Drivers: Marco Mapelli, Benjamin Hites)
The Grasser team of former racing driver Gottfried Grasser, based near the Red Bull Ring in Knittelfeld, entered the ADAC GT Masters in 2011 and has been using the Lamborghini brand since 2012, with factory support from 2015. Success quickly followed in other series as well: in 2017 they won the Blancpain GT Series (today GTWC Europe), in 2018 and 2019 they won the regular 24 hours in Daytona.

2019 was a successful year for the Austrian team, because they also won the Sebring 12 Hours and finished second in the ADAC GT Masters. Lamborghini works driver Mirko Bortolotti was involved in all the highlights and also drove for the team in the DTM.