RNW Staff

After ten plus years of doing Sportscar Racing News it’s time to move on and do other things. It would be impossible for me to calculate how many hours I’ve put into doing this site plus the expense too. I’ve had some help along the way, so I’ll say thank you to my daughter for the help right at the beginning and the media applications she’s done for me. John for the countless number of photographs he’s taken. Of course thank you to all of you who have been reading Sportscar Racing News.

Grasser Racing’s performance at the DTM in Oschersleben this weekend made for a great start to the season. From 26th to 28th May, around 35,000 spectators enjoyed best summer weather in the Magdeburger Börde region to see the first round of the iconic championship live. The fans of the Austrian Lamborghini Team were not disappointed. Clemens Schmid impressed in every way on the DTM premiere of the new Lamborghini Huracán GT3 EVO2 with fifth place on Sunday. With this result, the Austrian was the best-placed of the five Lamborghini drivers in the field of 27 GT3 cars. Team-mate Mick Wishofer had a strong showing on his DTM debut with fourth place in Qualifying on Saturday. In the races though he was out of luck.

A great performance and a perfect strategy – in Oschersleben, Christian Engelhart was rewarded for a faultless performance in the Porsche 911 GT3 R from Toksport WRT with his maiden DTM win. On Sunday, the experienced 36-year-old driver had started the second race of the season from seventh on the grid and moved up to second place after a perfectly timed pit stop. His brand team-mate Thomas Preining (A) from Manthey EMA had been leading up that point, but a penalty for him saw Engelhart take the lead and he crossed the finishing line in first place after 41 laps. “That victory was clearly due to the whole team. The pit stop was sensational and I had great pace before and after it. This is a fantastic win,” said the jubilant Porsche driver, who topped the rostrum for the first time in what was just his fourth DTM race. His team-mate Tim Heinemann from Fichtenberg also had reason to celebrate. As he had on Saturday, the newcomer secured second place and moved into the lead in the overall standings. Preining completed the three-way Porsche podium. Around 35,000 spectators enjoyed a top-quality DTM opener in the Motorsport Arena Oschersleben, with thrilling qualifying sessions and two new winners.

Fanatec GT2 European Series history was made in the second round of the series in the sun at the Red Bull Ring this weekend, with the newest world-class brand to join the grid – the Mercedes-AMG GT2 – claiming outright victory on its first outing with the Akkodis ASP Team. 

That was a show of strength. Franck Perera (F) from the SSR Performance team produced a nerveless performance to claim a dominant start-finish victory in the first DTM race of the season. The former Formula 1 test driver thereby secured the first win in the series for Lamborghini at the opening race of the 37th DTM season. On Saturday, Perera started the race at the Motorsport Arena Oschersleben in first place in the Lamborghini Huracán GT3 Evo2, controlling the field in a commanding fashion before and after the mandatory pit stop. “This win really means a lot to me. I have had some ups and downs in my career, but I knew that I still had plenty in the tank. The season still has a long way to go but I will enjoy this success and have a beer tonight,” explained the Lamborghini works driver, who is now a permanent driver in the popular race series for the first time after making a guest appearance last year. A “real” newcomer produced a sensational result, as Tim Heinemann from Fichtenberg secured second place in the Porsche 911 GT3 R for Toksport WRT. British driver Jack Aitken claimed the third spot on the podium for himself and his Emil Frey Racing team to mark his DTM debut in the Ferrari 296 GT3.

Sheldon van der Linde made an impressive start to the DTM season in Oschersleben: the defending champion from the Schubert Motorsport team was the top driver after the two free practice sessions on Friday. The South African set the fastest lap time of 1:21.960 minutes in his BMW M4 GT3 and was the only driver to dip under 1:22.000 minutes. “The track was faster in the second free practice than in FP1. The car was also better, which gives us confidence going into Saturday’s qualifying,” said the BMW driver. Mirko Bortolotti (I) from SS Performance set the fastest lap time (1:22.376 minutes) in the opening session.

The Fanatec GT2 European Series field of 2023 served up one of the closest qualifying sessions in the championship’s short history at the Red Bull Ring this afternoon, ahead of the second round of the season in Austria this weekend.

Fascinating GT racers, a new fully-electric racing series, spectacular prototypes and classics from throughout the history of the DTM – this season, the DTM offers visitors an entertaining motorsport package at every event. Thrilling motor racing comes courtesy of the ADAC GT Masters, which shares the bill with the DTM on four occasions, and ADAC GT4 Germany, which will start at six events. The support programme for the DTM will feature fiercely-contested one-make cups from BMW and Porsche, as well as the talented female drivers in the new F1 Academy for the first time. DTM Classic takes spectators on a journey back through almost four decades of the DTM. At the Nürburgring, the DTM event will include a new series with fully-electric race cars: the NXT Gen Cup.

Fanatec GT World Challenge Europe Powered by AWS is set for its annual trip to the Mediterranean coast to contest a six-hour Endurance Cup contest at Circuit Paul Ricard. 

Three Porsche customer teams head into the 2023 DTM season this coming weekend (26 to 28 May) in Oschersleben. Manthey EMA, Team75 Bernhard and Toksport WRT each field two 992-generation 416 kW (565 hp) 911 GT3 R racing cars. A total of 28 drivers will tackle the 16 races. Each of the eight racing weekends features two sprint events with the finale contested at the Hockenheimring.

Experienced sportscar racer Xavier Maassen will round out Team Parker Racing’s line up for the Crowdstrike 24 Hours of Spa, joining Derek Pierce, Kiern Jewiss, and Andy Meyrick in the squad’s Porsche 911 GT3 R.

This weekend marks the end of the long wait for the start of the new DTM season. Motorsport Arena Oschersleben (GER) will host the first two races out of a total of 16. Sheldon van der Linde (RSA) and Team Schubert Motorsport aim to defend their titles in the driver and team championships.

The Heart of Racing (HOR) team returned to SRO action this weekend at the F1-grade Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas. Though the team ran into some bad luck in Pirelli GT4 America competition, Gray Newell was able to score two podiums in GT America powered by AWS. 

After an action packed season opener in Thailand, Fanatec GT World Challenge Asia Powered by AWS’s attention now switches to Fuji International Speedway where a record-breaking provisional 40-car entry will assemble for the first of this year’s Fanatec Japan Cup events on June 16-18.

Flying Lizard Motorsports had a highly successful weekend at Circuit of the Americas over the weekend in rounds five and six of the Pirelli GT4 America championship and seven and eight of GT America Powered by AWS. With five entries between the two series, the Lizards reveled in two wins and an additional two podium finishes.

After capturing hearts all over the world through competition in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, the livery of Rexy the GT3 Rawr will make its international debut next month at the prestigious 24 Hours of Le Mans. The No. 56 Project 1/AO Racing Porsche 911 RSR will transform its look from the white, orange, and blue livery into the Porsche 911 RSRawr: an adorable yet intimidating green tyrannosaurus rex, complete with a ferocious mouth, little arms, and feet for stomping.

The Fanatec GT2 European Series heads to the breath-taking Styria mountains this weekend, 26-28 May, for the second outing of the 2023 season at the Red Bull Ring.

KC Motorgroup Ltd. (KCMG) finished second in class after an eventful race at the ADAC TotalEnergies 24h Nürburgring, with a late puncture while leading ending their hopes of victory.

Porsche Sprint Challenge GB traveled to Norfolk for its second weekend of the 2023 season, racing on the Snetterton 300 circuit in support of the British Touring Car Championship (BTCC). Toby Trice (Redline Racing) drove to victory in the weekend’s first race while Marc Warren (Raceway Motorsport) made history in the second encounter, becoming the first Am category racer to take an overall win, a feat he repeated in round six.

Anticipation is half the pleasure, but Steve McQueen once taught us: Racing is life. Anything that happens before or after is just waiting. For GRT, the long wait is finally over this weekend. From May 26 to 28, the Lamborghini Squadra Corse supported Team from Austria will kick off the 2023 DTM season. The races at the Motorsport Arena Oschersleben mark the first of eight stops on this year’s calendar of the legendary championship. For Grasser Racing, the season opener does not only mean the next chapter of their DTM journey. The two Austrians Clemens Schmid and Mick Wishofer will also complete the DTM premiere of the new Lamborghini Huracán GT3 EVO2 sporting the colours of GRT.