The first of the two PROsport Performance driver pairings for the ADAC GT Masters 2019 has been confirmed: Aston Martin works driver Maxime Martin (32, BEL) and ex-champion Daniel Keilwitz (29, GER) will be competing for Christoph Esser’s team in one of two Aston Martin Vantage GT3s. As official race partner of Aston Martin Racing, PROsport Performance will be fielding two new Aston Martin Vantage GT3s in the ADAC GT Masters as well as two Aston Martin Vantage GT4s in the new ADAC GT4 Germany. The opening weekend of the 2019 ADAC GT Masters (27th – 29th April) will be hosted by Motorsport Arena Oschersleben.
“Maxime Martin and Daniel Keilwitz are a very strong driver pairing with a lot of experience in both GT3 race cars and ADAC GT Masters, which will certainly help us enormously in the first season of this highly competitive racing series,” says Christoph Esser, Team Principal and Managing Director of PROsport Performance. “We are very much looking forward to Maxime and Daniel as well as to an exciting season with Aston Martin.”
Maxime Martin, who joined Aston Martin Racing as a works driver in 2018 and has competed for them in various series, including the FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC), returns to Germany in 2019. He was a DTM regular for four years. He last drove in the ADAC GT Masters in the 2012 season and can look back on a total of five wins. Keilwitz is the most successful driver in the ADAC GT Masters in terms of race victories (a grand total of 22 so far) and a former championship winner (2013).
David King, Aston Martin Racing president, says: “We’re excited about our new association with PROsport Performance in the ADAC GT Masters and looking ahead to it with a great deal of anticipation. Placing our works driver Maxime Martin in the team alongside Daniel Keilwitz is a strong signal that we take this programme very seriously indeed. Germany is an important market for Aston Martin, and through the new Vantage GT3, we intend to clearly demonstrate the core sporting, endurance and performance principals that underpin our reputation as a manufacturer with a championship-winning pedigree.”
Maxime Martin also feels great anticipation: “I’m really looking forward to the 2019 season with PROsport Performance. They are a very well-respected team, and the ADAC GT Masters is a very strong and competitive championship. So, it is great to be going back there with the new Aston Martin Vantage GT3. I think we will have a very strong line-up and we can look ahead with a view to fighting for the title. Being partnered with Daniel is exciting for the team because he is very experienced and knows how to win the championship, so I think we make a very competitive driver line-up. This is a perfect way to start the career of the new Vantage GT3, which showed very good potential at the Nürburgring and will be a strong package from the beginning of the championship. On a personal note, I’m really looking forward to going back to the GT Masters. I enjoyed it when I raced there in 2012 and I know all the tracks and I always love racing in Germany. This is going to be fun!”
Daniel Keilwitz is likewise thrilled by the prospect: “I’m really happy to be part of this new project. Aston Martin stands for success in motorsport, PROsport Performance are highly motivated, and Maxime Martin is an extremely fast GT3 driver – that’s a really strong package, and I cannot wait for the first race. After nine successful years in the same team, I am looking forward to this new challenge and to the opportunity to contribute my experience. The ADAC GT Masters is, in my opinion, one of the most powerful GT3 racing series in the world, which is further enriched with the new Aston Martin Vantage GT3. The races are super tight, but we will work very hard to be successful together.”
Source. ADAC GT Masters/Photo. Aston Martin
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