We’re all set for the 2021 ADAC GT Masters. Bring it on! Spring is fast approaching and GRT Grasser Racing Team are more than ready for their first major offensive in this hard-fought GT3 series. The Austrian outfit will field four Lamborghini Huracán GT3 EVOs for the first time since its inception. The driver pairing for the car with start number 11, one of the team’s four entries, has just been confirmed with the signing of Mike David Ortmann and Clemens Schmid. They now complete the line up alongside the two Lamborghini Young Driver-protégés, Tim Zimmermann and Steijn Schothorst, in GRT Grasser Racing’s new junior team.
Clemens Schmid continues with GRT Grasser Racing Team
The promising work begun last season is set to continue with the signing of 30-year-old Schmid. The Austrian first competed with the outfit in the 2020 ADAC GT Masters when he partnered the Belgian Niels Lagrange in the #19 Lamborghini Huracán GT3 EVO. Schmid showed a sharp rise in form during his first season in the cockpit of the Italian GT3 car and had an excellent showing with five points-scoring finishes.
Schmid has had quite a varied career in GT3 racing, having previously raced in the series in 2010, 2015 and 2018 before rejoining the ADAC GT Masters with GRT Grasser Racing. He celebrated his greatest success to date in 2015 with two second places in Hockenheim and at the Sachsenring. He and his new team-mate hope to repeat those good results this season.
Clemens Schmid: “I am delighted to be back again in this year’s ADAC GT Masters, driving for GRT Grasser Racing Team once more. We got on very well together right from the start. Gottfried and I readily agreed to go on working together this season. As for Mike, he is an extremely capable team mate who can be relied on to move us forwards. I’m mega pleased and feel very optimistic. We’re going to have a terrific season and I can hardly wait to get under way.”
Talented newcomer Mike David Ortmann joins the raging bulls
A new chapter in his GT3 career is about to begin for 21-year-old Mike David Ortmann with his move to Gottfried Grasser’s team. After four years behind the wheel of the Audi R8 LMS, the young German is switching to the Lamborghini Huracán GT3 EVO after successfully making the transition from go karting to racing motor cars and quickly rising up the ranks. He moved from open wheel racing to sports cars in 2017 and was the youngest driver in the ADAC GT Masters at the time.
Beforehand Ortmann finished third overall in the 2016 ADAC Formula 4. He achieved his greatest success to date in the ADAC GT Masters with third place at the Nürburgring in 2018. He is the youngest driver at GRT Grasser Racing and will be part of the team’s strong line-up for 2021, which next to the members of the junior squad, also includes Lamborghini works drivers Mirko Bortolotti, Albert Costa Balboa and Franck Perera plus successful Silver class driver Rolf Ineichen in the pro team.
Mike David Ortmann: “We worked very hard over the winter to find the best possible package for me. Gottfried and his team have maintained a high degree of consistency for many years now, achieving great success in GT racing. I want to attain the best results possible with Clemens and am really looking forward to working alongside him. I could hardly be more motivated than I am right now!”
Team Principal Gottfried Grasser: “We have managed to find an excellent Silver driver pairing for our number 11 car with Clemens Schmid and Mike David Ortmann. I am really pleased that Clemens will be back with us again this year. He did not always have an easy time last season but I am sure that 2021 will be great for him with his new team-mate. Mike David is a fast driver and has the experience necessary for GT3 racing. I am very confident that they will achieve success together. With this final piece of the jigsaw, we now have four excellent crews for our Lamborghini Huracán GT3 EVOs. The new season will get under way for us with official pre season testing at Oschersleben in April. Everyone is really hyped for the 2021 ADAC GT Masters and we can hardly wait to get started.”
Source. GRT Grasser Racing
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