MERCEDES-AMG MOTORSPORT GOING INTO GT WORLD CHALLENGE EUROPE ENDURANCE CUP WITH TITLE AMBITIONS
Following promising test days at Circuit Paul Ricard in France, Mercedes-AMG will be starting the new Fanatec GT World Challenge Europe powered by AWS season from 1st till 3rd April. A three-hour race at Imola’s Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari will be the season opener of the high-class GT series with another four endurance races to follow in the course of the season. Seven Customer Racing Teams will be bringing a total of eleven Mercedes-AMG GT3s to the grid that are, among others, to secure the title defence in the global manufacturers’ standings. In the past three years, Mercedes-AMG had managed to decide this intercontinental championship in its favour.
In the 2022 motorsport season, Mercedes-AMG is again coming up with a considerable presence in the GT World Challenge Europe: in the Endurance Cup, Customer Teams GetSpeed (#2, #3), Haupt Racing Team (#4, #5, #777), SPS automotive performance (#20), Winward Racing (#57), AKKA ASP Team (#87, #88), Madpanda Motorsport (#90) and SKY – Tempesta Racing (#93) are running a total of eleven Mercedes-AMG GT3s, all with top-notch line-ups. SKY – Tempesta Racing will be entering a Mercedes-AMG GT3 in this series for the first time. With the #2 Mercedes-AMG GT3, under the Mercedes-AMG Team GetSpeed banner, one of the cars receives extended support from Affalterbach in 2022.
In addition to the opening event in Imola, Italy, the season includes four further prestigious endurance races. There will also be races at the Circuit Paul Ricard (3-5 June), as part of the 24 Hours of Spa at the Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps (28-31 July) and the Hockenheimring (2-4 September). The season finale will take place at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya from 30 September to 2 October.
The Mercedes-AMG GT3s have a high-quality driver line-up
To again reach the goals that were set quite high, the Mercedes-AMG GT3s will have a high-quality driver line-up once more this season. With the likes of Lucas Auer (AUT), Maro Engel (GER), Jules Gounon (FRA), Dani Juncadella (ESP), Raffaele Marciello (SUI) and Luca Stolz (GER), international top drivers are to be found behind the wheels in the Pro class. But also in the Silver Cup and the Gold category, an excellent line-up also allows for justified hopes of championship title wins in all categories. The newly initiated Gold Cup is getting its inaugural season underway with 13 cars for this year while 18 participating cars are a new record in Silver Cup. Moreover, Mercedes-AMG is one of two manufacturers to be represented in the Pro-Am classification as well, next to its presence in Pro, Silver and Gold Cup.
Ten Mercedes-AMG GT4s hunting for the title on the support bill
On the five race weekends, multiple Mercedes-AMG GT4s are also in action on the support bill of the GT World Challenge Europe. In the season opener at Imola, AKKA ASP Team, Drago Racing Team ZvO, NM Motorsport and Selleslagh Racing Team enter the GT4 European Series with a total of ten cars. As a result, Mercedes-AMG is one of the brands with the strongest representation in the record field of over 50 cars.
Mercedes-AMG Motorsport again wants to defend manufacturers’ title
In the past season, Mercedes-AMG Motorsport managed to win the title in the global manufacturers’ standings of the GT World Challenge for the third consecutive time, with a fourth title to be added in 2022. To this end, a total of 30 race events in the four different continental competitions in North America, Asia, Australia and Europe are taken into account. The international season already got underway the weekend before last with the opening races in GT World Challenge Australia. There, AMG drivers Prince Jefri Ibrahim (MAS) and Shane van Gisbergen (NZL) scored a podium finish with their outstanding achievement in the first race on Saturday. Akritas Racing Team with drivers Sam Brabham and Ross Poulakis (both AUS) took GT4 class honours on both race days.
Stefan Wendl, head of Mercedes-AMG Customer Racing: “We are proud to be present again with a first-class driver and team line-up in the Endurance Cup of the GT World Challenge this year. We are looking back upon great achievements in the popular series and we want to build on them. Not in the least, of course, we want to defend the title of the best manufacturer across the GT World Challenge competitions. We will do everything to again support our Customer Racing Teams all over the world in an optimal way. I wish all the teams and drivers a promising season opener at Imola and good luck in the 2022 GT World Challenge Europe!”
Source. Mercedes
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