Here we go! After the shortest winter break so far, the ADAC GT Masters returns to action from 22nd to 24th April at Motorsport Arena Oschersleben near Magdeburg. The high-class field of super sports cars in the German GT Masters will kick off season 16 with a premiere: The ADAC GT Masters will be the first German racing series to use an environmentally-friendly fuel in the 600-hp cars from five different manufacturers. In doing so, the ADAC GT Masters is taking on a pioneering role.
Key facts, Motorsport Arena Oschersleben, races 1 and 2 of 14
Circuit length: 3,667 metres
Layout: 14 corners (seven right, seven left), driven clockwise
2021 winners, race 1: Maximilian Buhk/Raffaele Marciello (Mann-Filter Team Landgraf – HTP/WWR, Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo)
2021 winners, race 2: Michael Ammermüller/Mathieu Jaminet (SSR Performance, Porsche 911 GT3 R)
Ex champions, works drivers and talented youngsters battle it out for points and victories
The high-class field consists of roughly 20 works drivers and successful GT aces, who line up with bags of experience from their time in Formula 1, WEC and IMSA. A host of talented and ambitious youngsters are looking to gain valuable experience of their own at the wheel of super sports cars from manufacturers Audi, BMW, Lamborghini, Mercedes-AMG and Porsche in one of the strongest GT series around. 14 such drivers will also be out to make their mark in the Pirelli Junior competition. The Schubert Motorsport team is based just 500 metres from Motorsport Arena Oschersleben as the crow flies, and is looking to make full use of its home advantage at the season opener. The local favourites will field two BMW M4 GT3, with two works drivers and a pair of youngsters at the wheel.
Seven former ADAC GT Masters champions will have their sights set firmly on another title in the German GT Championship, which features seven race weekends in Germany, Austria and the Netherlands. Among the favourites are reigning champion Christopher Mies (32/Düsseldorf): Together with team-mate Tim Zimmermann (25/Lochau), Mies again lines up in an Audi R8 LMS GT3 Evo II for the Montaplast by Land-Motorsport team. His successful partner from 2021, Ricardo Feller (21/CH), has switched cockpit and no lines up alongside Jusuf Owega (20/Cologne) for the same team. Christian Engelhart (35/Starnberg) and Ayhancan Güven (24/TR) in the Joos Sportwagentechnik Porsche 911 GT3 R, and Raffaele Marciello (27/I) and Jonathan Aberdein (24/ZA) in the Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo of Mann-Filter Team Landgraf also have good prospects. The drivers from the Emil Frey Racing and T3-Motorsport teams will also be looking to have a say in the title race with their Lamborghini Huracán GT3 Evo.
Sustainability at every racetrack
As well as spectacular racing, season 16 of the ADAC GT Masters will also be shaped by sustainability. For the first time, the series will use the innovative new fuel “Shell Blue Gasoline 98 GT Masters”, which is made of roughly 50 percent renewable components. Long-term supplier Shell has developed the environmentally-friendly fuel exclusively for the German GT Championship. The “Bottle-Free Zone” project, which was launched together with partner BWT in 2021 to reduce plastic waste, has been expanded for this season.
Source. ADAC GT Masters