JP Motorsport will field a McLaren 720S GT3 at the guest start in Spielberg: Christian Klien and Dennis Lind will share the cockpit and are looking forward
McLaren returns to the ADAC GT Masters after a seven-year absence. JP Motorsport will send a McLaren 720S GT3 into the race at the guest start at the Red Bull Ring in Spielberg (20 to 22 May)
The cockpit of the JP-McLaren will be shared by ex-Formula 1 driver Christian Klien and Dennis Lind, thus ensuring the debut of the 720S GT3 in the German GT Championship. When McLaren last competed in the ADAC GT Masters in the 2014 season, it was an MP4-12C GT3 from MRS GT-Racing.
At the Austrian guest appearance in this year’s racing calendar, a quartet will now become a quintet of local heroes. Klien, who will be making his ADAC GT Masters debut, joins Norbert Siedler, Simon Reicher, Mick Wishofer and Klaus Bachler as the fifth Austrian to contest the home round.
“The Red Bull Ring is my home track. That’s why I’m all the more pleased that we’re guest entrants in the ADAC GT Masters there with JP Motorsport,” said Klien, adding: “For me, it’s the first race in the German GT Championship. Of course, I’ve been following the series for a long time and know how high the level of drivers and teams is. That’s why the races will be an important assessment of where we stand in GT3 racing. “
“The Red Bull Ring should suit the McLaren 720S GT3 well. But there will be new challenges ahead. You can’t preheat the tyres and you have to try to find the perfect window where the car works best,” explains the former Formula 1 driver, who made a couple of guest starts in the DTM in 2021 with the 720S GT3.
While Klien is about to make his debut in the ADAC GT Masters, team partner Dennis Lind celebrated his debut last year. The Dane contested two races of the 2021 season in a WRT Audi – both in Spielberg, although the circuit was new territory for him at the time. With fifth place in the first race, Lind showed straight away on his debut that he was a force to be reckoned with.
“I’m looking forward to driving on this beautiful circuit in the mountains again,” says Lind, noting, “McLaren last competed in the ADAC GT Masters years ago. We have a completely different car now. One of the things we want to do in Spielberg is to get to know the new generation of tyres from Pirelli even better in difficult racing conditions, as this tyre is also used in other racing series in which we participate.”
“Our goal is to be up front. However, the ADAC GT Masters is one of the hottest race series around. The field is always close together, any mistake is punished mercilessly. A place in the top 5 is a success, a top 10 finish respectable. One thing is for sure: it’s going to be a tough fight,” says Lind.