Maximilian Götz, former ADAC GT Masters champion and reigning DTM champion, will dock with Madpanda at the German GT Championship in Zandvoort
Madpanda Motorsport has found a top-class replacement for the departing Jannes Fittje: Maximilian Götz will make his comeback in the ADAC GT Masters at Zandvoort the weekend after next. He will start as Ezequiel Perez Companc’s teammate.
Götz became champion in 2012 driving a Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG GT3 from Team MS Racing together with Sebastian Asch. In total, he has taken part in seven seasons of the ADAC GT Masters, five of which (2012, 2013, 2014, 2017 and 2018) were full-time.
The 36-year-old also has numerous other successes to his name, including the 2021 DTM title, runner-up in the 2019 Intercontinental GT Challenge (IGTC), three podium finishes in the 24-hour race at the Nürburgring (most recently P2) and the 2014 Blancpain Sprint Series (now GTWC Europe Sprint Cup) title.
“I want to support the team and will help where I can. Of course, it’s a jump in the deep end to come to Zandvoort without testing, especially as I don’t know the new track yet,” says the Mercedes-AMG works driver. He has not yet driven in the dunes since the conversion in 2021.
“But I love these challenges. In the GTWC Europe Sprint Cup, I also stepped in as a substitute and immediately finished on the podium.” He is talking about his stint at Magny-Cours when he deputised for Jules Gounon at ASP alongside Jim Pla. The Frenchman was in attendance at the Bathurst 12 Hours. A tenth and a second place were the result.
Madpanda is currently struggling in both the ADAC GT Masters and the GT World Challenge with a performance problem on the Mercedes-AMG GT3 that the team can’t get to the bottom of. The experienced Götz is now to help solve the mystery.
Initially, the commitment is only for the race in Zandvoort. Can there be more? Of course, this is primarily a financial question. In any case, Götz doesn’t want to commit himself: “I’ll take a look at how things are going in Zandvoort and assume that we’ll deliver a good performance. After that we’ll see. For now, I’m just enjoying being back in the ADAC GT Masters.”
Ezequiel Perez Companc added: “I’m delighted that Maxi will be part of our team. It’s the first time we’ve had a factory driver in the team. It’s an exciting thing because he’s one of the fastest GT3 drivers around, as his DTM title proves. He will bring a lot of experience and knowledge from his career. I would also like to thank Jannes for his hard work in the two races. “