The ADAC GT Masters kicks off its 250th race at the Nürburgring on Sunday, with the new sprint and endurance format set to bring even more excitement
Milestone for the ADAC GT Masters: Next weekend (July 12th to 14th), the series will start its 250th race as part of the legendary ADAC Truck Grand Prix at the Nürburgring – and that is by no means the only special feature
The anniversary race in the Eifel will be a premiere: The ADAC GT Masters debuts this weekend with a new format consisting of an endurance race on Saturday and a sprint race on Sunday.
The new race format also means that the battle for the top of the standings between leaders Tom Kalender and defending champion Elias Seppänen (both Landgraf Motorsport) in the Mercedes-AMG GT3 and their closest pursuers Leon Köhler/Maxime Oosten (both FK Performance) in the BMW M4 GT3 will enter the next round. Sport1 will broadcast both races on Saturday from 2:45 p.m. and on Sunday from 3 p.m.
The ADAC GT Masters is now celebrating its anniversary at the place where it all began in 2007: the Nürburgring. In 2024, just like 17 years ago, the ADAC Truck Grand Prix will be contested on the sprint version of the Grand Prix circuit.
Endurance race with two pit stops
The ADAC GT Masters is the world’s longest-running GT3 racing series and will kick off its anniversary weekend with a new format: Saturday’s race will be the first time that the drivers will take part in an endurance race lasting 80 minutes.
Teamwork and good tactics are particularly important here, because compared to the tried-and-tested format, two pit stops are mandatory, one of which involves a tire change. Action is also guaranteed in the 250th race on Sunday. In the 40-minute sprint, the drivers will have to up the pace once again, as they will have less time to fight for position
In the battle for the championship, two-time season winners Seppänen/Kalender in their Mercedes-AMG GT3 are currently in the lead with 84 points. The BMW M4 GT3 of two-time winners Oosten/Köhler is just seven points behind
Guest entrants enrich the starting field
“With our victory in Sunday’s race at Zandvoort, we have put ourselves in a good starting position. We want to attack again at the Nürburgring and try to take the lead,” says Köhler. Third-placed Jannes Fittje (Langenargen) and Finn Wiebelhaus (Obertshausen/both Haupt Racing Team) in another Mercedes-AMG GT3 also remain within striking distance with 57 championship points.
At the anniversary weekend in the Eifel, guest entrants will complement the seven-make field: the two Mercedes-AMG GT3s from Schnitzelalm Racing and a Lamborghini Huracán GT3 Evo from Team HP Racing International will join three other cars in the field.
Julian Hanses and Marcel Marchewicz as well as Jay Mo Härtling and Moritz Wiskirchen will line up for the Mercedes-AMG team from Bad Hindelang. Coach McKansy and Gerhard Tweraser will take their seats in the Italian Bull
