The Haupt Racing Team and BILSTEIN are continuing their partnership, which began in 2020, in 2024. The renowned suspension specialist will support the racing team from Drees as official technology partner in selected racing series with technical expertise and its high-performance racing products. A particular highlight of this partnership this season will once again be the 24-hour race at the Nürburgring.
- Haupt Racing Team and BILSTEIN continue their close collaboration
- BILSTEIN also official technology partner of HRT in 2024
- Mercedes-AMG GT3 in BILSTEIN design at the 24h Nürburgring
The Haupt Racing Team and BILSTEIN will once again be strong partners in motorsport this year. The successful partnership has existed since HRT was founded in 2020, and the suspension specialist from Ennepetal is now in its fifth year as the official technical partner of the team from Drees.
In the 2024 season, the focus of the collaboration will be on the challenging endurance races on the Nürburgring-Nordschleife. With its 20.832 kilometres, the legendary Eifel circuit has always been the benchmark for highly developed technologies in motorsport. In the endurance championships and the prestigious 24-hour race, BILSTEIN's equally powerful and proven suspension systems are used in HRT's cars.
Together with its partner BILSTEIN, the Haupt Racing Team can look back on a successful history on the Nürburgring-Nordschleife. In the team's very first outing in the Nürburgring Endurance Series in 2020, HRT took two overall victories in the inaugural double-header event of this traditional racing series. HRT's Mercedes-AMG racing cars also competed in various classes in the 24-hour race at the Nürburgring. Last year's outing was again crowned with success with third and eighth places in the field of 132 participants. Class victory in the 24-hour premiere of the new Mercedes-AMG GT2 rounded off the strong team result. These challenging races also provide the chassis manufacturer with a good basis for further developments.
Another fundamental hub of the partnership is the BILSTEIN Competence Centre, which opened last year in the immediate vicinity of the Haupt Racing Team. The ultra-modern BILSTEIN 7-Post Rig with seven hydraulic actuators and state-of-the-art measuring and testing technology makes it possible to simulate any racetrack in the world. The team works with BILSTEIN experts on the sophisticated test rig to develop the optimum vehicle set-up for the Mercedes-AMG GT3.
Further information about the BILSTEIN Competence Centre can be found at https://bilstein.com/en/test-rig.
Mercedes-AMG GT3 in exclusive BILSTEIN design at the 24h Nürburgring
In recent years, HRT has entered the Mercedes-AMG GT3 in the iconic blue and yellow design in renowned international racing series. At the 24-hour race at the Nürburgring, HRT will once again compete in the colours of its technology partner BILSTEIN in the Green Hell. Last year, the team's line-up for the season highlight included a Mercedes-AMG GT3 in an exclusive BILSTEIN design. The spectacular comic art look was voted "Best Looking Car" in a poll of fans. HRT and BILSTEIN will be sending a special eye-catcher to the world's biggest endurance race again this year.
Ulrich Fritz, Chief Executive Officer Haupt Racing Team: "BILSTEIN has been an important and reliable partner for us since 2020. We are very proud to continue working closely with the specialists from BILSTEIN. The new BILSTEIN Competence Centre also helps us to make the vehicles better and more competitive with the expertise of our technology partner. We look forward to further successful races together with BILSTEIN."
Christoph Henkel, President Performance and Aftermarket Business, thyssenkrupp Bilstein GmbH: "We are delighted about the continued cooperation with the Haupt Racing Team. This partnership not only provides valuable insights for the further development of our shock absorber technologies, but is also an important component of our communication. As in previous years, we want to come up with something special for the 24-hour race again this year "
About BILSTEIN
BILSTEIN is the specialist for particularly high-performance shock absorbers and suspension systems. BILSTEIN develops innovative state-of-the-art suspension and shock absorber technologies for original equipment on a par with global premium car manufacturers. The company is also traditionally at home in international motorsport. Numerous racing victories in both popular and top-level sport around the globe speak for performance made by BILSTEIN. The exceptional expertise and experience gained in OE development and racing directly benefit the aftermarket: BILSTEIN offers a wide range of OE-quality products for series replacement. In the Performance Aftermarket range, trackday drivers and tuning fans will find high-performance dampers and high-performance sports and coilovers for suspension optimization.
About HRT
HRT stands for HAUPT RACING TEAM. The motorsport team was founded in July 2020 by racing driver and entrepreneur Hubert Haupt and has firmly established itself in international GT3 sport within a very short time. As well as numerous race wins and top results, HRT’s greatest success came in 2021 when it won the Drivers’ Championship in the DTM. In 2023, the team celebrated its most successful season to date, competing in the DTM, the Nürburgring Endurance Series, the GT World Challenge Europe and the 24-hour races at the Nürburgring and Spa-Francorchamps, among others. Many of these race outings are as a Mercedes-AMG Performance Team with extended factory support. HRT is also involved in professional sim racing and is a sought-after partner for technical development projects and motorsport events of all kinds. The HAUPT RACING TEAM is based in Drees, which is located at the Nürburgring.
