The Haupt Racing Team continues its successful history in the Endurance Cup of the Fanatec GT World Challenge Europe. Jusuf Owega (GER), Arjun Maini (IND) and Michele Beretta (ITA) are taking up the challenge in the Pro Cup of the highly competitive series this year. The #77 Mercedes-AMG GT3 will compete in the five events of the endurance series in the livery of team partner Merbag.
- HRT will also compete in the Fanatec GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup in 2024
- Mercedes-AMG driver Arjun Maini forms team with Mercedes-AMG Junior Jusuf Owega and Michele Beretta
- Mercedes-AMG GT3 #77 in full Merbag design
Since HRT was founded in 2020, the team has competed in the Fanatec GT World Challenge Europe without interruption and has already celebrated a number of successes in the prestigious endurance championship organised by the SRO Motorsports Group. With a total of ten overall and class victories - including at the legendary 24 Hours of Spa - and 19 other podium finishes, the team from Dress has impressive statistics to show for itself. HRT celebrated the provisional highlight in the previous season by winning the drivers' and team classification in the Silver Cup of the Fanatec GT World Challenge Europe Sprint Cup. The team also impressed in the Endurance Cup. With a class victory and two further podium finishes, the Haupt Racing Team secured the runner-up spot in the highly competitive Bronze Cup.
This year, the team is focussing its commitment on the Endurance Cup races, for which a high-calibre international field of over 50 GT3 cars from nine different manufacturers has been entered. In HRT's #77 Mercedes-AMG GT3, Jusuf Owega, Arjun Maini and Michele Beretta will compete for championship points in the Pro Cup on five race weekends, including once again at the legendary Crowdstrike 24 Hours of Spa. Mercedes-AMG junior driver Jusuf Owega will contest his first season for the Haupt Racing Team. Owega has been active in GT racing since 2019. In his debut year in the ADAC GT4 Germany, he finished third in the championship. The next success followed in 2020 with third place in the silver classification of the Fanatec GT World Challenge Europe Sprint Cup. In the following years, Owega competed in the ADAC GT Masters, the Fanatec GT World Challenge Europe and the Nürburgring Endurance Series, among others. Last year, the Cologne-based driver competed in the DTM for the first time in a Mercedes-AMG GT3 and scored eight points-scoring results.
Michele Beretta can already look back on many successes in GT3 racing. The Italian has won championships in the European Le Mans Series, the International GT Open and the Sprint Cup of the Fanatec GT World Challenge Europe. He was also successful in the Italian GT Championship and competed in the 24-hour race at the Nürburgring, where he achieved two top 10 results. In 2020, Beretta already raced for the Haupt Racing Team in the Endurance Cup and, in addition to winning his class at the 24 Hours of Spa, took third place overall in the Silver Cup.
The line-up is completed by Arjun Maini. The Mercedes-AMG driver is now entering his third DTM year with HRT and was also successful last season on the Nürburgring-Nordschleife, in the ADAC GT Masters and in the Fanatec GT World Challenge Europe. Together with his team-mates, Maini finished runner-up in the Bronze Cup of the Fanatec GT World Challenge Europe and second in the SP9 Pro-Am at the 24-hour race at the Nürburgring.
The promising driver trio will now enter the top category of the Fanatec GT World Challenge Europe - the Pro Cup - and measure themselves against the strongest GT3 drivers. The Haupt Racing Team's Mercedes-AMG GT3 #77 will compete this season in a complete black and white livery from team partner Merbag. HRT and its exclusive mobility partner Merbag are intensifying their collaboration this season. This means that in the Fanatec GT World Challenge Europe and other prestigious racing series, HRT cars will be racing for victories and championship points in a complete Merbag design.
The Fanatec GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup kicks off its new season from 5 to 7 April at the Circuit Paul Ricard, followed by the season highlight - the Crowdstrike 24 Hours of Spa at the end of June. After further races at the Nürburgring and in Monza, the six-hour finale of the Endurance Cup will take place for the first time at the end of November in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, where the champion will be determined on the Jeddah Corniche Circuit, which is well-known from Formula 1.
Jusuf Owega, Haupt Racing Team: "I'm really looking forward to this challenge. Alongside the DTM, the Endurance Cup is probably one of the strongest GT3 series in the world. I think we have a good team and can race for the top positions."
Michele Beretta, Haupt Racing Team: "It's great to be back on board with HRT. I hope we can have a say in the top positions in the Pro Cup. The competition is very strong. I will do my best so that we can be successful."
Arjun Maini, Haupt Racing Team: "After our runner-up finish in the Bronze Cup, we are now competing in the Pro Cup. The competition here is incredibly tough, as the best drivers and teams take part in this category. But I'm optimistic that we'll be up to the task in this competition too. I'm very excited."
Ulrich Fritz, Chief Executive Officer Haupt Racing Team: "Last season in the Fanatec GT World Challenge Europe was our most successful to date. The championship in the Sprint Cup and the runner-up finish in the Endurance Cup give us additional motivation to be successful again this year. We are aware of the great challenge in the Pro Cup and are looking forward to the start of the season."
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 Fanatec 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.
