Next weekend, the Haupt Racing Team will kick off the new season on the legendary Nürburgring-Nordschleife with two rounds of the Nürburgring Endurance Series. The team, which is based in the immediate vicinity of the legendary Eifel circuit, will enter two Mercedes-AMG GT3s in the opening race. One of the cars will compete in these two races with works support as a Mercedes-AMG Team.
- Nordschleife kick off for HRT at the NLS season opener
- Two Mercedes-AMG GT3s in action
- Mercedes-AMG GT3 #14 with factory support
The Haupt Racing Team starts the racing season on the Nürburgring-Nordschleife with the first double-header of the Nürburgring Endurance Series. On the weekend of 6th to 7th April, the team from Drees will be represented with two Mercedes-AMG GT3s in the first two of a total of eight races on this year's calendar.
The Mercedes-AMG GT3 #14 will compete in the event on the 24.358-kilometre NLS layout of the Nürburgring with works support under the Mercedes-AMG Team HRT banner, where the team will rely on Michelin tyres as in previous years. The line-up consists of Mercedes-AMG Expert driver Daniel Juncadella (ESP) and Mercedes-AMG Junior driver Frank Bird (GBR). The 32-year-old Spaniard is regarded as a proven expert on the Nürburgring-Nordschleife. In the past three years, he has finished on the podium twice in the 24-hour race at the Nürburgring and has also enjoyed great success in other major endurance races. His British team-mate made his debut in the Green Hell last season in the colours of HRT. The 24-year-old demonstrated his talent behind the wheel of the Mercedes-AMG GT2 with a class victory in the 24-race. At the start of the season, the Mercedes-AMG GT3 #14 in the livery of team partner Sonic Equipment will tackle the first of the two four-hour races.
In the second race on Sunday, the starting number 14 will take to the track with a significantly different look: Under the name Mercedes-AMG Team HRT, the team will compete in the yellow-blue complete design of technology partner BILSTEIN. The Haupt Racing Team is continuing its partnership with the suspension specialist from Ennepetal, which began in 2020, and will be relying on BILSTEIN's powerful and proven suspensions for the races on the Nürburgring-Nordschleife.
In the #6 Mercedes-AMG GT3, the Haupt Racing Team will contest the races on the Nordschleife for the first time with tyres from the Japanese premium manufacturer YOKOHAMA. With a joint development programme, HRT and YOKOHAMA are taking on the ultimate challenge on the legendary Eifel circuit. The longest permanent race track in the world has always been a benchmark for the development of high-performance tyres and is a central component for testing tyre technologies. Several outings in the Nürburgring endurance series and the 24-hour race at the Nürburgring are planned for this season's development programme.
The Mercedes-AMG GT3, specially designed for the Nordschleife in the YOKOHAMA ADVAN livery, will compete under the name Team ADVAN x HRT and with a mixture of youth and experience. Two promising young drivers spearhead the line-up. Ralf Aron, Mercedes-AMG Junior driver, made his debut in GT3 racing a year ago. In addition to successful outings with HRT in the ADAC GT Masters, he also gained valuable experience in endurance racing in 2023. The 26-year-old Estonian made his first acquaintance with the Nordschleife with two starts in the NLS and has already celebrated a class victory there.
The second youngster in the HRT ranks is very familiar with the Green Hell. Dennis Fetzer competed in the Nürburgring 24 Hours for the first time in 2020. The 22-year-old from Buseck has established himself as a Nordschleife specialist in recent years and has already competed behind the wheel of a GT3 car in the highly competitive SP9 class in 2022 and 2023. Team founder Hubert Haupt, who has already successfully completed countless races on the Nürburgring-Nordschleife, completes the promising driver trio in the Mercedes-AMG GT3 with starting number 6.
The Nürburgring Endurance Series will start its first four-hour race of the 2024 season on Saturday, 6 April at 12.00 p.m. The second race on the Nürburgring-Nordschleife is scheduled for the following Sunday, also at 12.00 p.m.
Ulrich Fritz, Managing Director of Haupt Racing Team: "We are delighted to finally be back at our home circuit. The entire team and I think all the fans have a very emotional connection to this legendary race track. We have also been very successful here in sporting terms. We will once again be working closely with our long-standing technology partner BILSTEIN to drive development forward. The development programme together with YOKOHAMA will also be an exciting task that we will tackle with motivation."
Daniel Juncadella, Mercedes-AMG GT3 #14: "It's a great feeling to be back at the Nürburgring after such a long time. I love racing there and it's also pretty cool to be making my debut for HRT. Hopefully we have a smooth weekend with good weather and can prepare everything for the upcoming races."
Ralf Aron, Mercedes-AMG GT3 #6: "I'm delighted to be back on the Nordschleife with HRT! We had a very promising end to last season and hope that we can build on that at the first race weekend."
Dennis Fetzer, Mercedes-AMG GT3 #6: "I'm delighted to be competing with HRT on the legendary Nürburgring-Nordschleife at the premiere of Team ADVAN x HRT. It is a great honour for me to be part of the tyre development programme. Together with the premium tyre manufacturer Yokohama and my two fast team colleagues Hubert Haupt and Ralf Aron, we will try to attack the front positions right from the start. The first pre-season tests went very well. I can hardly wait to get back in the car."
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 quickly established itself as a force to be reckoned with in international GT3 racing. HRT secured the drivers' championship in the DTM in just its second motorsport season. In 2023, the team celebrated its most successful season to date and competed in the DTM, the Nürburgring Endurance Series, the Fanatec GT World Challenge Europe and the 24-hour races at the Nürburgring and Spa-Francorchamps - in some cases with works support from Mercedes-AMG. HAUPT RACING TEAM GmbH is based in the Drees industrial estate in the immediate vicinity of the Nürburgring. HRT is also involved in professional sim racing and is a sought-after partner for technical development projects and motorsport events of all kinds.
