In a memorable 24-hour race at the Nürburgring, the Haupt Racing Team under the Mercedes-AMG Team BILSTEIN entry finished fourth with the #4 Mercedes-AMG GT3 as the best Mercedes-AMG car. The sister car with starting number #3 also showed a strong performance until the suspension of the race late on Saturday evening, but was only classified eleventh in the end. The campaign with the new development partner YOKOHAMA under the Team ADVAN x HRT banner also came to an early end due to the weather at the shortest 24-hour race in its history. HRT CEO Ulrich Fritz summarises the team's performance during the race weekend.
Ulrich, you have already experienced several 24-hour races in your career. How would you categorise last weekend?
“Nothing is as constant as change - and that's especially true of the weather in the Eifel. Like everyone else, we're obviously disappointed that it wasn't a real 24-hour race in the end. We invested a lot of time, money and love in the preparation. If you make mistakes yourself, you can always rectify them and improve things. In the end, you are powerless in the face of external circumstances. But I think it was the right decision for safety reasons.”
HRT's Mercedes-AMG GT3s were well in the race until the red flag interruption late in the evening.
“Not just until the red flag. After the restart behind the safety car, our split strategy put us in a good position to challenge for the win if the race was allowed to continue. Unfortunately, that didn't happen. Even before that, our strategy was to avoid any clashes on the track and to fight our way forwards over the distance, which worked very well. The pit stops also went smoothly up to that point. I'm sure that we would have finished further up the field if things had gone according to plan without any further incidents.”
What is your overall assessment of the team's performance over the weekend at the Nürburgring?
“Everyone did a very good job. The team managed to bring two of our cars back on track very quickly after severe damage in the qualifying sessions. The drivers also gave their all to achieve a good team result. A big compliment to everyone involved. Of course, the sporting value is limited given the very short race distance. But we can be very happy with our performance.”
Next weekend, HRT will continue with the DTM and the ADAC GT Masters in Zandvoort. How do you see your chances?
“Yes, it will be interesting due to the changed schedule with the DTM qualifying on Friday evening and the second race in the late afternoon. We'll see if that can be an advantage for us. In the ADAC GT Masters, we want to build on the good result from the season opener in Oschersleben. We are well prepared and highly motivated to score another good team result.”
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.
