Hubert Haupt is intensifying his long-standing involvement as a motorsport entrepreneur. With HRT, the well-known racing driver and successful real estate developer is now turning his long cherished vision of his own motorsport team into reality. In 2020, the newly-founded HAUPT RACING TEAM will be competing in the Nürburgring Endurance Series (NLS), the Nürburgring 24-hour race and the GT World Challenge Europe. In terms of know-how and manpower, HRT is relying on experienced experts with whom Haupt has been able to achieve outstanding GT3 success in previous years. Straight away, the team is receiving extended support from Mercedes-AMG.
- HRT with Mercedes-AMG GT3 in Nürburgring Endurance Series
and 24-hour race Nürburgring - Additional participations in GT World Challenge Europe and 24 Hours of Spa
- New team with extended support from Mercedes-AMG
- Second activity of the team in professional esports
HRT to make its competition debut in Nürburgring Endurance Series
The first outing for the HAUPT RACING TEAM has been scheduled for 27th June: the opening round of the Nürburgring Endurance Series will see HRT on the grid with the further developed Mercedes-AMG GT3. For the debut, Patrick Assenheimer and Maro Engel will be alternating behind the wheel. In the following races, HRT’s involvement at the Nordschleife will increase to a total of three GT3 cars that will be competing in the NLS season and the Nürburgring 24-hour race (24th-27th September) with extended support from Mercedes-AMG Customer Racing. In the process, Adam Christodoulou, Manuel Metzger and Luca Stolz will be racing together. Drivers of the two additional GT3 cars will be Nico Bastian, Yelmer Buurman and Hubert Haupt as well as Patrick Assenheimer, Dominik Baumann, Dirk Müller and Maro Engel, the latter being a double starter.
The international debut looks set to take place at Imola where the GT World Challenge Europe will get underway for Haupt and his team on 25th July. In this competition, HRT is also racing with extended support from Affalterbach: Vincent Abril, Maro Engel and Luca Stolz will be competing for points on behalf of the Mercedes-AMG Team HRT. They will also be on the grid for the series’ highlight, the 24-hour race at Spa-Francorchamps (22nd-25th October). For Hubert Haupt, it is the clear goal to have a fully competitive overall package on the grid for both series, one that is in contention for victory from the very beginning. Possible additional race participations as well as an expansion of the programme with further Mercedes-AMG GT3 cars will be decided on at a later stage.
Running his own team as a new challenge in motorsport
By founding HRT, Hubert Haupt is facing a new challenge in motorsport: after a career as a driver spanning over three decades, the former DTM driver and multiple 24-hour race winner is now involved as a team owner for the first time. A long and successful career in GT3 racing, most recently with BLACK FALCON, preceded the decision. With this team, Haupt won, among others, the Dubai 24 Hours on three occasions already and finished as runner-up in the Nürburgring 24 Hours in 2019.
Haupt, who is also part of Mercedes-AMG’s extended line-up of Nordschleife specialists, has managed to get renowned experts on board for his HRT project: among others, Sean Paul Breslin will be the team principal while Marvin Wagner will be HRT’s technical director. As the chief engineer, Renaud Dufour will co-ordinate all the operational racing activities. For its participation in the Nürburgring Endurance Series, the GT World Challenge Europe and the 24-hour races, the team will be receiving extended support from Mercedes-AMG straight away and will be running as one of the Performance Teams as a result. Preparation of the activities and the cars is located in Meuspath near the Nürburgring.
A simultaneous entry in professional sim racing
Next to its involvement in real-world motorsport, HRT will also become active in virtual racing: with the HAUPT RACING TEAM eSPORTS, the Munich entrepreneur is adding a parallel activity to his portfolio, dedicated to the booming segment of sim racing. In this environment that is rapidly becoming more and more professional, Hubert Haupt has also set himself the goal of having a fully competitive team available as quickly as possible.
Hubert Haupt, HRT: “I am really looking forward to the new challenge. Throughout my years in motorsport, I have always had this idea of setting up my own team. I know that this involves a lot of commitment and a huge responsibility. But with the future constellation and these top people at my side, I am convinced that establishing HRT is the right decision. Especially now, in difficult times for sporting events, I also wanted to give a sign that things are continuing and that I am keeping my faith in the fascination of motorsport. I am convinced that, with HRT, we will find our place among the top teams in GT3 racing really soon.”
About HRT
HRT stands for HAUPT RACING TEAM and is a brand of Hubert Haupt Motorsport GmbH, headquartered in Grünwald near Munich. In its debut season 2020, the team will be competing with the Mercedes-AMG GT3 in the Nürburgring Endurance Series and in the GT World Challenge Europe. Preparation of the activities and the cars is located in Meuspath near the Nürburgring. Owner of the team is racing driver and entrepreneur Hubert Haupt. Next to motorsport, Haupt is particularly known as a successful real estate developer. With his real estate holding, he is turning residential and commercial concepts in the south of Germany into reality, from innovative buildings to entire districts.
