The Haupt Racing Team enjoyed a successful Saturday at round five of this season’s DTM at the Red Bull Ring in Spielberg. Maximilian Götz, at the wheel of the #4 Mercedes-AMG GT3 in the pink BWT livery, finished second in qualifying and in the opening race. Team-mate Vincent Abril also maintained his position, ending the race in ninth place in the #5 car sporting the blue and yellow livery of team partner Bilstein.
- Mercedes-AMG Team HRT #4: Maximilian Götz finishes runner-up to take his place on the podium
- Mercedes-AMG Team HRT #5: Vincent Abril picks up two points
- Maximilian Götz closes the gap to the championship leader
Max Götz produced an impressive lap in qualifying on Saturday to secure second place on the grid for the afternoon’s one-hour race in the pink and blue #4 BWT Mercedes-AMG GT3. His team-mate Vincent Abril (MCO), in the yellow and blue #5 Bilstein Mercedes-AMG GT3, qualified ninth in the 20-strong DTM field.
Both cars, appearing under the official entry Mercedes-AMG Team HRT, made a good start to the 60-minute opening race. Max Götz was able to pull clear of the cars behind him on lap two, and maintained that gap for the entire race. After an early pit stop on lap eight – at 5.871 seconds, the fastest in the entire field – he continued his flawless display. He was able to close the gap to the leader towards the end of the race, but ultimately narrowly missed out on his second win of the season. Götz picked up 18 points for his second place, cutting the gap to the championship leader to just ten points and strengthening his grip on second place in the overall standings.
Team-mate Vincent Abril was made to work a little harder: he was held up by late pit stops from other cars and was consequently unable to stay in touch with the leading group. Despite this, he defended his position on the final lap, crossing the finish line ninth to score two points.
Part one of the DTM weekend is over. Tomorrow, HRT lines up for race two at the Red Bull Ring. The 20-minute qualifying session starts at 10:20. The lights go green to signify the start of the race at 13:30. The race will be broadcast live on TV on SAT.1 as well as in a free livestream on www.ran.de and the organiser’s YouTube channel. On the race day, the latest standings and results are also available in the live timing.
Maximilian Götz, driver, Mercedes-AMG Team HRT #4: “I am very happy with second place. We got the maximum out of the situation. We were able to open up a gap at the start, which gave us some breathing space as the race progressed. At the pit stop, we were once again the fastest. The team did a super job. In the end, we controlled the race and were closing the gap to the leader. Mega race day. We will now be looking to repeat that success tomorrow.”
Vince Abril, driver, Mercedes-AMG Team HRT #5: “I was lacking a little pace out on the track, but the balance of the car was good. We are all working well as a team, as shown by the fast pit stops like the ones we had today.”
Uli Fritz, Managing Director of Haupt Racing Team GmbH: “It was a very good race for us, in which we scored important points. We had the best pit stops in the field again and made the most out of the situation with both cars. We are ready to push again tomorrow.”
About HRT
HRT stands for HAUPT RACING TEAM. Formed in July 2020 by racing driver and entrepreneur Hubert Haupt, the team enjoys success in GT3 racing. HRT lines up with extended works support from Mercedes-AMG in many of the team's outings. The outings and cars are prepared in Meuspath, not far from the Nürburgring. HRT also has its own eSPORTS team in the professional sim racing sector and is a sought-after partner for motorsport events of all sorts. HRT can call on a host of experts with a wealth of motorsport and engineering experience, which the diverse motorsport company leverages when implementing technical development projects for and with its partners. The headquarters of Haupt Racing Team GmbH is Grünwald near Munich. The team owner is racing driver and businessman Hubert Haupt. As well as motorsport, Haupt is primarily known as a successful property developer. With his real estate company, he implements high-quality living and building concepts in southern Germany – from innovative buildings to complete districts.
