Walkenhorst Motorsport will line up with talented drivers in the 2024 ADAC GT Masters season

Premiere for Walkenhorst Motorsport in the 2024 season: The racing team from Melle will be competing in the ADAC GT Masters for the first time. The ADAC's long-standing GT3 racing series, which is entering its 18th season this year, will be increasingly organised as a junior series of the DTM. With the "Road to DTM" program, the ADAC wants to help talented young drivers from the DTM platform to make the transition to Germany's best-known racing series. The best youngster with a Silver driver classification, under the age of 25 and from the Silver or Pro-Am Cup Line Up, of the ADAC GT Masters, will receive funding for the 2025 DTM season in the form of the entry fee.

"Anyone who knows Walkenhorst Motorsport knows that promoting young talents is an important topic for us," said Jörg Breuer, Managing Director of Walkenhorst Motorsport. "We therefore fully support the ADAC in their plans to position the ADAC GT Masters as a junior racing series and the number of registrations proves them right. With the extremely high demand of drivers for the series, we have noticed it ourselves. Three highly talented drivers from the ADAC GT4 Germany will also be joining us in the ADAC GT Masters, which makes us very proud."

24-year-old Mike David Ortmann from Berlin, who has been ADAC GT4 Germany champion for the past two years, will return to the ADAC GT Masters with Walkenhorst Motorsport. Ortmann also won the Aston Martin Racing Driver Academy last year and will therefore receive a support from the British brand this year. Ortmann will share his Silver Cup car with Denis Bulatov from the Rhineland, who has also gained a lot of experience in the ADAC GT4 Germany, on the DTM platform. Bulatov has already gained some GT3 experience in the Fanatec GT World Challenge Europe pwrd. by aws, where he competed in cars from various brands. Bulatov also became GT4 champion in the GTC Race in 2021. Ortmann and Bulatov, the drivers who finished first and second in the ADAC GT4 Germany championship last year, will line up for the Aston Martin team in the ADAC GT Masters.

For this car with the number #34, Walkenhorst Motorsport is entering a co-operation with the BCMC Group, which itself runs a successful GT4 team. The two drivers will become members of the BCMC Academy, which also supports talented drivers in motorsport.

"Celebrating my comeback in the ADAC GT Masters together with Walkenhorst Motorsport and Denis is more than just a dream. I feel more ready than ever for the new challenge," said Aston Martin Racing Driver Academy winner Mike David Ortmann. "I would like to take this opportunity to thank the entire Walkenhorst Motorsport team, Aston Martin Racing and my sponsors for making this program possible!"

Two-time ADAC GT4 Germany race winner Denis Bulatov is very much looking forward to working with Walkenhorst Motorsport: "I'm really looking forward to the upcoming season and I'm extremely motivated! I can hardly wait to start the work with the team and on the new Aston Martin Vantage GT3."

The second brand-new Aston Martin Vantage GT3 from Walkenhorst Motorsport will also compete in the Silver Cup. American driver Chandler Hull will take his place at the wheel of the car. Hull has been a permanent member of the team since 2021 and won the title in the GT class of the Asian Le Mans Series with the team last year, which is why he and the team took also part in the legendary 24-hour race at Le Mans in June. Chandler Hull also drove on the Nürburgring-Nordschleife and in the DTM Trophy for the team from Lower Saxony. He shares the car with Nico Hantke, who is celebrating his 20th birthday right before the start of the season in Oschersleben. Hantke took part in last year's ADAC GT4 Germany with Walkenhorst Motorsport and finished fifth overall. He even finished second in the Junior classification. Together with WMS, Hantke has now made the step up to the ADAC GT Masters!

“I’m super excited to continue my relationship with Walkenhorst Motorsport this season after our Asian Le Mans Series championship and our successful first trip to Le Mans. ADAC GT Masters will be a new series for me as well as a switch of manufacturer to Aston Martin, but I am confident that Walkenhorst will provide me and Nico a strong car that we will be able to compete with”, said American driver Chandler Hull.

"I'm looking forward to the new challenge in the ADAC GT Masters and can hardly wait for the season to start”, said youngster Nico Hantke.

Niclas Königbauer, Managing Director at Walkenhorst Motorsport: "After the difficult transition year of 2023, the ADAC has made the right adjustments and turned the ADAC GT Masters into a highly interesting racing series for talented youngsters in GT racing. We are very satisfied with our driver line-up for our first ADAC GT Masters season. We have some of the best GT4 drivers of recent years in our team, plus our long-standing driver Chandler Hull, with whom we won the Asian Le Mans Series title last year. We know it's not going to be easy, but our goal is clearly to be at the front of the field with both cars!"