All set for the second half: ADAC GT Masters to make Spa-Francorchamps comeback

The ADAC GT Masters gets the second half of the season underway at the legendary Belgian racetrack of Spa-Francorchamps from 30th August to 1st September. The current top Mercedes-AMG and BMW drivers are especially keen to underline their title ambitions at Spa-Francorchamps. Among them are current championship leaders Elias Seppänen (FIN) and Tom Kalender (Hamm/Sieg) of Landgraf Motorsport. “We are in the best position in the driver standings, and we don’t want that to change at Spa. We want to be up there attacking at the front, bring home as many points as possible, and consolidate our position,” says Kalender. The new sprint and endurance format, which made its successful debut at the Nürburgring and is being repeated in Belgium, will add to the excitement. The PROsport Racing team will also be bolstering the starting field with two Aston Martin Vantage GT3.

The ADAC GT Masters is making its Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps comeback after nine years. This will be the third time the GT3 series steeped in tradition has been held at the 7.004-kilometre iconic track in the Ardennes that is loved by motorsport fans. In the past, the track has not only been the scene of many thrilling races, but also exudes a similar charm to the Nürburgring-Nordschleife with the surrounding Ardennes forests and the undulating passages. The drivers also rave about the world-famous turns Eau Rouge, Raidillon, Les Combes and La Source. For example, take Tim Zimmermann (Langenargen) of the Grasser Racing Team, who shares a Lamborghini Huracán GT3 Evo2 with Chile’s Benjamin Hites: “Spa is a fantastic racetrack whose characteristics make it ideal for the GT cars and therefore perfect for the ADAC GT Masters. I’m really looking forward to the event, where we are eager to finally bring home our first win of the season.”

The last time the ADAC GT Masters was held on the Ardennes rollercoaster back in 2015, the winning cars were a BMW Z4 GT3 and a Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG GT3. And this season is looking like it will go the same way: The two German premium manufacturers are currently setting the pace at the top. After David Schumacher (Salzburg) and Salman Owega’s (Cologne) double win at the Nürburgring, a three-way battle is brewing in the championship. The two Mercedes-AMG drivers of Haupt Racing Team reduced their deficit to the leaders from 42 to 23 points in the Eifel region and in third place are now embroiled in the race for the title. “I have never been to Spa before, so I’m even more excited for the weekend. The track has a lot to offer and should suit our car. I’m really looking forward to it and will be going full throttle once again with David,” says Owega. Also ready to pounce are Maxime Oosten (NL) and Leon Köhler (Erlenbach am Main/both FK Performance Motorsport), who, in their BMW M4 GT3, are just nine points off the leaders at the half-way point; Seppänen and Kalender in the Mercedes-AMG GT3 of Landgraf Motorsport.

PROsport Racing is making its ADAC GT Masters return at Spa. The team from Wiesemscheid near the Nürburgring last competed in the series in 2021; this year sees the racing team bolster the starting field for the fourth round of the season. Hugo Sasse (Aschersleben) and Austria’s Raphael Rennhofer will be taking it in turns at the wheel of one of the two Aston Martins. The second Vantage GT3 will be driven by Hendrik Still (Kempenich) and Jamie Day of the United Arab Emirates. “We are incredibly grateful to the ADAC for enabling our return and are looking forward to our first event. Our driver line-up combines experience and talented youngsters. I’m confident that we will be able to show off our skills with this mix,” explains team owner Christoph Esser. 

The free practice session gets the event underway at 12:50 on Friday, before the qualifying session at 17:10 determines the best starting positions for the seventh race of the season. The drivers will start the 80-minute endurance race at 11:05 on Saturday. Then on Sunday the ADAC GT Masters opens with the second qualifying session at 9:00 before the protagonists take on the 40-minute sprint race starting at 13:55. TV partner Sport1 will be showing the racing action live on German free TV starting at 11:00 on Saturday. On Sunday a summary of the best moments from the eight championship races will be shown on the sports channel starting at 17:00.