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AMG Customer Teams acting around the globe showed a high level of teamwork in the 2012 motorsports season. With 9 titles and 43 successes, the SLS AMG GT3 scored numerous impressive successes on four continents. One of the highlights is the winning of the driver and team title in the FIA GT3 European Championship for AMG Customer Team HEICO-Gravity Charouz, the winning of the driver and team title in the FIA GT1 World Championship by ALL-INKL.COM Münnich Motorsport, the driver and team title in the ADAC GT Masters for kfzteile24 MS RACING Team as well as the championship title for PETRONAS Syntium Team in the Japanese Super Taikyu Series.This Sunday, BVA Racing won the driver and team title in the Brazilian GT Championship at Autódromo de Interlagos in São Paolo. The driver duo Cleber Faria and Duda Rosa (both BRA) left its competitors behind in a fight that was commiting until the end and finally won with a lead of just one point compared with the second placed team. Their team colleagues Vanuê Faria and Renan Guerra (both BRA) crossed the finish line sixth. The AMG Customer Team A.Mattheis Motorsport with Sérgio Jimenez and Paolo Bonifácio (both BRA) won the third position in the championship.
The further statistics of the 2012 motorsports year for AMG Customer Sports is impressive as well:
- 43 class victories
- 109 podium positions
- 242 top ten positions
- 27 pole positions
- 48 SLS AMG GT3 started in 28 race series on four continents
Ola Källenius, chairman of the board, Mercedes-AMG GmbH: “We have the right to be proud of the successful 2012 AMG Customer Sports season. With 9 titles on the whole, including the winning of the World Championship, the European Championship and 43 successes we even outmatched the pleasing debut year of 2011. My congratulations go to all AMG Customer Teams which achieved these successes with the SLS AMG GT3 in the highly competitive race series on four continents.”
Uli Fritz, head of AMG Customer Sports: “Winning the title in Brazil is an enormously welcome ending of an exceptionally successful season. In the meantime, we have sold more than 50 units of the SLS AMG GT3, which has established itself by a constantly high performance and reliability in the international motorsports scene. I want to thank everyone participating in our AMG Customer Sports Programme. It is everybody’s turn now to concentrate on the 2013 season, because four race version gullwing cars will be starting in the Dubai 24 Hours already in the beginning of January.” The successes in the individual race series at a glance:
FIA GT1 World Championship: By winning the driver and team rating, ALL-INKL.COM Münnich Motorsport crowns the 2012 season in the FIA GT1 World Championship. Marc Basseng and Markus Winkelhock (both GER) won the driver title with a lead of just one point. The sister car with Thomas Jäger (GER) and Nicky Pastorelli (ITA) ended the World Championship season on the sixth position. ALL-INKL.COM Münnich Motorsport quickly established itself in the top group of the highly competitive World Championship and scored two titles through a constant team performance.
FIA GT3 European Championship: Maximilian Buhk (GER) and Dominik Baumann (AUT) from HEICO-Gravity Charouz secured the driver title in the penultimate race ahead of time. Their team colleagues Max Nilsson (SWE) and Mika Vähämäki (FIN) ended the FIA GT3 European Championship on the sixth position. Additionally, the AMG Customer Team succeeded in defending the team title it had already won in 2011. The Czech-German team won seven out of twelve races and thus showed a confident performance during the season.
ADAC GT Masters (Germany): With their victory in the commanding final race on Hockenheimring, Sebastian Asch and Maximilian Götz (both GER) won the driver title. The driver duo of kfzteile24 MS RACING Team was the most constant team of the entire season, winning eight podium positions and achieving the pole position two times. At the same time, in the last race of the season, the team achieved the first victory of a Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG GT3 in the highly competitive ADAC GT Masters 2012. The sister car with Daniel Dobitsch and Florian Stoll (both GER) won the 22nd position in the championship.
HEICO Motorsport with Dominik Baumann and Hari Proczyk (both AUT), ended the championship on rank nine. Andreas Simonsen (SWE) and Maximilian Buhk (GER) from HEICO Junior Team finished eleventh. Alexandros Margaritis and Lance David Arnold (both GER) from Schöner Wohnen Polarweiss Team HEICO came 18th. Christiaan Frankenhout and Kenneth Heyer (both GER) from HEICO Motorsport achieved the 25th overall position.
Super Taikyu Series (Japan): Championship title for PETRONAS Syntium Team with the drivers Nobuteru Taniguchi and Dominic Ang (both JPN). Six class and overall successes each, six pole positions and 13 top ten positions confirm the good performance of the Japanese customer team. For the dominant team of the Japanese race series, this year’s winning the title was the fifth in a row.
Australian GT Championship: Winning of the runner-up spot for Peter Hackett (AUS) from Erebus Racing. With three victories and six further podium positions, Hackett was the best driver of a SLS AMG GT3 in the Australian GT Championship. His team colleague James Brock ended the season on the ninth position.
Iberian Supercars Trophy and Portugese GT Championship: Runner-up spot for José Pedro Fontes and Miguel Barbosa (both POR) from Sports & You team.
VLN Endurance Championship Nürburgring (Germany): ROWE RACING scored two overall victories in nine races on the Nordschleife (“north loop”), three further podium positions and on the whole ten top ten positions. With these successes, the AMG Customer Team evolved into the best SLS AMG GT3 team of the series. The Black Falcon team achieved a victory in the VLN.
Blancpain Endurance Series: Black Falcon won the ProAM-Cup with the drivers Oliver Morley (GB), Steve Jans (LUX) and Sean Edwards (GB) in the race at Nürburgring and ended the season on rank twelve. KRK Racing won the tenth position in the Blancpain Endurance Series.
British GT-Championship: The twins David and Godfrey Jones (both GB) from the team Preci-Spark achieved five top ten positions.
DMV-TCC (Germany): Land Motorsport scored three class victories and three podium positions with Christian Land and Stefan Eilentropp (both GER). ANTeam with Bruno and Edwin Stucky (both SUI) won seven top ten positions.
Special Touring Car Trophy (Germany): A podium position for Norbert Janz (GER) from Seyffarth Motorsport.
Touring Car and GT-Cup Austria: One overall victory, a class victory and a pole position for Mario Plachutta (AUT) from Lechner Racing.
International GT Open: Kenneth Heyer and Jan Seyffarth (both GER) from Seyffarth Motorsport won the class GTS twice.
Super GT (Japan): Haruki Kurosawa, Hironori Takeuchi (both JPN) from the team GREEN TEC & LEON with Shift ended the races five times among the top ten and once on the second position.
Spanish GT Championship: The Vodafone Team with António Coimbra, Luis Silva, José Pedro Fontes (all ESP) won two top ten positions.
Italian GT Championship: Two top ten positions for Gianluca De Lorenzi and Piero Necchi (both ITA) from GDL Racing.
Endurance Champions Cup Italia, Peroni: A class victory for G-Private Racing with Philip and Manuel Zumstein as well as Jörg Peham (all SUI).
French GT Championship (FFSA): Four podium positions for Sebastién Loeb Racing with Frédéric Gabillon and Gilles Vannelet (both FRA).
Dubai 24 Hours: At the beginning of the 2012 motorsport season, AMG Customer Teams already scored a commanding 1-2-3: In the Dubai 24 Hours, the team Abu Dhabi Black Falcon with Thomas Jäger (GER), Sean Edwards (GB), Jeroen Bleekemolen (NED) and Khaled Al Qubaisi (UAE) achieved the overall victory. The SLS AMG GT3 of HEICO Motorsport (Maximilian Buhk (GER), Christiaan Frankenhout (NED), Max Nilsson (SWE), Andreas Zuber (AUT) and Bernd Schneider (GER) as well as Kenneth Heyer (GER), Andreas Simonsen (SWE), Rodolfo Gonzalez (VEN) and Bernd Schneider (GER) came home second and third.
24 Hours Nürburgring: The gullwing car of HANKOOK Team HEICO Motorsport with the driver quartet Lance David Arnold (GER), Christiaan Frankenhout (NED), Pierre Kaffer (GER) and Andreas Simonsen (SWE), ended the 24-hour classic in the Eifel winning the third rank. The sister car retired from the race 15 minutes prior to end on the third position.
12 Hour race of Bathurst/Australia: The Australian Customer Team Erebus Racing with Peter Hackett (AUS), Tim Slade (AUS), Jeroen Bleekemolen (NED) and Bret Curtis (USA) came home second in the endurance race.
12 Hour race of Sepang: In the 12 Hour race of Sepang, the Malaysia Merdeka Endurance Race, PETRONAS Syntium Team achieved a double victory with the drivers Nobuteru Taniguchi (JPN), Masataka Yanagida (JPN) and Dominic Ang (MAS) as well as Tatsuya Kataoka (JPN), Farique Hairuman (MAS) and Melvin Moh (MAS).
Mercedes-AMG in Affalterbach honours AMG Customer Teams
AMG Customer Teams’ representatives from all over the world met at the big end of season party of the AMG Customer Sports Programme. Some 150 guests followed the invitation to Affalterbach in order to review the achievements of the 2012 season. After the official salutation by Ola Källenius, chairman of the board of Mercedes-AMG GmbH, the most successful teams of 2012 were honoured: from the award for the “Best Looking Car“ (Premium Motorsport Poland) to the awards for the championship titles in various race series. The presenters, among them five-time DTM Champion Bernd Schneider, repeatedly underlined their high respect for the Customer Teams’ achievements. The winners of all nine categories at a glance:
“FIA GT1World Championship“: ALL-INKL.COM Münnich Motorsport
“FIA GT3-European Championship“: HEICO-Gravity Charouz Team
“ADAC GT Masters“: kfzteile24 MS RACING Team
“Best Looking Car“: Premium Motorsports Poland
“Best Newcomer“: BVA Racing
“Best Gentleman Performance“: ANTeam
“Best Endurance Race Performance“: ROWE RACING
“Best 24h Performance“: Black Falcon
Lance David Arnold now member of AMG driver pool
As already in the 2012 season, AMG Customer Teams can also be strengthened through professional pilots from the AMG driver pool. Apart from Bernd Schneider, Thomas Jäger and Maro Engel, Lance David Arnold is from now on also part of the fast troop of Mercedes-AMG. The 26-year-old is another compassionate racer with gullwing car experience and endurance know-how who will assist the teams on request. The newest success of the driver originating from Duisburg, Germany, was the third rank in this year’s 24 Hours race at Nürburgring for the AMG Customer Team HANKOOK Team HEICO Motorsport. To participators of the AMG Driving Academy, Arnold is furthermore known as instructor.
Lance David Arnold: “Being part of the AMG driver pool is a great honour for me. A group, which one of my big role models in sports is also part of - the five-time DTM champion Bernd Schneider. I am already looking forward to my operations, in which I want to provide the customer teams not only with driving but also with technical knowledge in order to optimally develop the individual SLS AMG GT3 vehicles adjusted to the individual requirements of the respective teams.”
Uli Fritz: “I am very pleased about Lance David Arnold joining the AMG driver pool from now on. I am sure that his great know-how will be very helpful to our AMG Customer Teams. Due to his operations in the AMG Driving Academy, he has been part of the Mercedes-AMG family for quite some time.“.jpg)
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Six titles in three championships in one week: The success rate of AMG Customer Teams with the SLS AMG GT3 is very impressive. After Maximilian Buhk (GER) and Dominik Baumann (AUT) from the AMG Customer Team HEICO-Gravity Charouz won the driver and the team title in the FIA GT3 European Championship one week ago, kfzteile24 MS RACING Team won the driver and team title in the ADAC GT Masters. In the FIA GT1 Championship, ALL-INKL.COM Münnich Motorsport also managed to win the driver and the team title. Ola Källenius, Managing Director Mercedes-AMG GmbH: “Congratulations to the AMG Customer Teams that managed to accomplish a hat trick with the SLS AMG GT3 within one week. All of these excellent results are a perfect confirmation for our Customer Sports Programme.“
Victory, driver and team title in the ADAC GT Masters final
With their victory in the final race in the ADAC GT Masters on Hockenheimring, Sebastian Asch and Maximilian Götz (both GER) received the driver title. The driver duo of kfzteile24 MS RACING Team promisingly ranked on the third position in the first race on Saturday, when a tyre failure made them give up ten minutes prior to the end of the race. In the second race on Sunday, they started from the second position and took over the lead in lap 24. In the thrilling course of the race they managed to maintain their top position ahead of all competitors of the championship.
Asch / Götz was the most constant team of the entire season, they won podium positions eight times and achieved the pole position two times. At the same time, they achieved the first victory with a Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG GT3 in the ADAC GT Masters 2012. In the last race, Asch / Götz managed to convert a backlog of seven points in the championship ranking into a lead of 15 points. kfzteile24 MS RACING Team also came first in the team ranking. The sister car with Daniel Dobitsch and Florian Stoll (both GER), finished third on Saturday and had to retire from the race after a collision and a resulting tyre failure. At the end of the season, they rank on the 22nd championship position.
The good results in the ADAC GT Masters were rounded up by the second position for Dominik Baumann and Hari Proczyk (both AUT), who won the second place in the final race and the fourth place in the race on Saturday in the gullwing car of HEICO Motorsport. The Austrian driver duo ended the championship with the ninth position. Andreas Simonsen (SWE) and Maximilian Buhk (GER) ended the championship with the SLS AMG GT3 of the HEICO Junior Team on rank eleven, after positions 24 on Saturday and seven on Sunday. Alexandros Margaritis and Lance David Arnold (both GER) from the Schöner Wohnen Polarweiss Team HEICO achieved two fifth positions and end the ADAC GT Masters on rank 18. Christiaan Frankenhout and Kenneth Heyer (both GER) from HEICO Motorsport achieved places twelve and 13 in Hockenheim and come 25th in the overall ranking.
Sebastian Asch: „It is unbelievable! Yesterday, we were still very disappointed, ranking third after the failure. But again, it has become apparent that one must never give up and has to take all possible chances. Thanks to the entire team for their tireless efforts.”
Maximilian Götz: „I have tears in my eyes – we have won through our own strength. The winning of the title makes me very happy. I want to thank the entire team for their great work during the whole season!”
Harald Böttner, Team Manager kfzteile24 MS RACING Team: „A dream has come true by winning the driver and team title in the second season in the ADAC GT Masters. Sebastian and Maximilian were the most constant drivers of the entire season – and that they can even crown their title with a confident victory here in the final race in Hockenheim, adds to that joy. I want to thank all team members!”
Team and driver title in the FIA GT1 World Championship
With the victory in the team ranking, ALL-INKL.COM Münnich Motorsport crowns the 2012 season in the FIA GT1 World Championship : After the last race in Donington Park (Great Britain), the team from Friedersdorf in Saxony confidently ranks on the first position with 245 points. Marc Basseng and Markus Winkelhock (both GER) won the driver title with a lead of only one point.
Marc Basseng and Markus Winkelhock came to the final of the FIA GT1 World Championship as leader of the standings with a lead of one point in the driver ranking. Basseng / Winkelhock ended the Qualifying Race on Saturday on the fifth position. The Championship Race on Sunday had a dramatic course: Shortly after the driver change from Marc Basseng to Markus Winkelhock, an accident between the SLS AMG GT3 and the BMW Z4 of Yelmer Buurman (NED) occurred while fighting on the track. After a consequent safety car phase, the race was ended ahead of time. Basseng and Winkelhock were deprived of the points from the Championship Race according to the decision of the Race Management – nevertheless, they won the FIA GT1 World Champion Title with a lead of one point.
The sister car with Thomas Jäger (GER) and Nicky Pastorelli (ITA) both ended the Championship Race and the Qualifying Race on the sixth position. In the driver ranking, the German-Italian driver duo also come sixth.
Markus Winkelhock, driver ALL-INKL.COM Münnich Motorsport: “In the direct fight with Yelmer Buurman we accidentally collided, which produced the accident. For me and my team colleagues, it is of major importance that Yelmer is fine, considering the circumstances. We all wish him a soon recovery.”
Marc Basseng, driver and Team Manager ALL-INKL.COM Münnich Motorsport: “I am really pleased about winning the driver and the team title. We have shown a very constant team performance during the entire season. It is a pity how the decision came up today. I am very glad that Yelmer Buurman is about to recover and I want to wish him well in the name of the entire team.”
Victory for Black Falcon with Schneider / Bleekemolen in the VLN
The penultimate race of the VLN Endurance Championship Nürburgring, the ROWE 250 Miles Race, was accompanied by sunny late summer weather. Bernd Schneider (GER) and Jeroen Bleekemolen (NED) managed to win in the SLS AMG GT3 of the AMG Customer Team Black Falcon. For AMG brand ambassador Bernd Schneider, who started for Black Falcon as part of the AMG Driver Support, this victory was a special one: “The first position here on the Nürburgring is something exceptional for me, as it is my first victory ever with the SLS AMG GT3. In addition, I am very happy to have achieved my second overall win in the VLN after 1990! I want to thank the entire Black Falcon Team.”
The AMG Customer Team ROWE RACING with Marko Hartung, Nico Bastian (both GER) and Mark Bullit (USA) came home third. Consequently, two out of three race edition gullwing cars in starting positions have reached podium positions in the Eifel. The sister car of ROWE RACING with Roland Rehfeld, Jan Seyffarth, Maro Engel (all GER) had to end the race ahead of time due to an accident which was not self-inflicted. Maro Engel, who started for the first time for ROWE RACING in the VLN as part of the AMG Driver Support, could unfortunately not build up on the successful last race weekend of the Australian GT Championship. One week ago, the AMG brand ambassador won positions one and two in the SLS AMG GT3 of Erebus Racing.
Uli Fritz, Head of AMG Customer Sports: “Six titles in one week, the victory in the World and the European Championship as well as the ADAC GT Masters – the situation could hardly be better for AMG Customer Teams. The victory for Black Falcon in the ninth VLN race with Bernd Schneider and Jeroen Bleekemolen as drivers also shows the competitiveness of our race gullwing car.”.jpg)
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For the second time, an SLS AMG GT3 wins the Malaysia Merdeka Endurance Race (MMER). Like in 2011, the PETRONAS Syntium Team’s gullwing with Nobuteru Taniguchi (JPN), Masataka Yanagida (JPN) and Dominic Ang (MAS) came out as the winner with a dominant performance in the twelve-hour race of Sepang / Malaysia. The sister car with Tatsuya Kataoka (JPN), Farique Hairuman (MAS) and Melvin Moh (MAS) completed the success of the Malaysian team in its home race by finishing second. In qualifying for the 13th running of the Malaysia Merdeka Endurance Race, the two SLS AMG GT3 already convinced with the second and third fastest time at the 5.543 kilometres long Sepang International Circuit. In the race, the good performance seamlessly continued: both Nobuteru Taniguchi with the number 1 gullwing and Tatsuya Kataoka with the number 28 sister car were able to defend their starting grid positions. The race turned into a high-class endurance affair with a thrilling battle for the lead in the 30-car field. On lap 90, Masataka Yanagida moved up into the lead for the first time with his SLS AMG GT3, but he lost it again during the subsequent pit stop. Back in the hunt, the two gullwing crews proved that they had strong nerves. Eventually, their stamina was rewarded at the end of the ninth racing hour: both PETRONAS Syntium cars benefited from an unscheduled pit stop of the race leader to take the lead. During the three final hours of the race, the pair of Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG GT3 cars continued their trouble-free ride and held on to their undisputed double race lead until the finish. After twelve hours, the double success for the PETRONAS Syntium Team was perfect: with a total of 319 laps, the crew of final driver Taniguchi claimed victory like last year. The sister car with number 28, which had finished third in 2011, came home in second place this time, two laps down.
David Wong, team principal of the PETRONAS Syntium Team: “For us as a Malaysian team, the MMER at Sepang is a kind of home race and, of course, a highlight on the racing calendar. Our consistency throughout the twelve hours’ duration was the key to today’s success. This 1-2 is a dream coming true. My thanks to the entire team that has worked so hard to achieve this.”
FIA GT3 European Championship: The HEICO Gravity Charouz team was one of the dominating teams in the fifth round of the FIA GT3 European Championship that took place at Moscow / Russia. In both qualifying sessions on Saturday, the driver pairing of Maximilian Buhk (GER) and Dominik Baumann (AUT) set the fastest time with their Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG GT3. In the first race on Sunday, the German-Austrian gullwing pairing turned their pole position into a dominant race win, their fourth victory during the 2012 European Championship season. In the second race, which followed only a few hours later, heavy rain prevented a repeat of this success: in the turbulent race, Buhk / Baumann secured fifth place and scored more points in the battle for the drivers’ title. With only one round remaining (Nürburgring, September 22nd and 23rd), they are leading the European Championship standings with an advantage of 26 points. Driving the sister car of the German-Czech AMG customer team, Max Nilsson (SWE) and Mika Vähämäki (FIN) retired from the first race and weren’t classified. In the second race, they finished seventh and thus added valuable points for the teams’ standings, in which the HEICO Gravity Charouz team remains in a promising second place.
Norbert Brückner, team manager HEICO Gravity Charouz team: “The weekend here at Moscow got off to a very good start for us. In the first race, Maximilian and Dominik were able to convert their pole-position into a great victory. Too bad that it didn’t work out in the second race as well. However, our position prior to the Nürburgring finale is still very good. We are able to win the drivers’ title and with a little bit of luck, we are also able to defend our teams’ title.”
FIA GT1 World Championship: ALL-INKL.COM Münnich Motorsport has used the sixth round of the FIA GT1 World Championship to remain on course towards the title: with two rounds remaining, the AMG customer team maintains its lead in the World Championship teams’ standings with an advantage of 34 points. At the newly-opened, 3.931 kilometres long Moscow Raceway, where the GT1 World Championship and the European GT3 Championship had their races together, Marc Basseng (GER) and Markus Winkelhock (GER) scored the team’s best results: in the qualification race, the duo finished second and in the subsequent championship race, they ended up fifth in extremely challenging track conditions. With the sister car, Nicky Pastorelli (ITA) and Thomas Jäger (GER) finished fifth in the qualification race. In the championship race, they were in a promising third place until they dropped back after they innocently had become involved in a collision and eventually were classified eighth. In the drivers’ standings, Basseng / Winkelhock remain in second place, Jäger / Pastorelli are fifth..jpg)
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Around the globe, 25 customer teams have achieved exemplary good results with the SLS AMG GT3. In the motorsport season of 2012, the race version of the gullwing car starts in more than 15 race series and on four continents. So far, the customer teams have managed to achieve 18 victories in 2012 (dated 25th June 2012). Ola Källenius, chairman of the board of the Mercedes-AMG GmbH: "We are very pleased about the numerous successes achieved by our customer teams with the race version of the gullwing car. So far, we have shipped 49 SLS AMG GT3s worldwide."FIA GT1 World Championship: The AMG Customer Team ALL-INKL.COM Münnich Motorsport confidently takes the lead of the team ranking with 104 points. Having finished among the top three for five times in the first four out of nine race weekends, the German gullwing team is among the challengers for the title. The driver team Marc Basseng / Markus Winkelhock (both GER) ended the race in Nogaro and on the Slovakia Ring winning the respective third position in each, in Navarra they ended the second race finishing second. The sister car, driven by Thomas Jäger (GER) and Nicky Pastorelli (ITA) finished second in the first race in Zolder as well as in the second race in Navarra. Taking the third position in the driver's ranking, Basseng / Winkelhock are currently very close to the front position whereas their team colleagues Jäger / Pastorelli take the fifth position in the ranking with the same number of points. The next FIA GT1 World Championship races take place on the Autodromo Algarve in Portimão/Portugal from 6th to 8th July 2012.
FIA European GT3 Championship: The German-Czech AMG Customer Team HEICO-GRAVITY CHAROUZ won both races in Navarra, Spain, which was the third event in the race calendar. Max Nilsson (SWE) and Mika Vähämäki (FIN) ended the first race winning the first position with their SLS AMG GT3, their team colleagues Maximilian Buhk (GER) and Dominik Baumann (AUT) won the second race. Halfway through the season, the German-Austrian duo, which additionally had victories in Nogaro and Zolder, is top of the driver's ranking with 94 points while HEICO-GRAVITY CHAROUZ comes second in the team ranking. The next FIA European GT3 Championship takes place on the Autodromo Algarve in Portimão/Portugal on 8th July 2012.
ADAC GT Masters: After finishing in the second position once and in the third position twice, Sebastian Asch and Maximilian Götz (both GER) occupy a promising second position in the overall driver's ranking. After six out of 16 races, the kfzteile24 MS RACING Team also won the second position in the team ranking. The customer teams HEICO Motorsport (Kenneth Heyer / Christiaan Frankenhout, GER / NL as well as Harald Proczyk / Dominik Baumann, both AUT), HEICO Junior Team (Maximilian Buhk / Andreas Simonsen, GER / SWE) as well as SMS Seyffarth Motorsport (Maximilian Meyer / Jan Seyffarth, both GER) finish in positions 11, 12 and 13. The Schöner Wohnen Polarweiss Team HEICO with Lance David Arnold and Alexandros Margaritis (both GER) comes 15th. The next two ADAC GT Masters races take place on the Nürburgring Grand-Prix track from 13th to 15th July 2012.
Blancpain Endurance Series: The Belgian AMG Customer Team KRK Racing takes the third position in the team ranking after two out of six races. Karl Wendlinger (AUT), Anthony Kumpen and Koen Wauters (both BEL) finished third in the opening race in Monza (Italien) and currently come fourth in the driver's ranking of the Pro Cup. The sister car with Raf Vanthoor, Dennis Retera and Marius Ritskes (all BEL) started in the Pro/Am Cup, where professional drivers and amateur drivers share the cockpit. Black Falcon starts with two SLS AMG GT3s in the Pro/Am Cup. The drivers Bret Curtis (USA), Mike Parisy (FRA) and Steve Jans (LUX) rank ninth, their team colleagues Oliver Morley (GB), Jérôme Thiry (BEL) and Riccardo Brutschin (GER) have not succeeded in making any points yet, similar to the British team Preci-Spark with David and Godfrey Jones as well as Michael Jordan (all GB). The next race of the Blancpain Endurance Series takes place on 1st July on the Circuit Paul Ricard in Le Castellet (France).
VLN Endurance Championship Nürburgring: The Customer Team ROWE RACING achieved the best result in the famous race series. Alexander Roloff and Jan Seyffarth (both GER), ended the fourth VLN race on the second rank. In the first race, the SLS AMG GT3 of Black Falcon with the drivers Sean Edwards (GB), Manuel Metzger (CH) and Ralf Schall (GER) finished sixth. ROWE RACING ended the third VLN race in the seventh position with Mark Bullitt (USA), Marko Hartung, Roland Rehfeld and Michael Zehe (all GER). The fifth of a total of ten VLN races takes place on 7th July 2012.
24-hour races 2012: AMG Customer Teams successfully finished the first 24-hour race of the year 2012 in Dubai with a 1-2-3. The team Abu Dhabi Black Falcon with Thomas Jäger (GER), Sean Edwards (GB), Jeroen Bleekemolen (NL) and Khaled Al Qubaisi (UAE) crossed the finish line first, followed by two SLS AMG GT3s of HEICO Motorsport with Maximilian Buhk (GER), Christiaan Frankenhout (NL), Max Nilsson (SWE), Andreas Zuber (AUT) and Bernd Schneider (GER) as well as Kenneth Heyer (GER), Andreas Simonsen (SWE), Rodolfo Gonzalez (VEN) and double starter Bernd Schneider. After a commanding finish, the best placed gullwing car of the Hankook Team HEICO Motorsport with Maximilian Buhk (GER), Christiaan Frankenhout (NL), Max Nilsson (SWE), Andreas Zuber (AUT) and Bernd Schneider (GER) as well as Kenneth Heyer (GER), Andreas Simonsen (SWE), Rodolfo Gonzalez (VEN) and double starter Bernd Schneider (GER) finished the 24-hours Nürburgring with the third overall position.
24-hour race of Spa-Francorchamps: The next traditional endurance race in the motorsports season 2012 takes place in the Belgian Ardennes. As in 2011, several SLS AMG GT3 Customer Teams will participate in the 24-hour race of Spa-Francorchamps (28th to 29th July 2012), which is the highlight of the Blancpain Endurance Series. Besides Black Falcon, the Belgian team KRK Racing and the British team Preci-Spark will also participate.Further successes of the SLS AMG GT3 of the 2012 season summarized (Europe):
- International GT Open: In a close fight, the German duo Kenneth Heyer and Jan Seyffarth (both GER) of the team Seyffarth Racing managed to leave its competitors behind in the races of the Nürburgring event and achieved two class victories.
- French GT Championship: The AMG Customer Team Sébastien Loeb Racing with Gilles Vannelet and Frédéric Gabillon (both FRA) comes third in the overall ranking after six out of 14 season races. In the race in Val de Vienne, Gilles Vannelet managed to finish second. Jean-Pierre Champeau (FRA) of Graff Racing won the ninth position twice.
- Iberian Supercars Trophy: José Pedro Fontes / Miguel Barbosa (both POR) of the Team Sports & You come fifth and seventh in the overall ranking after two season races.
- Portugese GT-Championship: José Pedro Fontes / Miguel Barbosa finished among the top three for three times and rank third in the championship after two races.
- Spanish GT Championship: The SLS AMG GT3 of Sports & You had to end the race ahead of time in the second lap in Jamara. An accident stopped the run of Luis Silva and Antonio Coimbra (both POR), which had started from position five. In the third race in Motorland they finished ninth.
- British GT Series: After position nine in Oulton Park, positions six and ten in the Nürburgring races and position ten in Brands Hatch, the twins David and Godfrey Jones of the team Preci-Spark currently come 15th in the overall ranking.
- DMV Touring Car Championship: In the opening race on the Nürburgring, Land Motorsport won the overall second position and came first in class ten (FIA GT3) with Christian Land and Stefan Eilentropp (both GER). In the first race, the Swiss brothers Bruno and Edwin Stucky of ANTeam Motorsport won positions twelve and 20 with their two gullwing cars. In the second race they finished ninth and tenth. Stefan Eilentropp, who replaced Christian Land in the second race, crossed the finish line 15th. Christian Land also managed to achieve another class victory in the second event on the Hockenheimring. With his third overall position in the first race he was thus the most successful gullwing car driver of the weekend as well.
- Endurance Champions Cup: The German Team G-Private Racing entered two SLS AMG GT3s for the Italian endurance series ECC. Jörg Peham, Manuel and Philipp Zumstein (all CH) finished second in the 4-hour race of Imola and rank second after two out of four races. Ranking fourth, their team colleagues Otto Dragoun, Paul Pfefferkorn and Mathias Schmitter (all CH) complete the good team results.
- Touring cars' and GT-Cup Austria: First position for Mario Plachutta (AUT) of Lechner Racing in the GT3 category on the Red Bull Ring.Further successes of the SLS AMG GT3 in the 2012 season in other countries:
- Australian GT-Championship: Double success for Peter Hackett and Erebus Racing in the fourth race of the season in Winton. In the third race on Phillip Island, Erebus Racing achieved a double victory with Peter Hackett and James Brock (both AUS). James Brock, which currently occupies the second position in the overall ranking, had moreover already managed to win the second position in Adelaide for the Erebus Racing Team. Peter Hackett currently ranks fifth in the championship.
- In the Bathurst 12-hours race the Australian Customer Team of Erebus Racing with Peter Hackett (AUS), Tim Slade (AUS), Jeroen Bleekemolen (NL) and Bret Curtis (USA) managed to finish second.
- Super Taikyu Series (Japan): Three victories and two second positions in three races – results could hardly be better and the PETRONAS Syntium Team has reason to celebrate in view of the achieved points. After three out of seven races, the Japanes customer team confidently takes the lead in the GT-Championship.
- Japanese Super GT Series: On the Fuji Speedway, the AMG Customer Team GREEN TEC & LEON with SHIFT with Hironori Takeuchi and Haruki Kurosawa finished tenth.
- Brazilian GT Championship: Duda Rosa and Cleber Faria (both BRA) of the AMG Customer Team BVA Racing occupy the second position in the overall ranking after three out of nine races. Their team colleagues Vanuê Faria / Renan Guerra (both BRA) rank fourth. Paulo Bonifacio and Sérgio Jimenez (both BRA) of the Team A.Mattheis Motorsport won both races on the Autodromo Internacional of Curibita with the SLS AMG GT3 and currently rank fifth in the championship. In the third race of the season in Interlagos, Bonifacio / Jimenez finished second, ahead of Faria / Guerra. Rosa / Faria ended the race in the fifth position.Spare parts and technical support with the AMG Customer Sports Portal
Successful races with the SLS AMG GT3 – an excellent performance, high reliability and a fast adjustment of the car's setup to distinct track conditions is the bedrock of this success. But also a professional supply of spare parts and uncomplicated technical support are vital to the achievement of good results.
Uli Fritz, head of AMG Customer Sports: "We offer professional support for all customer teams – not only does this service comprise a thorough introduction and start-up procedure of the car, but also an uncomplicated and fast ordering of spare parts with assistance of the AMG Customer Sports Portal and our on-the-spot service with the supply parts truck on the European race tracks."
The AMG Customer Sports Portal was established for the start of the Customer Sports Program: The internet-based system is available around the clock seven days per week for all AMG Customer Teams worldwide and is available in German and English. The portal offers the possibility to order all spare and wear parts in an online shop. Technical information such as vehicle updates, maintenance instructions or the vehicle manual can be looked at or downloaded. Periodical updates by e-mail inform the teams about news. Thomas Jäger, coordinator of AMG Customer Sports supports the teams as central contact person in all organisational and technical questions.
Moreover, the teams profit from broad evaluation options and run-time recordings of their cars. The AMG Customer Sports Portal has an interactive structure: The customer teams can pass on improvement options to AMG. As a consequence, all teams profit collectively of this. Not only is the high transparency of the internet portal unique, but so is also the permanent development, to which big teams as well as small teams contribute in the same amount worldwide.
In addition to that, a telephone hotline for technical questions is available: On race weekends, it is available around the clock and on non-racing days from 7:00 to 22:00 o'clock.
Service truck with qualified support on the race tracks
AMG Customer Sport also directly supports the European SLS AMG GT3 Customer Teams on race weekends: An AMG service truck provides the teams with the most important spare and wear parts. Additionally, technicians provide help and advice. Moreover, teams can order an exclusive service and have an individually arranged spare parts package delivered to the desired race track.
49 SLS AMG GT3s shipped worldwide
So far, 49 SLS AMG GT3 have been shipped. An individual technical introduction by qualified specialists of the Mercedes-AMG GmbH and the technology and development partner HWA AG. Additionally, the start-up procedure of the car on the race track is always accompanied by experts of AMG Customer Sports. AMG also provides the customer teams with maximum support in questions concerning software and electronics for the SLS AMG GT3. The characteristics of the race version of the gullwing car are the long service intervals and the comparatively low maintenance costs. In order to be able to help the teams relieve their operating budgets, AMG Customer Sports has considerably lowered the price of the 40 most common spare parts by generating an economy of scale.
The Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG GT3 is developed and produced by Mercedes-AMG in close cooperation with the HWA AG. On behalf of and in permanent coordination with Mercedes-Benz Motorsport, HWA is responsible for the development and the operation of the AMG-Mercedes DTM Team. The characteristics of the close-to-series produced SLS AMG GT3 are its dynamic performance and, above all, its exemplary safety level, which is currently unmatched by other GT3 vehicles.* Official photos and details courtesy of Mercedes-AMG GmbH * Copyright © 2012, mercedesgla. All rights reserved.
Don't Copy From This Blog...
The 'family photo' included in the press kit for the 45th anniversary of AMG showcases the current portfolio of the Affalterbach firm, but it also reveals eight new models that shall be added the next five years. As the cars are hidden under silver, AMG-branded covers, the curiosity factor grows exponentially. So we have decided to give it a try and guess which new cars is Mercedes-AMG talking about. You can also express your own opinions on this subject by posting your comments.PHOTO 1
Not an entirely a new addition in terms of market segment, but an all new generation - this is clearly the future S-Class AMG (W 222). Unique silhouette and the traditional upright Mercedes-Benz grille are our key arguments for this choice.PHOTO 2
The dropping roofline and the longer body hint at the upcoming CLS 63 AMG Shooting Brake (X 218)PHOTO 3
This appears to be a mid-sized limousine. The traditional grille and the Star logo sitting on the engine bonnet tell us this could be the next C-Class AMG variant (W 205).PHOTO 4
Car 1 - Look at the long bonnet and the impressive grille that sketch under the cover: this is most certainly the 2015 SLC AMG supercar.Car 2 - Again, a rather sedan-ish architecture, but somehow sportier and coupe-ish. This could as well be the forthcoming CLA 25 AMG or the 2015 C-Coupe AMG (C 205).Car 3 - The angle is a bit confusing (SUV or MPV?), but we believe this has more chances of being the 2014 GLA 45 AMG (X 156) than a current generation B-Class AMG (W 246). The radiator grille looks to be more upright and the entire front fascia feels more solid and imposing.PHOTO 5
Car 4 - One very boxy, rugged shape and very specific grille and front apron: this is the first-ever GLK-Class AMG (X 204).Car 5 - Not hard at all: the hatchback body signals the advent of the new A 45 AMG.Some "X-rayed" photos for a better analysis and comparison:Copyright © 2012, mercedesgla. All rights reserved.
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