AMG Customer Sports: Seasonal outlook 2013 - From the US to Japan – SLS AMG GT3 starts on five continents

Don't Copy From This Blog...

The customer sports program of Mercedes-AMG will take an active part in the 2013 racing year all over the globe. The SLS AMG GT3 will moreover start in the US for the first time. In the 2013 motorsports season, the race version of the gullwing car will take part in more than 22 race series on five continents. The German team H.T.P. Motorsport will enter three SLS AMG GT3 into the new FIA GT World. Seyffarth Motorsport will participate in the race series as well. The gullwings will fight for the overall victory in the 24-hour races of Nürburgring and in Spa-Francorchamps (Belgium). Three SLS AMG GT3 are expected to participate in the German ADAC GT Masters. Three teams will be facing the competition in the Japanese Super GT Series. Two SLS AMG GT3 were recently entered into the US American Pirelli World Challenge by the teams Black Swan and Green Hornet Racing.

In preparation for the season at the end of February 2013, a great number of AMG customer teams took advantage of the perfect conditions in the test and setting drives on „Autódromo Internacional do Algarve“ in Portimão (Portugal). All support units of the AMG customer sports program gathered on-site, providing professional support. With Bernd Schneider, Thomas Jäger and Lance David Arnold (all GER), the teams were provided advice and assistance by experienced race professionals.

Ola Källenius, chairman of the board, Mercedes-AMG GmbH: “Our customer sports program is in its third year now, and this is the first time that the SLS AMG GT3 will also participate in races in the United States. This is one indicator pointing out to an exciting 2013 motorsports season. Racing is an essential part of AMG and its DNA. In 2013, AMG again is based upon three pillars: With the SLS AMG GT3 customer sports program, the Mercedes AMG C-Coupé in the popular DTM and with the team MERCEDES AMG PETRONAS in Formula 1, AMG is based very broadly.“

Uli Fritz, head of AMG Customer Sports: “In the 2013 motorsports season we also hold on to our philosophy of merely using the SLS AMG GT3 for customer sports and not for factory entries. We continue to focus on providing the AMG customer teams with the best assistance possible. Not only the victories of the previous years, but also our impressive number of sold cars, which has in the meantime risen to 63 race gullwings, have shown the success of this strategy. We want to thank the teams, which are facing the third year of competition with us, for their confidence – moreover we are looking forward to receiving the new teams in the family of AMG customer sports.“

AMG starts in US American Pirelli World Challenge

For the first time in the history of AMG customer sports, two SLS AMG GT3 started in a race on the North American continent. In the first race of the new US American Pirelli World Challenge on the race track „Streets of St. Petersburg“ in Florida, Peter LeSaffre (USA) of Green Hornet Racing as well as Tim Pappas (USA) of Black Swan were behind the wheel. The Pirelli World Challenge comprises nine races, almost 30 vehicles will be competing in the GT class. Black Swan were among the top ten twice already in the first weekend, winning places 8 and 9. Green Hornet achieved solid results winning position 11 in the first race, in the second race, however, Peter LeSaffre had to retire from the race prior to end.

Successful start of the 2013 motorsports season

The customer teams Abu Dhabi by Black Falcon and Erebus Motorsport GT celebrated a successful start of the season in winter 2013. In both the Dubai 24 Hours (UAE) as well as the Bathurst 12 Hour race (Australia) it was a SLS AMG GT3 to cross the finish line first. The GT3 prelude in Europe will take place the coming weekend. In Nogaro, France, the new FIA GT World will celebrate its premiere (29th March to 1st April 2013). 26 cars, 16 teams and eight brands will be facing the competition in the successor series of the FIA GT World Championship, which existed for many years. H.T.P.-Gravity Charouz will enter three SLS AMG GT3 in the categories Pro Cup, Pro-Am and Gentlemen’s Trophy. Seyffarth Motorsport is also going to participate in the new FIA GT World.

The first race of the German VLN Endurance Championship Nürburgring had to be cancelled due to difficult weather conditions. The prelude of the VLN on the legendary Nordschleife (“north loop“) and the short circuit of the Grand-Prix course will take place on 13th April 2013. ROWE RACING and Car Collection will take part in the first VLN race, Black Falcon will have to skip the race because of an overlapping race.

Highlight of the season – 24 Hours Nürburgring

One of the traditional highlights of the German motorsports season is the 24 Hours Nürburgring – this year it will take place from the 17th to the 20st of May 2013. Black Falcon, ROWE RACING and Car Collection will be facing their strong competitors. Bernd Schneider (team Black Falcon), Lance David Arnold and Thomas Jäger (both team ROWE RACING) will support the customer teams as part of the AMG support program and take an active part in the endurance classic in the Eifel themselves.

Three SLS AMG GT3 in the ADAC GT Masters

In 2013, three SLS AMG GT3 will participate in the fight for the title in the ADAC GT Masters. H.T.P. Motorsport enters two cars into the race while Seyffarth Motorsport enters one. The ADAC GT Masters starts on 26th of April in Oschersleben and comprises 16 races. Two races take place every race weekend. The private TV station Kabel 1 again broadcasts all races live and in full length.

Blancpain Endurance Series – three teams in competition

In the Blancpain Endurance Series, three teams are facing the competition: Black Falcon from Germany enters two gullwing race cars. As in the previous years, the British team Preci-Spark will join the race. Fortec Motorsport from Great Britain is a new participant in this year’s race. The starting field of the Blancpain Endurance Series with about 60 cars is certainly going to show committing motorsports. The race in Monza, Italy on 14th April 2013 will be the prelude while the highlight of the season will be the 24-hour race of Spa-Francorchamps in Belgium on 27th and 28th July 2013. The final of the endurance championship takes place on Nürburgring on 22nd September 2013.

Five AMG customer teams starting in Asia

The SLS AMG GT3 will also play a great role in Japan. With RQ‘s Motorsport, Leon Racing, Gainer and Shift, four teams will participate in the Japanese Super GT. The PETRONAS Syntium Team will show its best performance in the Super Taikyu Series, in order to build on their success of 2012 and achieve a confident victory. Also in the Malaysia Merdeka Endurance Race lasting 12 hours, the PETRONAS Syntium Team wants to continue to be as successful as last year.

From Australia to Brazil

Besides the big championships, which are mainly held on European tracks, customer teams with the SLS AMG GT3 will also take part in races on the continents of South America and Australia as well as in smaller national race series:

- Australian GT-Championship: Erebus Racing

- Brazilian GT-Championship: AMattheis Motorsport

- British GT-Championship: Fortec Motorsport

- DMV TCC: ANTeam, Land Motorsport, Schütz Motorsport

- FIA CEZ: Premium Poland Motorsport

- French GT-Championship: Autosport Promotion

- GT Open: Seyffarth Motorsport

- Slovakia GT: TopCar Machének

- Spanish and Portuguese GT-Championship: Sports & You

- Supercar International Series: Sports & You

Walk of Fame in Affalterbach

The new Walk of Fame is a tribute to the numerous successes of AMG customer teams and their drivers: As in Hollywood, the names of all AMG team and driver champions as well as the AMG endurance champions of 12- and 24-hour races are being perpetuated on engraved stone flags. A statement by Ola Källenius, chairman of the board, Mercedes-AMG GmbH: “Through the Walk of Fame in Affalterbach we want to give thanks to our customer teams and their drivers for their encouragement. We are very proud that, around the world, we have managed to achieve such a great number of victories with the race gullwing car in the course of just a few years. I am looking forward to a successful season 2013 and a Walk of Fame that will be ever growing.“

~ Official photos and details courtesy of Mercedes-AMG GmbH ~

Copyright © 2013, mercedesgla. All rights reserved.

Read More

Successful 2012 motorsports season for AMG Customer Teams: SLS AMG GT3: 9 titles and 43 victories

Don't Copy From This Blog...

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.“

* Official photos and details courtesy of Mercedes-AMG GmbH *

Copyright © 2012, mercedesgla. All rights reserved.

Read More

Exceptionally successful week for AMG Customer Sports: Double title hat trick for the SLS AMG GT3

Don't Copy From This Blog...

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.”

* Official photos and details courtesy of Mercedes-AMG GmbH *

Copyright © 2012, mercedesgla. All rights reserved.

Read More

Successful race weekend for AMG Customer Sports Teams worldwide: Two championship titles in the FIA GT3 European Championship

Don't Copy From This Blog...

The race weekend on the 22nd/23rd September 2012 shows an impressing success rate for the AMG Customer Sports Teams which operate with the Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG GT3 worldwide. Three victories and ten podium positions in seven races and two championship titles – these are the pleasing results of the races on the Nürburgring and on Phillip Island (Australia). Maximilian Buhk (GER) and Dominik Baumann (AUT) from the AMG Customer Sports Team HEICO-Gravity Charouz managed to win the driver title in the FIA GT3 European Championship. During the last race on the Nürburgring the German-Austrian driver duo achieved two confident victories on Saturday and Sunday. Their team colleagues Max Nilsson (SWE) and Mika Vähämäki (FIN) finished in positions three and eight. Due to these results, HEICO-Gravity Charouz also managed to secure their title in the team ranking, as they had already done in the 2011 season.

Norbert Brückner, team manager HEICO-Gravity Charouz Team: „We are all extremely happy about this super successful weekend here on the Nürburgring. Not only could we secure the FIA GT3 European Championship Title as a team but we even had the performance to build up on the success of 2011. Maximilian and Dominik managed to win the driver title already on Saturday with a confident start-finish victory! I want to thank the whole team which has been working hard for these results.“

Maximilian Buhk: „Winning no fewer than two titles in the FIA GT3 European Championship for the HEICO-Gravity Charouz Team is more than I would have ever dared to dream of. My team colleague Dominik Baumann and I have had a great season!“

Dominik Baumann: „Winning the team title in 2011 with HEICO-Gravity Charouz and building up on this success together with my team colleague Maximilian Buhk here at the last race weekend and also winning the driver title in the FIA GT3 European Championship means very much to me! During the entire season, the SLS AMG GT3 has been perfectly prepared and very reliable.”

FIA GT1 World Championship: In the FIA GT1 World Championship, which was held parallelly, Marc Basseng and Markus Winkelhock (both GER) of ALL-INKL.COM Münnich Motorsport managed to finish third and second. Due to these results, they took over the lead in the driver ranking and thus have optimal prerequisites for the last race on the coming weekend in Donington (Great Britain). Their team colleagues Thomas Jäger (GER) and Nicky Pastorelli (ITA) achieved positions six and eight. Due to these results, ALL-INKL.COM Münnich Motorsport was able to keep on its leading position in the team ranking.

Markus Winkelhock: „It feels great to start the final race having the leading position in the driver ranking and the team ranking. It was a close fight in the race on Sunday – at first with BMW and McLaren and then with Lamborghini. However, our pace was very good and thus we could defend our positions and cross the finish line in the second position.”

Blancpain Endurance Series: The AMG Customer Sports Teams Black Falcon (GER) and Preci-Spark (GB) took start positions in the penultimate race, which was also held on the Nürburgring. Black Falcon started the three-hour race from positions five and 13. The driver pair Congfu Cheng (CHN), Mike Parisy (FRA) and Jeroen Bleekemolen (NED), who participated in the PRO-Cup, came home second after a commanding finish. Their team colleagues Oliver Morley (GB), Steve Jans (LUX) and Sean Edwards (GB), who participated in the PRO-AM Cup, finished sixth and won the PRO-AM Cup. The British AMG Customer Sports Team Preci-Spark with the twins David and Godfrey Jones started from the last starting position after an accident at the beginning of the qualifying and crossed the finish line in position 38.

Australian GT Championship: The guest entry of the AMG brand ambassador and former DTM driver Maro Engel in the Australian AMG Customer Sports Team Erebus Racing was a full success. Engel, who took part in the fifth race of the Australian GT Championship on Phillip Island as part of the AMG Driver Support, managed to bring home two podium positions. Maro Engel ended the first race on Saturday winning the second position and set up a new lap record after he entered the race from the pole position. Engel managed to achieve a confident victory in the second race on Sunday. His team colleague Peter Hackett (AUS) in the second SLS AMG GT3 of Erebus Racing, finished third on Saturday and second on Sunday. He managed to build up on his leading position in the Australian GT Championship.

Ola Källenius, Managing Director Mercedes-AMG GmbH: „I am very happy about the fact that the HEICO-Gravity Charouz Team managed to win no fewer than two titles in the FIA GT3 European Championship here on the Nürburgring. The start position in the FIA GT1 World Championship for the AMG Customer Sports Team ALL-INKL.COM Münnich Motorsport for the final in Donington on the coming weekend is more than promising. The guest entry of our AMG brand ambassador Maro Engel in the Australian GT Championship with one victory and a second position for Erebus Racing is also very pleasing. All of these successes on this race weekend are a welcome confirmation for our Customer Sports Programme with the SLS AMG GT3.“

~ Official photos and details courtesy of Mercedes-AMG GmbH ~

Copyright © 2012, mercedesgla. All rights reserved.

Read More

AMG customer sports teams successful at Sepang and Moscow: SLS AMG GT3 with a 1-2 in Malaysia Merdeka Endurance Race (MMER)

Don't Copy From This Blog...

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.

* Official photos and details courtesy of Mercedes-AMG GmbH *

Copyright © 2012, mercedesgla. All rights reserved.

Read More