GT Masters Champions Enter Nürburgring with Porsche

Porsche will be represented on the DTM grid for the first time this weekend, courtesy of a guest entry for reigning ADAC GT Masters teams’ and drivers’ champions SSR Performance and Michael Ammermueller.

Ammermueller, who won the 2020 GT Masters title alongside Christian Engelhart, has been confirmed on the grid for the fourth round of the season at the Nürburgrring where he will pilot a Porsche 911 GT3 R.

The German driver also currently leads the German championship’s standings alongside his new co-driver for this year, Mathieu Jaminet.

SSR Performance’s commitment to the Nürburgrring event brings a seventh different manufacturer to the DTM’s GT3-based grid, in addition to Audi, BMW, Mercedes-AMG, Ferrari, Lamborghini and McLaren.

“As a business owner, I am always thinking about where and how the company can be positioned in the best way,” said SSR Performance managing director Stefan Schlund, who founded the outfit in 2016.

“With this guest participation, we want to explore whether DTM is the right platform to broaden the scope of SSR Performance even further in the future.

“We had a short-term, highly compressed planning phase and will be participating with a newly assembled team.

“We are looking forward to the guest participation at the Nürburgring with its long heritage.”

Ammermueller, who is seeking his fifth straight title in all competitions this year, is set for his DTM series debut in Saturday’s first of two 55-minute plus one lap races.

The 35-year-old won consecutive Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup crowns in 2017, 2018 and 2019, before capturing the GT Masters championship alongside Engelhart last year.

“I am very happy by the fact that SSR Performance has selected me as the driver for the DTM guest participation,” said Ammermueller.

“It will be my first race weekend in this series which surely will be a huge challenge. A perfect preparation wasn’t possible due to the limited time, regulations are different.

“That will definitely make it exciting and interesting. I will be highly motivated for my participation at the Nürburgring.”

Frederic Elsner, director of events and operations at DTM organizer ITR, added: “We are delighted to be able to welcome SSR Performance and Porsche in DTM.

“The team and the brand represent racing at the very highest level, a perfect match for our series.

“Being able to present the fans at the Nürburgring such an enormous variety of brands is making us proud and happy.

“The guest participation is a classic win-win situation for everyone involved. Of course, we are curious to see whether the Porsche will succeed in being among the front runners right away.”

Toksport to Make Series Debut with Stolz

Another guest entry for the Nürbrugring is a Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo for Toksport WRT.

Factory driver Luca Stolz, who represents the German rally squad in GT Masters and Fanatec GT World Challenge Europe powered by AWS Sprint Cup, will drive this weekend.

Stolz and his Toksport co-driver Maro Engel finished third behind Ammermueller and Engelhart, and Robert Renauer, in last year’s GT Masters standings.

Like Ammermueller, the 26-year-old is also set for his DTM debut. Toksport’s arrival on the grid adds a ninth Mercedes-AMG for the Nürburgring, in addition to the seven full-season entries and the third Haupt Racing Team car for series returnee Hubert Haupt.