Koehler to Make Series Debut Replacing Muth

Walkenhorst Motorsport has signed Leon Koehler to replace Esteban Muth in this weekend’s DTM races at the Red Bull Ring.

Koehler will pilot the team’s second BMW M4 Gt3 alongside Marco Wittmann, making his series debut.

The 23-year-old German is a previous champion in the Porsche Sprint Challenge Middle East and finished third in the standings during last year’s Porsche Carrera Cup Germany.

He fills the seat vacated by Esteban Muth, who announced on Monday he will miss out on the remaining four races in Austria and Germany due to surgery.

Koehler has spent the last few years of his career racing in various Porsche one-make series, which saw him score a pair of podiums in the Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup and also compete in the Porsche Carrera Cup North America.

This year, he stepped up to racing GT3 machinery by joining ID Racing for two outings in the ADAC GT Masters, driving a Porsche 911 GT3 R in two rounds at the Red Bull Ring.

This weekend’s DTM races behind the wheel of Walkenhorst’s BMW M4 GT3 will mark the first time the German has driven anything other than Porsches since graduating from single seaters.

Koehler is Walkenhorst’s fourth driver so far this season, following full-season driver Wittmann, Muth as well as Theo Oeverhaus, who took part in the Nürburgring rounds as a guest starter.