Mercedes-AMG Entries Finalized as HRT, Muecke Drivers Named

Haupt Racing Team and Muecke Motorsport’s drivers for the 2021 DTM season have been named, firming up Mercedes-AMG’s seven-entry contingent for its series return.

HRT will run Maximilian Goetz and DTM debutant Vincent Abril in its pair of Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evos, while double champion Gary Paffett will drive for Muecke Motorsport.

Abril is also representing HRT in Fanatec GT World Challenge Europe powered by AWS Endurance Cup, while 2013 Total 24 Hours of Spa winner Goetz is set for his maiden appearance with Hubert Haupt’s eponymous team which was founded last year.

Former GTWC Europe Sprint Cup and ADAC GT Masters champion Goetz contested two seasons of the DTM in 2015 and 2016 with Muecke Motorsport and HWA.

Paffett, who won the 2005 and 2018 titles with Mercedes, is set for his first DTM campaign since his second championship run which coincided with the manufacturer’s final term in the series under the old four-liter regulations.

The British driver’s GT3 experiences have included outings with Mercedes-AMG teams in major races such as the Total 24 Hours of Spa and the Liqui-Moly Bathurst 12 Hour.

After sitting out the short-lived Class One era, Mercedes has returned to the DTM this year for the series’ switch to FIA GT3 rules.

All of the cars being run by HRT, Muecke, GruppeM Racing, GetSpeed Performance and Winward Racing will compete under the ‘Mercedes-AMG Team’ banner, indicating extended factory support.

Daniel Juncadella (GruppeM), Arjun Maini (GetSpeed), Lucas Auer and Philip Ellis (both Winward) form the rest of the Mercedes-AMG driving roster.

“We are all very much looking forward to the new DTM season and Mercedes-AMG’s return to the race series,” said Mercedes-AMG’s head of Customer Racing, Stefan Wendl.

“Since becoming involved over 30 years ago, Mercedes-AMG has been able to celebrate countless achievements in DTM that always had strong teams and drivers.

“These include many unforgettable moments, from the maiden DTM title win in 1992 and the numerous records of our current brand ambassador Bernd Schneider up to the highly emotional triple title win in our farewell season 2018.

“I am convinced that, together with our teams and the high-quality driver line-up, we will be successful this year, too.

“We are already very curious to find out what the next chapter of Mercedes-AMG’s success story in DTM will look like and we wish all the teams and drivers a good start.”

The DTM season is due to start at Monza on June 18-20, while testing is taking place at Hockenheim this week.