75 Express to Make GTWC Debut; Mercedes-AMG Reveals Lineups

Photo: Gruppe C Photography/Mercedes-AMG

Kenny Habul’s 75 Express operation will take on GT World Challenge Europe powered by AWS Endurance Cup this year, as part of ten confirmed Mercedes-AMG entries in SRO Motorsports Group’s most competitive GT3 championship.

Revealed on Wednesday, the Munich-based team will compete in the Bronze Cup class with Habul, Dominik Baumann and Hadrien David.

The team is coming off a runner-up finish in January’s Rolex 24 at Daytona in the GTD Pro ranks in January and nearly pulled off a third overall win in the Meguiar’s Bathurst 12 Hour earlier this month if for not late-race contact with a Team WRT BMW M4 GT3 EVO.

Habul, a U.S.-based Australian, will be joined in Bronze Cup by Americans Scott Noble and Jason Hart, who finished third in class in a Winward-run Mercedes-AMG at Daytona.

Noble and Hart will switch to GetSpeed for their European campaign, sharing driving duties with Mercedes-AMG factory star Philip Ellis.

International GT Open and Lamborghini Super Trofeo Europe squad Grupo Prom Racing Team will make its GTWC Europe debut, also fielding a Bronze Cup-entered Mercedes-AMG for Ralf Aron, Alfredo Hernandez, Stephane Tribaudini.

Aron’s participation, at least for the start of the season is currently in question after the Estonian suffered two fractured vertebrae in a massive accident at Bathurst earlier this month.

As previously announced, Verstappen Racing has switched to Mercedes-AMG and will enter a Pro class entry, run by 2 Seas Motorsport, with Chris Lulham and Dani Juncadella for the full season, with factory ace Jules Gounon joining for the five Endurance Cup rounds.

It is one of three ‘Mercedes-AMG Performance Team’ backed teams in Endurance Cup that will fight for overall honors in the Pro class, the other two run by GetSpeed and Winward.

Maro Engel and Lucas Auer set for a full season effort in the No. 48 Winward entry, which will run under the Mercedes-AMG Team Mann-Filter banner in Endurance Cup with Luca Stolz as the third driver.

GetSpeed’s Pro entry, which is only for the Endurance Cup, will be driven by the factory trio of Maxi Goetz, Maxime Martin and Fabian Schiller.

They’re joined by the returning Bartone Bros-backed GetSpeed entry with Anthony Bartone teamed up with Cesar Gazenau and Aurelien Panis in a Silver Cup entry, with Panis teaming with Bartone for the full season.

The Adam Osieka-owned squad will continue to have a fourth entry this year with Mikael Grenier, Will Martin and Gabriel Rindone at the wheel of a Bronze Cup effort.

Winward’s third entry, also in Bronze Cup, will feature the returning Marvin Dienst, Gabriele Piana and Rinat Salikhov.

In addition to the Verstappen Racing car, 2 Seas will run an entry of its own for British GT champions Charles Dawson and Kiern Jewiss, along with Reece Barr, in Bronze Cup.

Six of the cars will be full season entrants, headlined by the Verstappen and Winward Pro entries, GetSpeed’s Mercedes-AMG in the Silver and Bronze Cups, as well as Bronze Cup entries for Winward and 2 Seas.

Of note, GetSpeed’s Bronze entry for Sprint Cup will feature a revised lineup of Rindone and Schiller, who moves over from the German squad’s Pro entry in Endurance Cup.

Mercedes-AMG is represented in three of the four classes this year, despite losing one customer in Boutsen VDS, which has switched to Porsche machinery for this year.

“Our lineup for the GT World Challenge Europe season reflects the exceptionally high quality of our customer sports program,” said Head of Mercedes-AMG Customer Racing Stefan Wendl.

“With its sprint and endurance format, the series is extremely demanding, but we are ready to take on the challenge with a strong driver and team line-up.

“Our goal is to once again demonstrate the competitiveness of the Mercedes-AMG GT3, achieve top results in both classifications and compete for the title in both the individual classes and the overall standings.”

The GTWC Europe season kicks off with the first Endurance Cup race, the 6 Hours of Paul Ricard, on April 11.

John Dagys

John Dagys is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of Sportscar365. Dagys spent eight years as a motorsports correspondent for FOXSports.com and SPEED Channel and has contributed to numerous other motorsports publications worldwide. Contact John