Winward Expands to Two-Car Endurance Cup Effort

Winward Racing will expand its presence in Fanatec GT World Challenge Europe powered by AWS Endurance Cup to encompass a two-car Mercedes effort in Gold Cup.

The American-flagged operation enters a pair of Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evos in the GT3 endurance series, which kicks off with a three-hour race at Monza in April.

The No. 57 car will be piloted by the established trio of Russell Ward, Indy Dontje and Philip Ellis.

David Schumacher, Marius Zug and Miklas Born are set to team up behind the wheel of the sister No. 157 car, with the team unveiling a revamped colour scheme for both V8-powered machines.

Schumacher, who was recently named as AMG Junior Driver, has a previous connection with the Altendiez-based team through his time in DTM, where he will dovetail the GTWC Europe involvement with a second season in the single-driver sprint series.

Zug, meanwhile, is set for his second year in the championship after making his debut with Attempto Racing in 2022.

Born, for his part, contested the 2021 Endurance season with SPS Automotive Performance in Silver Cup and has raced a variety of GT3, TCR and GT4 machinery in recent years.

“The Fanatec GT World has a permanent place in the WINWARD Racing program,” said team principal Christian Hohenadel.

“The sporting standard in this racing series is enormously high. The term endurance racing is somewhat misleading in this context anyway.

“These are long sprint races in which the drivers go on the attack from start to finish.

“For our juniors in particular, the Endurance Cup offers an ideal platform to gain experience at a high international level – including the absolute highlight at Spa.”