It is wet at the Lausitzring, as the red and white Porsche 911 GT3 R of Razoon – more than Racing pulls into the pit lane and parks up for the second time in a row behind the BWT sign with the number 1 on it. In the background, applause rings out, accompanied by the typical drumming on the metal barriers. Standing a few metres away are two of the team’s management, shaking their heads in absolute disbelief. “We can go home,” they laugh. “We just wanted to win a race this season – anytime this season.”
Razoon – more than Racing is one of the teams that are new to the ADAC GT Masters in 2025. The Austrian outfit dominated the season opener at the Lausitzring. Drivers Leo Pichler and Simon Birch – both ADAC GT Masters rookies – won in the sunshine on Saturday and the rain on Sunday. They also took victory in the Silver Cup and Birch picked up the trophy for the best racer in the “Road to DTM” competition. “It was a bit of a tight squeeze in my suitcase, with five trophies,” chuckles the Dane, whose first experience in a GT3 car came at the tender age of 15. Team-mate Pichler adds: “It was pretty cool. When I got back home, it took me a while to realise that we had won both the opening races. It was an absolute dream weekend and I obviously celebrated a bit with friends and family. However, at the same time, I was also well aware that this does not mean we will dominate in this way every weekend.”
His suspicions proved to be correct. The same duo had to settle for eighth and tenth place at the next round of the ADAC’s GT3 series in Zandvoort, the Netherlands. Their lead at the top of the table is a precarious one, but they are still sitting pretty – with a slender one-point advantage. “After such a great weekend, it is tough when you suddenly hit a brick wall,” admits team principal Dominik Olbert. “However, we must take the pressure out of the equation. We will obviously try to make sure that the girl with the “Leader” board is our permanent companion, especially given the way we put ourselves in such a great position after the season opener. However, some of the other teams out there have been racing for years and know exactly what they are doing.”
Olbert knows what he is talking about. The Austrian used to be a professional skier, before initially founding an event agency on the motorsport scene and then ultimately, in 2017, his racing team Razoon, for which he frequently dons his racing overalls and takes his place behind the wheel. “Since I was ten years old, I have always been competing, and I simply love that competition. I enjoy testing myself against the best and the challenge of constantly optimising and improving everything within the team,” explains the 40-year-old. It is he who uses a host of tips and tricks from his time as a professional athlete to pick his guys up again when results are not quite going their way. “It is important not to pick everything to pieces. If things are not going to plan, we have to see why and ensure we only make any mistake once. You have to approach things realistically and not be overly dramatic.”
Sights set on the DTM
This may be Razoon’s first season in the ADAC GT Masters – however, the team has for years started in various series with the KTM X-Bow, and has also raced in ADAC GT4 Germany since 2021. This series has produced two race wins and a further two podiums for the team, which currently lines up with two BMW M4 GT4 Evo and two Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 RS CS – an important factor for Olbert: “We want to be more diverse and not tied down to one manufacturer. We currently have three brands, in KTM, Porsche and BMW. That may mean more work at first, but it is ultimately a more holistic concept for our engineers and mechanics.” The team took the decision to enter the ADAC GT Masters at an early stage, as Olbert is following a clear strategy. “We know the ADAC platform very well and I have this idea that we will race in the DTM. In the meantime, I have become really impatient and certainly don’t want to wait another five years. We are really going for it,” laughs the 40-year-old. Olbert is following the guiding principle of the “Road to DTM” within his own team. “The ideal thing would be to accompany one athlete through multiple series, from GT4 to the ADAC GT Masters, right up to the top series.”
Experienced rookies
A start has already been made with the current drivers. Birch, whose father used to work as a rally mechanic, started out in karting at the age of eight. He soon worked his way up the Danish touring car scene, before making his debut in a GT3 car as a 15-year-old. Aged 17, he made his first appearance for Razoon in ADAC GT4 Germany, and ended the season with a win and two podiums to his name. One of his goals is the DTM title. “I want to be the best, and am doing everything in my power to achieve that,” says the 18-year-old. “I want to win big races and championships. That includes the DTM, the 24 Hours of Le Mans, Daytona, and many more. I still have so many years in motorsport ahead of me. After all, my career has only just started.”
In contrast, his team-mate Pichler almost stumbled into motor racing by accident. As a 16-year-old, he used to accompany his father – an amateur racing driver at the time – to minor motorsport events, where he was able to have a go himself. Even at this point, the Pichler family knew today’s team principal Olbert on a personal level, and so he was given the opportunity to start in the KTM Rookie Challenge – with great success. Pichler won one race and finished third in another at his very first race weekend. More success was to follow in various series, culminating in a meteoric rise into the ADAC GT Masters. Despite this, the 23-year-old remains composed. “Setting unrealistic goals, for which we do not have the budget, does not help anyone. To go from 0 to 120 and into the DTM is not possible. It can only be achieved step by step,” says Pichler, who has had to reassess his goals for the season after such a strong start. “Once you have topped the table once, you obviously don’t want to surrender that top spot. Zandvoort was one of our weaker circuits – we knew that would be the case in advance. We should be well positioned to do better in the remaining races – particularly at the endurance events.”
Two drivers on the same wavelength
As well as their harmonious performances together on the track, Birch and Pichler also get on well as people. They got to know each other in 2024 and were immediately keen to work together on the ADAC GT Masters project with Razoon. “We came up with the ideal of making the step up with these two drivers quite early on in proceedings,” explains team principal Olbert. “Their characters are well suited to each other. A driver’s speed is obviously important, but it is also vital for the two personalities to get on. I set great store ensuring that the spirit and drive always remain positive within the team. The drivers are obviously an important part of that.”
So far, both drivers have shown that they are in tune with each other, both personally and on the track, and that they are not going to be knocked out of their stride by setbacks like the one in Zandvoort. Whether the two rookies can hold onto the championship lead all season remains to be seen. However, the newcomers could already tick off their actual goal for the season – a race win – after the very first race of 2025.
