Field features many guest starters, including DTM team principal Gottfried Grasser. Home event for Haupt Racing Team, the Holzem twins, and Schnitzelalm Racing. Title race heating up between BMW and Lamborghini.
of the highlights of the season awaits the ADAC GT Masters. The ADAC's GT3 series will feature on the programme for the Int. Shell ADAC Truck Grand Prix at the Nürburgring, which last year attracted more than 134,000 spectators over the course of the weekend. Two 60-minute races (Saturday 13:45 and Sunday 14:15) will be held. On Sunday, Sport1 is broadcasting race two on free-to-air TV, as well as highlights of the Saturday race. All the races can also be seen live on Joyn, ServusTV On and youtube.com/ADACMotorsports.
DTM team principal and seventh manufacturer set for guest starts
One of the most notable guest starters at the Nürburgring will be Gottfried Grasser (47/AUT). The DTM team principal is swapping roles and, after a 13-year break from racing, will take his place at the wheel of a Lamborghini Huracán GT3 Evo 2. He shares the cockpit with his good friend Gerhard Tweraser (37/AUT), who has 36 ADAC GT Masters races under his belt - many of them for GRT Grasser Racing Team. The duo will line up in the Pro-Am class. "The goal for the first race is to finish. In the second, we will see in what position we finish," says Grasser, who has contested twelve races in the ADAC GT Masters. Although the ambitions are lofty, he is also keen to lower expectations. "We have yet to practice a single pit stop with all the buckling up and everything else that it involves. With that in mind, we will first be ensuring that we finish safely. However, it goes without saying that the hunger has returned immediately, and I will be striving for every tenth of a second and good results."
The ADAC's GT3 series also welcomes the returning Prosport Racing with its Mercedes-AMG GT3. With that, seven different manufacturers will again take to the track at the Nürburgring. Behind the wheel will be debutant Felice Jelmini (31/ITA) and a familiar face in Nico Hantke (22/Hürth). He spent the past two years racing in the series, during which time he secured a pole position, won two races, and finished fourth in the championship. The driver from Hürth comes into his home event at the Nürburgring with high hopes: "I am pleased to be lining up with the Mercedes-AMG GT3 for the first time. It is a new challenge, but I feel very well prepared. The goal for the weekend is very clear: we want to compete at the front and challenge for the win."
The third guest starter is SR Motorsport by Schnitzelalm. The team contested the whole of last season and has made frequent guest appearances since 2024. Driving the Mercedes-AMG GT3 at the team from Niederzissen's home event will be the reigning ADAC GT4 Germany champions, Enrico Förderer (19/Leuterod) and Jay Mo Härtling (23/Sprockhövel). Förderer is set to make his debut in a GT3 car, while Härtling already has a podium to his name in the ADAC GT Masters. "We know each other well as a driving partnership, and want to take this opportunity to continue our development in the Mercedes-AMG GT3," says Härtling.
Title race enters the next round
Tim Zimmermann (29/Langenargen) and Leyton Fourie (20/ZAF/both FK Performance Motorsport) hold a five-point lead at the top of the table in their BMW M4 GT3 Evo. Last year's runners-up arrive at the Nürburgring on a great run, having won two of the past four races and twice finished second. "We are trying to build this momentum and continue as we left off," says Fourie. "We know that it might not work out quite so well at the Nürburgring as it has so far, but we are taking every race as it comes and trying to get the maximum out of each race." Team-mate Zimmermann has also planned a huge event with roughly 300 guests, who will be cheering him and his team on from their own lounge.
Felix Hirsiger (28/CHE) and Finn Zulauf (21/Königstein im Taunus/both Liqui Moly Team Engstler Motorsport) are their closest rivals in a Lamborghini Huracán GT3 Evo 2. They also have two victories to their name this season, and are looking to return to the top of the table at the Nürburgring. "I am feeling positive coming into the weekend. The circuit should be not bad for us. It goes without saying that there are always external factors, over which we have no influence. I think we still have everything we need to win the title," says Zulauf, who made it onto the podium at the Nürburgring last year.
Home outing for Sandro and Juliano Holzem, and Haupt Racing Team
Following their maiden victory at the Lausitzring, twins Juliano and Sandro Holzem (22) from Polch come into their home race weekend with an extra dose of confidence. "We are extremely motivated. Many sponsors and our family will be at the race. There will once again be a big crowd at the circuit, and the anticipation is really huge. We know that we are extremely strong with our package at the Nürburgring, and that we can definitely win there. We are currently third in the championship and want to take the next step at the Nürburgring, so we can have a say at the very top of the table," says Sandro Holzem, who has many fond memories of the circuit in the Eifel Mountains. "We always came to the track with my father as kids, and I made my DTM debut there."
Haupt Racing Team can also look forward to a home outing. The team from Drees will line up with three Ford Mustang GT3 and can point to an impressive record in the past: they have won three of the past four races in the Eifel region, and have also claimed four podiums and three pole positions. With five podiums to their name in 2026, HRT have enjoyed another fine season so far and have their sights set on the first win of the season at their home circuit.
