Season eight of ADAC GT4 Germany kicked off in brilliant fashion at the Red Bull Ring. Here are a few fascinating tales and background stories from the paddock.
Tour guide: The DTM Track Safari got up and running at the Red Bull Ring, with spectators sharing the track with the powerful GT3 cars for a session, as they watched on from the comfort of a coach. Two ADAC GT4 Germany drivers, Jan Philipp Springob (25/Olpe, COSY Racing by ESM) and local favourite Daniel Drexel (25/AUT, Razoon - more than racing), joined the fans onboard to guide them through their adrenalin-filled trip. “The interaction with the fans is good fun. Getting that close to the DTM cars is very special, even for us GT4 drivers,” said Springob.
Rapid rookies: The rookie classification is an opportunity for drivers in their first year of GT4 motorsport and under the age of 25 to show what they are capable of. On Saturday, victory in this class went to Lukas Stiefelhagen (18/NED, ME Motorsport) in a BMW. “My ADAC GT4 Germany debut was a fantastic experience and the result, with victory in the rookie competition, made it a perfect start,” said Stiefelhagen. Race two was won by Mercedes-AMG driver Marius Schmid (18/Tengen, BWT Mücke Motorsport): “I am very happy with the weekend. The rookie classification is a great chance to compare yourself to drivers with a similar level of experience. The rookie title is the goal for 2026.”
Home outing: One of the most sought-after drivers at the weekend was Harald Huber (50/AUT, Razoon - more than racing), who lives just 25 minutes from the Red Bull Ring. “The atmosphere and weather were super,” said Huber, who used to race motorcycles. “The Red Bull Ring is also a lot of fun in a car. I had an exciting weekend and really enjoyed myself.”
Double victory: The Porsche duo of Hendrik Still (38/Kempenich) and Tim Horrell (35/USA, both AVIA W&S Motorsport) won both races in the PRO-AM class. “I am obviously thrilled with the result. That was my first weekend racing at such a high level,” said Horrell. “ADAC GT4 Germany is a great series. Everything is well organised and the competition is extremely strong. That is a perfect benchmark.”
Belgian debut: The CRT team, which runs a Toyota GR Supra GT4 Evo 2 for Lucas Cartelle (18/BEL) and Hudson Schwartz (16/USA), made its ADAC GT4 Germany debut in Spielberg. “The standard of the series is very high, so we are pleased to be able to contest the full season,” said Cartelle. “The DTM paddock is impressive. There are so many fans, who really know a lot about motorsport.”
Class of 2026: On Saturday morning, the ADAC GT4 Germany drivers gathered in the paddock for a group photo with ADAC Motorsport Managing Directors, Claudia Wagner and Thomas Voss, and ADAC Sport President Dr. Gerd Ennser. In total, 38 drivers from 13 nations appeared at the Red Bull Ring.
Full grandstands: ADAC GT4 Germany traditionally appears on the support programme for the DTM, guaranteeing big crowds. 51,000 fans flocked to the circuit over the course of the weekend at the Red Bull Ring in Austria. The result was a lot of happy faces among the GT4 field.
