Haupt Racing Team and the Arena E Sachsenring Junior Team have joined forces. The aim of the partnership is to actively accompany talented drivers as early as the karting scene, to facilitate the transition from karting to automobile racing, and to open the door to long-term prospects in professional GT racing. With its own kart track in Mülsen, the Arena E Sachsenring Junior Team offers the ideal starting opportunity. HRT complements this basis with its expertise in international GT racing, right up to the pinnacle in the DTM.
The promotion of young drivers has always been a central part of the HRT philosophy. With extensive engineering support and individual performance coaching, the team from Drees accompanies talented youngsters both at the racetrack and during their time away from racing. The new cooperation with the Arena E Sachsenring Junior Team fits in seamlessly with the development concept at HRT, and is in line with the ADAC’s “Road to DTM” programme and the youth work done by the ADAC Stiftung Sport foundation. As official partner team of Motorsport Team Germany – the joint youth squad project between ADAC Stiftung Sport and the DMSB – HRT aims to systematically accompany promising, talented youngsters on their career path. Together, this forms a continuous development route, stretching from karting, via various GT classes, to the DTM.
One successful example of this promotion is DTM rookie Finn Wiebelhaus: following his career in karting, he won the Drivers’ Championship in the ADAC GT Masters, and with it the Road to DTM competition, at the wheel of an HRT Ford Mustang GT3 in 2025. In 2026, the 20-year-old lines up for HRT Ford Racing in the DTM. As an ADAC Stiftung Sport driver, he is a great example of the successful progression into professional GT racing.
The Arena E Sachsenring Junior Team also brings excellent attributes to the partnership. Team manager and coach Niels Tröger, 2023 Kart World Cup winner, shares his wealth of international experience with the young drivers on a daily basis. He is ably assisted by Fabian Kreim as team principal. The former works driver combines his experience gained in professional motorsport with a solid level of technical expertise, rounding off the team’s training structure nicely.
The partnership will be visible for the first time when the German Kart Championship (DKM) reaches the halfway point of the season from 17th to 19th July in Ampfing. Here, Ford works drivers will make a guest appearance in a kart (OK-N class). Maini currently races for HRT Ford Racing in the DTM and other top series. Schumacher finished runner-up in the German Kart Championship in 2017. Both have personal experience of the route from karting to GT racing, and will give the young drivers on sight valuable insights.
Niels Tröger, team manager of the Arena E Sachsenring Junior Team: “We not only want to provide our drivers with optimal conditions on the karting scene, but also show them definite prospects for the next step in their career. In HRT, we have a partner who operates at the highest level in GT racing and knows exactly what it takes to develop talented youngsters. This is a great opportunity for our young drivers.”
Ulrich Fritz, Managing Director of Haupt Racing Team: “Sustainable youth development begins in karting. Anyone wishing to successfully develop talented youngsters requires a professional environment and a clear prospect for the next step in their career. The Arena E Sachsenring Junior Team offers precisely that. With its infrastructure, its own racetrack, and high sporting standards, the team has the ideal prerequisites in place. We look forward to adding our experience and working with the young drivers on their road to professional motorsport.”
About HRT Haupt Racing Team (HRT) was founded in 2020 by racing driver and entrepreneur Hubert Haupt and has firmly established itself in international GT3 racing. Its greatest successes to date include the 2021 DTM Drivers' Championship, the Driver and Team titles in the 2023 GT World Challenge Europe (Sprint and Silver Cup), and the Driver title (2025) and three Team titles in a row (2023, 2024 and 2025) in the ADAC GT Masters. The team has also celebrated class victories and podium finishes in the iconic 24-hour races at the Nürburgring and Spa-Francorchamps. Since the start of the 2025 season, HRT has run the Ford Mustang GT3, with factory support from Ford, in several high-profile racing series and championships. HRT is also actively involved in the promotion of young talent, covering the entire pyramid of driver development: from entry into motorsport in the HRT Kart Team to the pinnacle of GT racing in the DTM. The joint operations center is the state-of-the-art HRT RACE BASE in Drees at the Nürburgring, where technical development projects and motorsport events of all kinds are also carried out.
About the Arena E Sachsenring Junior Team The Arena E Sachsenring Junior Team is the junior team of Arena E in Mülsen, and accompanies young drivers on their route from entry-level karting to national and international motor racing. Opened in 2019 and boasting a 1,300-metre kart track, training opportunities and a professional infrastructure, Arena E provides ideal prerequisites for holistic driver training. The Junior Team races in the German Kart Championship and the ADAC Kart Masters, as well as other high-profile karting series. It focuses on offering close support for talented youngsters in the fields of driving technique, data analysis, race preparation, and personal development. The goal of the Arena E Sachsenring Junior Team is to give young talents a solid basis in karting, and to open the door to long-term prospects for the next step in automobile racing.
