The BMW team Schubert Motorsport caused a surprise on the sidelines of the ADAC GT Masters test drives in Oschersleben: Contrary to the original announcement, two vehicles are now starting at the same place at the start.
Originally it was said that in about two weeks only one vehicle would be in the field, namely the one with the juniors Niklas Krütten and Ben Green. Delivery delays were given as the reason for this. So why the change of heart?
“We have drilled down again, and BMW is of course also keen to be as present as possible in Oschersleben. And not just to be at the start with one car, but to use two of the new car if possible,” explains team boss Torsten Schubert in an interview with “Motorsport-Total.com”.
Schubert continues: “That was the compromise that they preferred us again and gave us another car.” A double commitment for the professional vehicle around Nick Catsburg and Jesse Krohn at the season opener of the German GT Championship in Oschersleben is scratched.
Will Schubert make sacrifices for the 24h Nürburgring?
But this commitment actually only applies to the start of the season! Because “we don’t know yet” whether you’ll do all the race weekends with the Catsburg/Krohn duo, says Schubert. “It certainly depends a bit on the performance and the balance of performance, and how we are classified there.”
In concrete terms, Schubert questions the use of two racing cars for the second racing weekend of the year in Spielberg. The reason here is very simple: The tightly knit racing calendar for 2022. Parallel to this event, the DTM is driving at the Lausitzring, where Schubert is also involved. A week later, the 24h Nürburgring takes place.
And that’s exactly the crux, because Schubert wants to shine in the long-distance classic in the Eifel. “It’s difficult to go into the 24-hour race with a car that hasn’t been prepared. That’s why we have to decide: are we going to have both cars at the Red Bull Ring this weekend, or do we only have one? That’s not entirely clear yet.” , he notes.
Niklas Krütten is unscathed on the Nordschleife
At the moment, the junior BMW with Krütten/Green is the driving force. Both drivers are still young and newcomers to the German GT Championship. “I believe that we also have a good, strong driver pairing in the juniors’ championship,” says Schubert, encouraging his young drivers.
“Of course, it’s always difficult, especially for people who haven’t driven a GT3 car on every race track. We saw that at the Nürburgring, too,” the team boss refers to the NLS season opener, the Krütten together with Krohn and Alexander Sims denied. The trio still achieved fifth overall position.
Krütten “wasn’t quite able to keep up with the pace in the field”. But: “He didn’t break anything either, and that was very important to him.” The young German was also able to gain valuable experience on the Nordschleife.
Every experience, also with the new BMW M4 GT3, helps Krütten and the Schubert team. And there are still plenty of opportunities to do so. “I think these are exhausting weeks until the end of May,” Schubert looks ahead. “We’ll get that over with and then we’ll see where we stand with the M4 GT3.” And whether you would then like to officially attack the title with Catsburg/Krohn.