The Mercedes-AMG GT Track Series is ready to go: The vehicle from Affalterbach, which is to be homologated for the GT2 class, will celebrate its racing debut this week as part of the supporting program of the ADAC GT Masters (races at 1 p.m. on Nitro!) in Spielberg !
They are relying on an extremely prominent driver duo who will compete in the first race of this car: Mercedes legend Bernd Schneider shares the steering wheel with GT pope Stephane Ratel. The use of SPS automotive performance is supervised.
“I’m really looking forward to this assignment,” says Schneider. “Being able to drive the Mercedes-AMG GT Track Series under competitive conditions together with Stephane Ratel and SPS Automotive Performance is a great and unique opportunity.”
Mercedes-AMG designed the GT Track Series as a track tool for track days and club sport events and, in a press release, spoke of the “most powerful customer sport vehicle that we have ever developed.” It borrows from the GT3 and GT4 racing cars from Affalterbach and is limited to 55 pieces.
Ratel and SRO as the driving force behind the guest start
Schneider is already full of praise for the new sports car: “Mercedes-AMG has designed a great vehicle that combines many years of experience in motorsport and in the development of performance vehicles.”
Originally Mercedes-AMG did not intend GT2 homologation when developing the GT Track Series, but Ratel and its SRO Motorsports Group did not miss the opportunity. However, as long as the homologation process is ongoing, the car may only make guest starts in the GT2 European series.
This rule is used in Spielberg, where the GT2 European series runs as part of the supporting program for the German GT Championship. Incidentally, the driving force behind this guest start was not Mercedes-AMG, but the SRO, as the ADAC reveals in a press release!
Mercedes-AMG: Start of sales in the second half of the year
However, the guest start has nothing to do with the homologation, as AMG and SRO assert at the request of “Motorsport-Total.com”. The guest appearance of the ADAC GT Masters only concludes the test and development phase of the Mercedes-AMG GT Track Series.
According to this, the development has actually already been completed, as a spokesman for Mercedes-AMG explains to “Motorsport-Total.com”. Now it’s a matter of trying out the vehicle in a race. This is how the Mercedes-AMG GT Track Series gets the finishing touches on the Red Bull Ring in Spielberg.
The findings from this guest start should still flow into the development of the vehicle. According to information from “Motorsport-Total.com”, the start of sales of the Mercedes-AMG GT Track Series is then planned for the second half of 2022.