The ADAC GT Masters is a grand tourer-based auto racing series founded by the international Stéphane Ratel Organisation (SRO) and supported by the German ADAC automotive club. Similar to an earlier ADAC GT Cup series in the 1990s, the new GT Masters ran their first season in 2007. Although the series is based in Germany, select events are run elsewhere in Europe.

ADAC GT Masters
CategoryGrand Touring racing
RegionInternational
Drivers42 (2023)
Teams13 (2023)
ConstructorsVarious
Tyre suppliersPirelli
Drivers' championFinland Elias Seppänen
Germany Salman Owega
Makes' championMercedes
Teams' championGermany Haupt Racing Team
Official websiteOfficial website
Current season

ADAC GT Cup

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The original ADAC GT Cup was created in 1993, as a national grand tourer championship similar to the Deutsche Tourenwagen Meisterschaft (DTM). The series initially used two divisions, with the upper class running a variety of sports cars, and the smaller class for small coupes. Following dwindling support for the top division, the two classes were combined in 1995. By 1997, the series continued to dwindle, as the series was running only small coupes instead of high powered sports cars. The championship was officially cancelled after the 1997 season as most teams turned to the VLN championship.

Competition

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The ADAC GT Masters uses a similar formula to the one used in the FIA GT3 European Championship, also created by the SRO. The ADAC GT Masters is a "PRO-AM" Championship in which a professional driver shares a car with an amateur driver. The exact criteria for what determines an amateur driver and professional driver is laid out by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). Drivers run in pairs, with each race requiring the team to make a pit stop and swap drivers.

The cars that run in the ADAC GT Masters are also regulated by the FIA. Only cars which have been approved are allowed to compete. Of the cars that are currently approved, all are artificially performance balanced in such a way that the performance of each type of car is as close to equal as possible. This makes the skills of the driver paramount. Vehicles that ran in the 2019 championship include Porsche 911 GT3 R, Audi R8 LMS GT3 Evo, Ferrari 488 GT3, Corvette C7 GT3-R, BMW M6 GT3, Lamborghini Huracan GT3, Mercedes-AMG GT3, Aston Martin Vantage GT3, Honda Nsx GT3 EVO.

Each event consists of two races, with a duration of 60 minutes plus one lap. Each car must make a pit stop during each race and switch drivers. In the first race usually the amateur driver starts, if so the professional driver must drive the start in the second race of each round.

The current driver champions are Elias Seppänen and Tom Kalender in the No 1 Mercedes-AMG GT3.

Circuits

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Champions

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Season Champion Car Team Champion Secondary Class Champion
2007   Christopher Haase Lamborghini Gallardo GT3   Reiter Engineering P:   Jan Seyffarth
P:   Frank Schmickler
L:   Christopher Haase
2008   Tim Bergmeister Porsche 997 GT3 Cup   Team Flatex-Reiter (2) P:   Tim Bergmeister
L:   Christopher Haase
L:   Albert von Thurn und Taxis
Pit: #30   Hexis
2009   Christian Abt Audi R8 LMS   Callaway Competition A:   Toni Seiler
Pit: #6   Abt Sportsline
2010   Peter Kox
  Albert von Thurn und Taxis
Lamborghini Gallardo LP560 GT3 (2)   Abt Sportsline A:   Toni Seiler (2)
SRO:   Jürgen Bender
SRO:   Martin Dechent
2011   Dino Lunardi
  Alexandros Margaritis
Alpina B6 GT3   Reiter Engineering (3) G:   Mark A. Hayek
2012   Sebastian Asch
  Maximilian Götz
Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG GT3   MS Racing Team G:   Swen Dolenc
2013   Diego Alessi
  Daniel Keilwitz
Corvette Z06.R GT3   Prosperia C. Abt Racing (2) G:   Christina Nielsen
2014   René Rast
  Kelvin van der Linde
Audi R8 LMS ultra   Prosperia C. Abt Racing (3) G:   Handlos Herbert
2015   Sebastian Asch (2)
  Luca Ludwig
Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG GT3   BMW Sports Trophy Team Schubert G:   Andreas Weishaupt
2016   Connor De Phillippi
  Christopher Mies
Audi R8 LMS   Montaplast by Land-Motorsport T:   Remo Lips
J:   Connor De Phillippi
2017   Jules Gounon Corvette C7 GT3-R (2)   Callaway Competition (2) T:   Remo Lips (2)
J:   Jules Gounon
2018   Mathieu Jaminet
  Robert Renauer
Porsche 911 GT3 R   HTP-Winward Motorsport T:   Remo Lips (3)
J:   Sheldon van der Linde
2019   Patric Niederhauser
  Kelvin van der Linde (2)
Audi R8 LMS Evo   Rutronik Racing T:   Sven Barth
J:   Max Hofer
2020   Michael Ammermüller
  Christian Engelhart
Porsche 911 GT3 R (3)   SSR Performance T:   Elia Erhart
J:   Tim Zimmermann
2021   Ricardo Feller
  Christopher Mies (2)
Audi R8 LMS Evo (5)   Montaplast by Land-Motorsport (2) T:   Florian Spengler
J:   Ricardo Feller
2022   Raffaele Marciello Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo (3)   Mann-Filter Team Landgraf T:   Florian Spengler (2)
J:   Ben Green
2023   Elias Seppänen
  Salman Owega
Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo (4)   Haupt Racing Team J:   Elias Seppänen
  Salman Owega
Source:[1]

References

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  1. ^ "Owega and Seppänen are 2023 champions". ADAC GT Masters. 22 October 2023. Retrieved 8 May 2024.
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