WINWARD Racing goes flat out internationally
The German-Texan racing team fields several Mercedes-AMG GT3 in the Fanatec GT World Challenge Europe powered by AWS in 2024.
Mercedes-AMG Team WINWARD is further expanding its commitment to international GT racing. In addition to running two Mercedes-AMG GT3 for Lucas Auer (29, Kufstein) and Maro Engel (38, Monaco) in the DTM and racing in the American IMSA series, the German-Texan team once again takes on the tough competition of the Fanatec GT World Challenge Europe powered by AWS. While in previous years the team limited itself to the five endurance races of the Endurance Cup, this season the squad operating from its European base in Altendiez also attacks the Sprint Cup. As before, it consists of five events, each with a one-hour sprint race with a driver change on Saturday and Sunday.
The driver pairing reflects the high ambitions of Mercedes-AMG Team WINWARD: with Lucas Auer and Maro Engel, two of the fastest GT drivers of all share the Mercedes-AMG GT3 entered in the Pro class of the Sprint Cup. And because the two DTM regulars also chase points together in the Endurance Cup, they have the chance to fight for the overall title of the Fanatec GT World Challenge Europe powered by AWS. The third driver in the five endurance races is 33-year-old Canadian Daniel Morad, who recently helped WINWARD Racing to the GTD class win at the 24 Hours of Daytona. This car also races in the Pro Cup, which is reserved for all-professional line-ups.
As in 2023, the WWR team enters a second Mercedes-AMG GT3 in the Endurance Cup. This car is entered in the Silver Cup, where only drivers with the FIA Silver rating compete. At the wheel are the two Dutchmen Colin Caresani (20) and Daan Arrow (20) and Tanart Sathienthirakul (31) from Thailand. “The boys are still fairly unknown, but they bring a lot of talent. I’m convinced that we can play a good role in the fight for the Silver Cup with this car,” says WWR team principal Christian Hohenadel.
The GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup programme comprises five endurance races over different distances, with the 24-hour spectacle on the legendary Belgian rollercoaster track at Spa-Francorchamps as the absolute highlight. The season finale takes place at the end of November for the first time on the new Grand Prix circuit in Jeddah in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
“Nobody in our team can complain about too much boredom or too little challenge this season,” laughs Christian Hohenadel. “With the DTM and the GT World Challenge we compete in the two toughest GT series in the world. The competitiveness in both categories is enormous, and the variety in the GT World Challenge, with cars from nine different brands, is greater than ever. The fact that Mercedes-AMG is the defending champion and that we field an absolute top pairing in Maro and Luggi also gives us our big goal: we want to fight for the championship. It’s clear that everything has to come together for that in this high-class field. But we gladly accept the challenge and look forward to it!”