DSC’s Daily Notebook (06/04/2023)

World Challenge Australia Bathurst entry revealed

The entry list for the opening round of GT World Challenge Australia at Bathurst has been revealed. It features 20 cars across the five categories, with 15 of them GT3 cars.

Teams representing Audi, Mercedes-AMG, Porsche and Ferrari all bring GT3 cars to the field.

In addition to the GT3 cars on the entry there is a single GT4 Mercedes, three MARC cars and a Porsche Cup car.

The weekend’s schedule at Mount Panorama features a pair of 60-minute sprint races, one on Saturday, and one on Sunday.

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Owega confirmed in Landgraf Mercedes

20-year-old Mercedes AMG ‘junior’ driver Jusuf Owega will compete in DTM this season in a BWT-backed Landgraf Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo, as part of the team’s two-car effort with the German brand.

“I am obviously really looking forward to my debut in the DTM. It is a great honour to be racing for a professional outfit like Mercedes-AMG Team Landgraf,” says Owega ahead of his debut. He has been an official AMG Junior driver since the start of the year.

“The team has made me very welcome. Everyone has been very nice, open and cordial. Before the season, it is always really difficult to define definite sporting goals. I definitely want to be as far towards the front of the field as possible.”

Kaffer joins GT2 European Series field

Audi professional driver Pierre Kaffer is set to compete in the GT2 European Series with Italian LP Racing in an R8 LMS GT2 with Michael Doppelmayr in the Pro/Am class.

This will be Doppelmayr’s second season in the series. Last year he competed in the Am category.

“I’m very happy to be a part of the Fanatec GT2 European Series this year with LP Racing and the fantastic Audi R8 GT2,” says Kaffer.

“From my side, it is an honour to be a part of everything and I’m really looking forward to driving together with Michael. He’s made such great steps in the last two years, so I’m really looking forward to 2023.”

The 2023 Fanatec GT2 European Series will commence with LP Racing’s home race at Imola, Italy, 21-23 April.

Kokkinos, Launch Racing to compete in World Challenge Australia

Launch Racing’s Michael Kokkinos is set to return to GT World Challenge Australia in 2023, competing in the Am class in a new Audi R8 LMS EVO II GT3.

“Honestly, nothing was concrete until 5 days ago. So many things had to align for me to be able to take this opportunity to jump up a class.

“Obviously, the dangling carrot was for me to defend the GT Trophy title in my (R8 LMS) Ultra but even better was the prospect to do the GT AM class,” Kokkinos explained.

Race 1 of the season takes place over the weekend, 7-9 April, with the Hi-Tec Oils Bathurst 6 Hour.

Huber Racing confirms drivers for 2023 GT Masters season

Porsche customer team Huber Racing has signed two strong drivers for its maiden GT Masters season.

Team principal Christoph Huber has confirmed Tim Zimmermann and Jaxon Evans for the season, to drive the team’s Porsche 911 GT3 R.

“In Tim, we have one of the best Silver drivers you can get your hands on in the ADAC GT Masters,” says Huber. “We are extremely happy to have an experienced driver on board in Jaxon too, who has already racked up a lot of race kilometres in Porsche’s GT3 models.

“First and foremost, we want to mix it at the front in the ADAC GT Masters. Our aspiration is to be the best Porsche team in the field. For this reason, we are also aiming for podiums and race wins in our first season. It would be great if we were in contention for the title going into the final race. I am expecting a strong field in the ADAC GT Masters again this season.”

Images courtesy of GT Asia and Schumacher Motorsport