GetSpeed was also successful at the sixth race weekend of the International GT Open at the Red Bull Ring in Spielberg. The team finished race one with drivers Anthony Bartone and Fabian Schiller as the best Mercedes-AMG GT3 in fourth place and took third place in the Pro-Am classification with Valentin Pierburg and Aaron Walker. The next day, Kiki Sak Nana and Adam Osieka mounted the podium as third in the Am category.

“All in all, we had hoped for a little more from the weekend in Austria,” admitted team manager Osieka. ”Nevertheless, we were able to achieve success again, so in the end we are not dissatisfied. I am particularly pleased that Aaron and Valentin were able to score again with their third podium finish after a weak start to the season.

Bartone / Schiller tackled race one from third place. After a 70-minute race, Bartone was the best-placed Mercedes-AMG driver to take the chequered flag in fourth place. On Sunday, the American made a mistake in the wet qualifying session. After provisionally qualifying in eighth place in the Pro class, he spun off the track while aquaplaning and crashed into the barrier It was not possible to repair the barrier before the race.

Pierburg / Walker started from fourth position in their class and finished third, scoring their third consecutive points result. Pierburg also struggled with the wet conditions in Sunday’s qualifying, finishing only sixteenth in the class. In the race, they started a comeback that propelled the duo to ninth place in the class. After eleven races, both are ranked sixth in the Pro-Am championship and are still within striking distance of third place.

On Saturday, Kiki and Osieka, who started from fifth place, just missed the podium in fourth place. Things went better on Sunday Osieka secured third place on the grid. In the race, he was able to maintain this position together with Kiki. The duo, who have so far finished on the podium eight times in 2024, defended second place in the championship. GetSpeed is in second place in the team standings. They are eleven points behind first place and fifteen points ahead of third place.

The next race will be at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya at the end of the month. The Grand Prix circuit in the northeast of the Iberian Peninsula will host rounds 12 and 13 from September 27th to 29th.

The fastest Mercedes-AMG GT3 at the 24 Hours of Le Mans was entered by GetSpeed. Steve Jans and Anthony Bartone drove the fastest sports coupé from Affalterbach in front of 300,000 spectators in both ‘Road to Le Mans’ races on the race weekend.

“Steve and Anthony delivered strong performances on new terrain,” says Team Principal Adam Osieka. “In difficult conditions, our duo finished eighth in class in the multiclass field of almost 60 race cars in race one and fifth in the second race, which took place immediately before the 24-hour race.”

Just like the endurance classic on the Sarthe itself, the Michelin Le Mans Cup races were characterized by incidents. In the first heat, Jans/Bartone started from 15th position. The race was initially neutralized with the safety car in the early stages and then red-flagged shortly before the middle of the race after a serious accident. “Despite the few free laps, our drivers managed to make up ground quickly,” said Osieka.

Race two was started after the result of the second free practice session because qualifying was interrupted twice with the red flag. The GetSpeed Mercedes-AMG GT3 started the race from seventh position. Several safety car phases and slow zones, where overtaking is also prohibited, ensured that catching up was a major challenge. Jans/Bartone at least made up two positions and also finished the second heat as the best-placed Mercedes-AMG GT3.

“The Le Mans weekend was new territory for us and a great inspiration,” concluded Osieka. “Hopefully we can return to France in the near future to contest this endurance classic as well.”

From June 26 to 30, GetSpeed will compete in the CrowdStrike 24 Hours of Spa – the third race twice around the clock this year, following the appearances in Dubai and at the Nürburgring. The fourth event of the International GT Open is scheduled for the Hungaroring next weekend.

Great jubilation at GetSpeed. The team from the business park at the Nürburgring took two class victories at the CrowdStrike 24 Hours of Spa. Al Faisal Al Zubair, Dominik Baumann, Philip Ellis and Mikaël Grenier triumphed in the gold classification and finished the race as the best-placed Mercedes-AMG GT3 in seventh place overall. Anthony Bartone, James Kell, Yannick Mettler and Aaron Walker took first place in the Silver Cup. The only downer was the premature retirement of the spearhead of Jules Gounon, Fabian Schiller and Luca Stolz. The trio fought for overall victory until the early hours of the morning.

“It’s an often-used phrase in motorsport, but it applies one hundred percent to our race: Joys and sorrows are often very close together in motorsport. On the one hand, we are delighted that our two customer vehicles won their classes. On the other hand, the premature retirement of Fabian, Jules and Luca was a bitter setback. Our trio was in contention for victory,” says Team Principal Adam Osieka. “In addition to the two class victories, our gold quartet took third place in the IGTC standings and Mercedes-AMG won the Coupe du Roi award with our results, among other things, in which the points after six, twelve and 24 hours are taken into account across all classes. I can therefore conclude that we have had a very good weekend.”

Gounon, Schiller and Stolz started from position five and were always in the leading group. In difficult conditions with thunderstorms and heavy rain during the night, the race was neutralized 22 times for a total of 9:16 hours. Nevertheless, the trio remained in second place within striking distance of first place for long stretches. After being in a promising position, the trio retired prematurely at around 8 o’clock.

“The race is definitely not one we will remember fondly,” said Gounon. “Unfortunately, we had an irreparable defect in the morning hours, which is actually very untypical for us. Until then, we were at the front. Overall, it was a very challenging and unpredictable race. Nevertheless, our team was able to celebrate a successful weekend with victories in the Gold and Silver classes. And we have our sights set on overall victory again next year.”

Al Zubair, Baumann, Ellis and Grenier drove a strong race right from the start and were mostly listed in the top 10 positions. In the end, the quartet pulled out a commanding lead of two laps over their class rivals. “That was a fantastic, but also very hectic race,” said Al Zubair. ”The conditions and the positions were actually changing all the time. My pulse was very high throughout. But all the work paid off and I’m very happy with the result. We won the class and finished third in the IGTC classification, which is something we can be very proud of.”

Bartone, Kell, Mettler and Walker also drove a strong race. Starting from 49th on the grid, the #3 crew drove a largely flawless race and at times moved up into the top 20 positions in the field of 66 GT3 cars. In the end, the quartet had a one-lap lead over their direct rivals. “That was an extremely difficult race. We had ups and downs, especially during the night,” said Kell. Mettler added: “In the end, we made the right decisions, had a perfect car and the necessary speed to win this crazy race.” Bartone was overwhelmed:

“This is only my second time here and I’m already at the top. This is an incredible experience. The team and my fellow drivers did everything they could to make it happen.” GetSpeed youngster Walker was also impressed: “It’s an incredible feeling to win here. I too can only thank the GetSpeed team.”

The next tour stop of the Endurance Cup of the Fanatec GT World Challenge Europe Powered by AWS is a home race for GetSpeed. From July 26-28, the Nürburgring Grand Prix circuit will literally be the place to be. Last year, GetSpeed finished second on the Eifel circuit. The week before, the team led by Adam Osieka will compete in the International GT Open at Paul Ricard.

GetSpeed’s home race in the Endurance Cup of the Fanatec GT World Challenge Europe Powered by AWS produced mixed feelings. While Al Faisal Al Zubair, Dominik Baumann and Mikaël Grenier achieved a top result with second place in the Gold Cup, Jules Gounon, Fabian Schiller and Luca Stolz in the #2 Mercedes-AMG GT3 fell short of expectations with twelfth place. Anthony Bartone, James Kell and Yannick Mettler achieved a decent result in seventh place in the Silver Cup.

“The performance of Al Faisal, Dominik and Mikaël was a ray of hope on an otherwise rather disappointing race weekend at our home round, especially as they were moved back five places on the grid following a grid penalty due to an incident,” said Team Principal Adam Osieka. “We started with great ambitions. And the starting position after qualifying was rock solid. Unfortunately, the top car was involved in a collision early on, so we had no chance of converting the good performance into a satisfactory result.”

The race weekend at the Nürburgring started in rainy and difficult conditions on Friday and Saturday. In pre-qualifying on Saturday afternoon, the Bartone / Kell / Mettler trio drove to a sensational third place. In qualifying on Sunday morning, which took place in dry conditions, GetSpeed delivered a good performance. Gounon / Schiller / Stolz set the fifth-fastest time. Al Zubair / Baumann / Grenier took second place in the Gold category, Bartone / Kell / Mattler sixth in the Silver category.

Stolz was spun by an opponent immediately after the start when braking for turn three and dropped back a long way. In the competitive GTWC field, it was not possible to advance to the top again, even with a perfect strategy. Twelfth place meant zero points in the end. The two other driver trios confirmed their performance from qualifying in the race. Al Zubair / Baumann / Grenier confirmed second place in the Gold Cup standings with their podium finish.

The Endurance Cup of the Fanatec GT World Challenge Europe Powered by AWS now heads into the big summer break. The next event will take place from September 20 to 22 in Monza, Italy.

9 Racing Series, 22 Race Tracks, 54 Races

The brand change from GetSpeed to Mercedes-AMG already was a huge surprise during the winter break. After countless meetings the most extensive motorsport program since their founding followed.

For the season 2019 GetSpeed participates at the following events and racing series:

• VLN endurance championship Nürburgring
• ADAC TOTAL 24h-qualification race Nürburgring
• ADAC TOTAL 24-h race Nürburgring
• Belgian Endurance Championship
• GT-Open*
• 24h-Zolder
• Creventic 24h Series*
• Michelin Le Mans Cup*
• GULF 12h Abu Dhabi
• ROLEX 24h at Daytona

*=single races are planned

Despite the wide expansion and internationalisation of the racing program the most demanding race track in the world, the Nürburgring with the legendary Nordschleife stays the base and centrum for all racing activities.

Three Mercedes-AMG GT3 will be prepared at the GetSpeed Performance Center for the gigantic program. A wide range from new and well-known faces supports the Meuspather racing team.

J2Racing

The famous american duo John Shoffner and Janine Hill expanding their racing program. Still once more at their side: the exceptional talent Fabian Schiller.

Fixed component of the racing calendar from J2 will be the 9 runs of the VLN endurance championsship, the ADAC TOTAL 24h-qualification race and of course the endurance classic, the ADAC TOTAL 24h-race at the Nürburgring.

Additionaly J2-racing starts at selected races with two Mercedes-AMG GT3 at the GT Open. GetSpeed-Teamchef Adam Osieka will be supporting the trio during this races.

Another big highlight of the Season are the first tests for the ROLEX 24h of Daytona.

Vodafone Mercedes-AMG GT3

Beyond the brand change Vodafone will stay a strong partner to GetSpeed in 2019 and giving there design to one Mercedes AMG GT3. As preparation for the ADAC Total 24h-races at the Nürburgring the routiniers Kenneth Heyer, Jan Seyffarth, Tristan Vautier and Luca Ludwig will share the cockpit. 

Furthermore the Vodafone Mercedes-AMG GT3 participates at the VLN endurance championsship and the 24h-qualification race at the Nürburgring.

GetSpeed Youngsters

For the third Mercedes-AMG GT3 GetSpeed managed it to get a very exciting team of drivers. The cockpit will be divided between the GetSpeed Youngster Marek Böckmann, as well as the young talents Indy Dontje, Fabian Vettel and Philip Ellis. The first races of the youngsters are awaited with great anticipation.

Besides the Nürburgring-Nordschleife there are multiple international races planned for GetSpeed.

Silver Eagle Racing

The belgium-based team Silver Eagle Racing joins GetSpeed as a new member. Their operating equipment: Two Mercedes-AMG GT4.

Wim Spinoy and Kenneth Heyer dividing the first cockpit. Focus of their race calendar will be the belgian endurance championsship “BELCAR”. Besides that the 24h-race of Barcelona, 24-races in Cota and the Gulf 12h in Abu Dhabi are part of their program.

The second Mercedes-AMG GT4 is driven by the father-son-duo Frans and Michael Cool. The two newcomers from belgium will be starting at all runs of the „Belgian Endurance Championship“.

Another highlight of the season for both GT4 teams: the entry at 24h of Zolder.

The wide GetSpeed season 2019 will be rounded off by occasional starts with the Mercedes-AMG GT3 in the Michelin Le Mans Cup. Various drivers are planning here their engagement behind the steering.

“After 14 days of testing at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya and Autodromo do Algarve we are very excited for a promissing and thrilling season 2019. With Mercedes-AMG we do have a very strong partner on our side whom we already like to thank for the outrageous cooperation so far. Hard work pays off if we have a glance on our drivers line up und our racecars for 2019” Teamchef Adam Osieka sums up the start of the year.

With the wonderful team presentation on Castle Miel past saturday the start of the season 2019 with partners, friends and sponsors was set.

For now there is nothing more to add except:

Race on and GetSpeed!

Fotocredits: Robert Kah