ZAKSPEED with rising stars in "Junior Team"ZAKSPEED competes with two Mercedes-AMG GT3Felix Rosenqvist to debut at season-opener with AMG-Team ZAKSPEEDThe ADAC GT Masters starts into its tenth anniversary season this coming weekend. AMG-Team ZAKSPEED, sponsored by BKK Mobil, competes with two new Mercedes-AMG GT3 in this year´s eagerly expected season. Whilst driver’s champions Sebastian Asch and Luca Ludwig drive the #1 car, there are two young guns behind the wheel of the second AMG GT3.
The Swiss Nikolaj Rogivue debuts in GT3 Motorsport this year and has been able to prove his talent in various test sessions. The 19-year-old comes directly from Formula racing and was a regular in the Top-15 in last year’s ADAC Formula 4 races. “It is great to have made the move up into GT-Sport and to drive for one of the most renowned teams from Germany in the ADAC GT Masters”, says Nikolay Rogivue. “AMG-Team ZAKSPEED looks upon a incredible history in motorsport and now I am a part of it all of a sudden! I am very proud and it really motivates me further to ensure I deliver the best possible job, recommending me for the future.”
“Nikolaj was feeling at ease with the Mercedes-AMG GT3 straight from the beginning and he convinced us with his potential during the tests”, says Peter Zakowski, Team Principal Team ZAKSPEED. “He is still young, but has a certain routine already and he is adapting well to new things.”
Rogivue´s team-mate for the opening round will be no other than the Swede Felix Rosenqvist. The 24-year-old has been a fixture in the Mercedes-Benz Driver Development Programme and is also acting as official DTM test driver for Mercedes-AMG.
Rosenqvist showed his speed in the Mercedes-AMG GT3 at last week´s Blancpain Sprint Series race in Misano, lapping the fastest overall lap-time during the race.
“Following my race in Misano I am very much looking forward to driving in the ADAC GT Masters this weekend”, says Felix Rosenqvist. It’s all happened very quickly and I’ve never worked with the team before, so once again it will take some adapting. Technically, however, it’s going to be quite similar to Misano – it’s the same car, the same tyres and a similar type of track. Hopefully that will help me get into things.”
The Norwegian Ulrik Pedersen, who tested with AMG-Team ZAKSPEED last week, will take part in further tests with the team based in Niederzissen. He will enter the ADAC GT Masters later on in the season.
“We are delighted to have Felix driving one of our cars this weekend. He is very talented and quick and will form a competitive driver-pairing with Nikolaj. Ulrik has shown that he is a good driver and we are giving him the opportunity to test further to make the switch into GT-Sport easier for him”, adds Zakowski.
The ADAC GT Masters races will be broadcast live on Sport 1 again. The Free Practice on Friday at 11:45am will kick-off the season. The first showdown will be the qualifying for Saturday´s race, taking place on Saturday morning at 09:25am. Both races will commence Saturday and Sunday from 01:15pm.
