R-Motorsport have signed a talented newcomer for their debut year with Aston Martin in the DTM. The team based in Niederwil, Switzerland, have recruited DTM rookie Ferdinand Habsburg for their first venture into the internationally renowned touring car series. The 21-year-old Austrian will be driving one of four Aston Martin Vantage DTM cars which the team will be fielding for the first time in the 2019 DTM season.
“I’m really looking forward to my DTM debut,” said Ferdinand Habsburg. “Competing in this highly professional premium championship is a big challenge. It won’t be easy for me as a newcomer, lining up alongside some the world’s top touring car drivers. Consequently, my objective will be to learn as much as I can in the shortest time possible and in that way step up my performance from race to race.”
Ferdinand Habsburg started out in single-seater racing in the 2014 season, contesting the Formula Renault 1.6 NEC Junior, the Northern European Championship of this junior series. Over the course of the next two years, he gained further experience in various Formula Renault categories.
In 2017, he graduated to the FIA Formula 3 European Championship, finishing the season on a high with a win at Spa-Francorchamps. In addition, he came fourth in only his second appearance at the Macau Grand Prix, the unofficial Formula 3 World Cup. Last season he once again competed in the FIA Formula 3 European Championship whilst also contesting his first ever endurance races at Daytona, in the IMSA series in the USA and in the International GT Open.
“Ferdinand is an up-and-coming talent who fits in well with our young team,” says Team Principal Florian Kamelger. “His good results in Formula 3 show that he has the talent to survive in the highly competitive DTM. We want to nurture Ferdinand carefully and offer him the opportunity to prove himself at an internationally high level of competition.”
Ferdinand Habsburg’s DTM debut is scheduled to take place on the weekend of 4th/5th May in the season opener at Hockenheim where R-Motorsport will line up under its exclusive licence with Aston Martin. Together with his team, he will contest his first two DTM races at the wheel of an Aston Martin Vantage DTM car. These race outings will be operated by Vynamic which is a joint venture between AF Racing AG and HWA AG.