The debut year couldn’t have been more successful: in its first season in DTM Trophy, the Project 1 team with drivers Colin Caresani (NED) and Louis Henkefend (GER) already won the title in the teams’ standings of the talent pool on the DTM platform. For the season that has now ended, both drivers had graduated to the DTM Trophy after success in the 2021 BMW M2 Cup. They each raced a BMW M4 run by Project 1. Both Caresani and Henkefend were able to rack up race wins in their inaugural year: Caresani won four races and became runner-up in the final drivers’ standings while Henkefend stood on the top step of the podium once and was seventh in the standings.
The team from Lohne in the north of Germany having been responsible for the central preparation and running of all the race cars in the BMW M2 Cup, the entry-level one-make series on the DTM platform, since the series’ debut in 2021, it expanded its involvement by participating in DTM Trophy this season. Drivers Louis Henkefend and Colin Caresani had to earn their participation in the talent pool by their achievements: Henkefend got a free race season in the talent pool as the 2021 BMW M2 Cup champion, Caresani also graduated after good results in selected M2 Cup participations in 2021. The Dutchman already achieved his first podium result by coming third in the Sunday race of the Lausitzring season opener and even won both races of the second racer weekend at Imola. Henkefend scored his maiden DTM Trophy win at the Norisring in Nuremberg on Sunday. Between them, the two youngsters achieved eight podium results in the course of the season.
Team principal Hans-Bernd Kamps is “very happy” with the achievements of his two drivers. “Performing like this as a rookie team with rookie drivers is quite decent. A great achievement by the entire crew, with none of them usually getting more than ten hours of sleep during race weekends, that is how eager they were. They were just keen to go for it.”
Kamps is impressed by the graduation opportunities the DTM platform offers: “Getting started at 16 already in the BMW M2 Cup, then on through the DTM Trophy to fulfill the dreams in DTM, that is unique. We want to inspire the young talents, that is our drive. On the DTM platform, all the conditions to do so are in place, it is an entity that is successful throughout.” That Project 1 wants to become involved in DTM one day as a team as well is logical for Kamps: “We are looking at all the opportunities as a team.” Initially, however, it is about defending the DTM Trophy teams’ title next year. The freshly-crowned BMW M2 Cup champion, Maxime Oosten (NED), has already been confirmed as a new driver.