German race team Leipert Motorsport will add colour and variety to this year’s DTM Trophy by entering two Mercedes-AMG cars into the series.
The squad, from Wegberg near Mönchengladbach, was the 2019 class winner in the Mercedes-AMG Customer Racing Championship, and will field two of its customer Mercedes-AMG cars in the DTM Trophy’s inaugural season.
The DTM Trophy is a new GT racing series staged across six weekends as part of the DTM support program in 2020. The season kicks off at Zolder, Belgium (April 24-26), and concludes at Germany’s Hockenheimring (October 2-4).
“Great interest on the driver market”
“Our involvement in the DTM Trophy is the ideal addition to our customer sports portfolio,” said team manager Marcel Leipert. “We’ve been represented in various racing series worldwide for years and have celebrated numerous successes – so we’re now delighted to be racing on the DTM platform. The interest in the driver market is substantial, and we’ll soon announce the line-up for our two cars.”
Frederic Elsner, Director Event at DTM marketer ITR, added: “Leipert Motorsport is a hugely experienced and professional operation whose involvement significantly enhances this year’s DTM Trophy. In both endurance and sprint racing, Leipert has tasted plenty of success – and looks set to continue that in 2020. For the fans, the spectacular sound of the Mercedes-AMG 4-litre V8 engines will be particularly appealing.”
€150,000 prize pot
Registration deadline is 11 March 2020, with an enrolment fee of €23,000 plus VAT per participant – with tyres by series partner Hankook and fuel free of charge at all official events.
Series organisers will distribute a prize fund of €150,000 between the top three drivers in the championship. The winner of the Trophy’s junior classification – for drivers under the age of 22 – will also earn a money-can’t-buy opportunity to test a DTM car at the end of the 2020 season.