In the hunt for top positions
KÜS Team Bernhard from Landstuhl in the Palatinate region of Germany is sending a promising double pack into the 2023 DTM season. In the two brand-new 992-series Porsche 911 GT3 R cars, the latest generation with 565 hp from 4.2 liters of displacement, two drivers hungry for success are setting off in pursuit of top positions in the prestigious racing series, which is being organized by the ADAC for the first time this year: Porsche specialist Ayhancan Güven sits in the number 24 car and young talent Laurin Heinrich in the number 75 sister car. The two drivers are expected to build on KÜS Team Bernhard's successful DTM debut year in 2022 (two victories and two further podium finishes). As teammates in the Porsche Coanda Esports Racing Team, the two know each other well.
Ayhancan Güven (25, Istanbul) started his career in karting in 2006. In 2016, he entered the Porsche Sports Cup Germany. Races in the Porsche Carrera Cups France and Benelux followed. In France, he secured the title in 2018 and 2019, and was "runner-up" in 2020. He also claimed the title in the Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge Benelux in 2018. In 2018 and 2021, "Can" competed in the Porsche Carrera Cup Deutschland, where he took the runner-up championship in 2021. From 2019 to 2021, he also enriched the Porsche Supercup. In his first year, he finished second in the overall standings, and in 2020 he was promoted to Porsche Junior. In 2022, the Porsche contract driver clinched the runner-up championship in the ADAC GT Masters together with Christian Engelhart. Last weekend, he became champion in the LMP2 category of the Asia Le Mans Series with his final victory in Abu Dhabi. With his experience and speed, Ayhancan is a top driver not only in GT racing.
Laurin Heinrich (21, Kürnach) has been involved in motorsport since 2009, and his path led him via ADAC Formula 4 to the German Porsche Sports Cup, where he clinched the title in 2019. Also in 2019, he entered the Porsche Carrera Cup Deutschland, became a Porsche Junior in 2022 and secured the title in the same year. He raced in the Porsche Supercup from 2020 and earned a "podium finish" in the overall standings with third place in 2022. Since last year, the highly motivated youngster has been a Porsche contract driver with a promising future.
As the new DTM organizer, the ADAC has fixed the calendar with eight race weekends. The season kicks off at Oschersleben from the 26th to the 28th May. This will be followed by Zandvoort/Netherlands (June 23-25), Norisring (July 7-9), Nürburgring (August 4-6), Lausitzring (August 18-20), Sachsenring (September 8-10) and Spielberg/Austria (September 22-24), before the DTM finale will be staged at Hockenheim from October 20-22. Each race weekend will feature two rounds of approximately 60 minutes. All races will be broadcast live in full length on Pro7.
Ayhancan Güven: "Joining the DTM grid is huge moment for my career and something I was dreaming for a long time. I believe together with Porsche and Team75 we have similar aim and approach to this program. We all know how tight and difficult current DTM grid so it will be not easy season for anyone but with experience from the team we will try to put right steps together. Can’t wait for season to start and lights turn to green!"
Laurin Heinrich: "It's a dream come true: to move up to the DTM after my title in the Porsche Carrera Cup Deutschland. It's a great honor for me to be able to take this step together with Timo Bernhard and his team. Timo also won the Carrera Cup Deutschland title as a Porsche Junior in 2001. We have a lot in common, and we will build a strong collaboration on that."
Team Principal Timo Bernhard: "It's fantastic news that we will be represented in the 2023 DTM with two cars. After our premiere season with, among other things, two victories, this had always been our goal to be on the grid with two cars. The DTM with its decades of history and its proximity to the fans continues to radiate its glamour and fascination. I'm curious to see how the series will develop under the direction of the ADAC. Our driver lineup is a good mix of experience and youth. Ayhancan has shown with his runner-up title in the ADAC GT Masters that he can clinch victories in GT3 racing, and he also knows all the tracks and the tires. In addition, with Laurin - I won the Carrera Cup in 2001, the year he was born - we've got one of the top young stars who's moving up to the DTM with a lot of tailwind from his Carrera Cup title. I expect a steep learning curve from him. The entire team is motivated to the hilt. I'm very confident that we'll play a good role in the 2023 DTM."
The enclosed illustrations show the preliminary test design of the two Porsche 911 GT3 R. KÜS Team Bernhard will present the final appearance for the 2023 DTM season to another date.
Text: Peter Schäffner
Photos/graphics: Siegerdesign & Team75 Motorsport (high-resolution images are listed on the Team75 Motorsport press portal. Access data available at presse@team75motorsport.de)