News

Francorchamps / Nürburgring / Deland / Sebring – Mühlner Motorsport and the American dependency Mühlner Motorsports America will be in action at two race tracks this weekend. Parallel to the test and set-up runs at the Nürburgring in preparation for the start of the NLS season, rounds 3 and 4 of the IMSA VPRC will be held at Sebring.

This year, Mühlner will start in the Porsche Endurance Trophy Nürburgring with new driver constellations. Peter Terting returns to the team after a break of several years and will politic the Porsche GT3 Cup with start number 123 together with Marcel Hoppe, while Nick Salewsky and Michele di Martino want to enter the race for the championship this year together with Tobias Vazquez on start number 124.

After the organizer had completely canceled the test on Saturday already in the morning due to difficult weather conditions, team and drivers had to bite the bullet and hope for better weather for one day. On Sunday morning, the GP circuit and Nordschleife could be put into operation for the entire event day and thus the engines could be started.

All the drivers took the opportunity to familiarize themselves comprehensively with the track and the car, and even though temperatures were fresh but conditions were otherwise ideal, they were able to carry out their test program in the Eifel. The race car, which had been built over the winter on the basis of a new bodyshell, ran absolutely flawlessly, as expected and to the satisfaction of everyone involved.

In Sebring, meanwhile, Antonio Saravelle drove the Mühlner Duqueine D08 with the starting number 18 over the track of the historic racetrack in bright sunshine. Already in the first outing Saravelle got along well with the car equipped with H&R special springs and supported by HR Special Springs and later in qualifying he was able to place the LMP3 on grid position 3. Already at 8 o’clock on Sunday morning local time the 1st race of the IMSA VP Racing Fuel Championship was started. During the 45 minute sprint, Saravelle was always able to keep contact with the leaders and finished the race only a few tenths behind the winner in 3rd place.

In the next few days, Mühlner will prepare the cars for NLS1 and is already hoping for the weather, which is known to have often caused surprises at the Nürburgring.

The second race of the new VP Racing SportsCar Challenge started with several accidents. After only a few meters, the race director had to call for a “Full Course Yellow” and send the safety car onto the track.

After a few laps there was the green flag again. Mirco Schultis at the wheel of our H&R Duqueine Automotive D08 #18 could not avoid a collision with another competitor at the restart and had to contest the rest of the 45-minute sprint race without his left fender. While Mirco had decided to do his laps even with the compromised aerodynamics, the Mühlner crew had already prepared everything for a possible pit stop and provided both fresh tires and a new nose for the LMP3.

However, Mirco remained focused and finished his race with full commitment.

The next round of the VPRC will be held in Sebring begin of March.

Mühlner Motorsports America started the new season for the established racing team with an exciting opening race. Directly a podium finish and fast lap times at the legendary Daytona International Speedway.

After the end of the IMSA Prototype Challenge, the American LMP3 teams start this year in the newly created VP Racing Fuels Sportscar Challenge (VPRC). The Mühlner team, based in nearby DeLand, fielded a Duqueine D08 equipped and supported by H&R Special Springs to kick off the new series as part of the Roar to the Rolex 24h. Bronze driver Mirco Schultis will compete in both 45-minute races.
Already in the free practice Mirco, who had never before sat in a vehicle of this series, was able to burn remarkable lap times into the asphalt and quickly made clear: I am exactly right here.
In the fiercely contested qualifying session, he secured a grid spot on row three after missing the chance for a final fast lap by a tenth of a second.
In the first race of the young season Mirco stayed away from the first fights of the starting phase and turned mostly lying on position three steadily improving lap times.
Although he had to give up the podium position in the overall standings shortly before the end, Schultis and the team are very satisfied with a third place in the bronze classification.
“IMSA has created a great new platform to give young drivers an entry into motorsport and to offer bronze drivers like Mirco a fair, genuine competition with prospects of winning trophies,” says team boss Bernhard Mühlner.
The second round of the VP Racing Fuels Sportscar Challenge will take place on Sunday, for which the team is now preparing the car.

Kick-off with new sprint series in America

Daytona will again be the first race track where Mühlner Motorsport’s race cars will touch the asphalt for the first time in the still young season. Mirco Schultis will compete in the newest series of the IMSA with the starting number 18. In addition to Daytona, the races of the IMSA VP Racing Sportscar Challenge will be held at the legendary race tracks at Sebring, Watkins Glen and Road Atlanta, among others. On each of the race weekends, the respective driver competes in a total of two 45-minute sprint races. The VPRC thus succeeds the IMSA Prototype Challenge, in which Mühlner most recently took the vice championship.

Mühlner’s blue and white GT and LMP racers will also be on the race tracks in Europe this year.
It is planned to enter several Porsche GT3 Cup cars in the Nürburgring Endurance Championship on the Nordschleife and in the 24-hour race through the Green Hell.
Preparations for the Prototype Cup Germany, the European Le Mans Series and the Le Mans Cup are in full swing.
Plans are in place to expand the ORECA 07 LMP2 and several Duqueine D08 cars, which have already been used successfully in 2022.

Our two H&R equipped and supported Duqueine Automotive D08 #18 and #21 were well prepared for Mark Kvamme & Dillon Machavern and Bob Doyle & Moritz Kranz, the 2021 Vice Champion, respectively.

Bob Doyle crashed hard in FP1. Huge damage to car #21 and Bob was brought to the Emergency Center at the track. He got released after he was checked but it was decided to withdraw the #21 from the race.

Now we focus on #18 and hope for a great result with Mark and Dillon.

The team from the Belgian Ardennes presents itself at the ELMS weekends with a total of 3 Duqueine D08 LMP3. Two of them will participate as before in Michelin Le Mans Cup; another one in the ELMS like the LMP2.

It’s great news: Mühlner Motorsport will be represented in the Michelin Le Mans Cup in 2022 for the third year running two Duqueine D08 LMP3 vehicles. Now the Belgian racing team is shifting up a gear: A brand new Oreca 07 LMP2 is entered in the PRO category of the ELMS for Matthias Kaiser, Thomas Laurent and another professional driver who has yet to be announced.
“For more than 4 decades now, we have been continuously setting ourselves new challenges,” explains Bernhard Mühlner after his return from Daytona. “Actually, we wanted to start in the ELMS last year already. However, we were too late and all starting places were taken. This time we submitted our application already last November.”
In recent years, Mühlner Motorsport has been able to impressively prove how successful the two prototypes are in the Michelin Le Mans Cup, e.g. in 2021 in the main race of the “Road to Le Mans” event with Ugo de Wilde and Moritz Kranz. In 2022, two more blue and white prototypes will take part in the six races of the European Le Mans Series (ELMS). While the driver pairing for the LMP3 has not yet been finalized, two of the three drivers for the LMP2 can already be presented. Mühlner Motorsport is the only team that will compete in the colors of the Belgian flag at the ELMS.
“We are very proud and happy that we were able to sign silver driver Matthias Kaiser for our program. Matthias already gained experience with the LMP2 in the Asian Le Mans Series last year. At his side, Frenchman Thomas Laurent will take the wheel. Thomas already made his mark as a series runner-up in 2017, underscoring that with his second place overall at the 24H du Mans. At that time he fought bumper to bumper with the LMP1 from Porsche and Toyota”, Bernhard Mühlner emphasizes the decision. “The name of the third driver will be confirmed shortly. We are in close negotiations with several pilots. Our goal is to form a team that can drive far ahead in the championship. This is one of the reasons why we are currently restructuring our team.”
Matthias Kaiser (31) is very happy to be part of Mühlner Motorsport’s LMP2 program. Most recently, he was with Graff in LMP3 categories and was able to celebrate three podium finishes with Phoenix in the 2020/21 ALMS in an LMP2.
“It’s a logical consequence for me,” says the racing driver from Liechtenstein. “I’m looking forward to being able to compete in this program together with Mühlner Motorsport and I’m looking forward to the first tests. We are certainly newcomers to the new combination and will not come to the race track in the role of favorites, but if everything goes well we will certainly be able to cause a few surprises.”
With his extensive experience, Thomas Laurent is spearheading the new LMP2 team. The 23-year-old Frenchman says: “I’m extremely happy to return to endurance racing after a year and look forward to the new challenge. I want the team and my teammates to benefit from my experience. We will position ourselves well and then grow bit by bit. I think that with the new car and the great driver line-up we have the chance to finish on the podium a few times in our first year with Mühlner Motorsport.”
The first LMP2 tests are scheduled for the second week of March, just before heading back to the Sebring 12h across the Atlantic. The season in the USA (IMSA WeatherTech Sportscar Championship and IMSA Prototype Challenge) already started in January in Daytona. After Sebring, the first round of the Nürburgring Endurance Series will take place, where Mühlner Motorsport will continue to run Porsche 911 GT3 and Cayman GT4.

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Daytona/Deland

Daytona / DeLand. Muehlner Motorsports America, based in DeLand / Florida just minutes away from Daytona International Speedway, is well prepared for “Double Duties” the two weekends ahead.

With one Duqueine D08 (#21) Moritz Kranz and Laurents Hörr (both from Germany) will participate in the IMSA Prototype Challenge. The first round of the 2021 season will be held at the so-called ROAR this weekend.

Hörr proved being one of the fastest LMP3 drivers out there by winning the ACO Michelin LeMans Cup in Europe 2019 and 2020. Kranz more known for his successes in GT with Porsche, came to the Le Mans Prototype scene only last year. He adopted very fast and showed impressive speed. He put the Muehlner Duqueine D08 in 3 out of 6 rounds in the front row of the grid.

Both drivers will participate this weekend also in the Official Test for the Rolex 24, just one week later. Kenton Koch (Charlotte / NC), who has also a lot of LMP3 experience under his belt will join them for the Official Test and Qualy Race during the ROAR and the Rolex 24.