Paddock radar from the ADAC GT Masters in Oschersleben

• Motorsport executives in attendance at ADAC GT Masters season opener
• ADAC GT Masters gives its backing to Wings for Life World Run
• Certina and Postcon raise their ADAC GT Masters profile

Motorsport executives at the ADAC GT Masters season opener: A number of senior figures from the world of motor racing were in attendance on the first weekend of the new ADAC GT Masters season at Oschersleben. They included Lamborghini Motorsport boss Giorgio Sanna, the new Head of Audi Customer Sport Chris Reinke, Opel Motorsport Director Jörg Schrott, BMW customer sports sales manager Jonas Kraus, Porsche customer sports sales manager Uwe Brettl, CEO and Chairman of the Executive Board at Pirelli Deutschland Frank J Delesen and TCR International Series promoter Marcello Lotti.

Say cheese: On the first race weekend of the ADAC GT Masters season, the entire field of contestants traditionally assemble for a group photo. The drivers of the series were joined by ADAC Sports President Hermann Tomczyk and ADAC Head of Motorsport Lars Soutschka on Saturday for the customary commemorative group photo in the paddock.

Running in aid of those who cannot walk: The Wings for Life World Run on 8th May is a charity event in which runners all around the world race simultaneously for a good cause. Among those lining up will be Formula 1 stars David Coulthard and Daniel Ricciardo. There is no predefined finish line – the entrants simply keep running until they are overtaken by the ‘Catcher Car’. Entry fees are 100% donated to the Wings for Life fund. The non-profit, government-approved foundation for spinal cord research has the goal of making paraplegia curable. The starting gun for the Germany run will be fired at 1pm in the Munich Olympic Park. Anyone who is unable to get to one of the organised races can still participate in the ‘Selfie Run’ from anywhere in the world. The ADAC GT Masters is also supporting this event: the logo of the Wings for Life World Run appears on the front and on the rear of all the supercars in the series.

Official support from Bentley management board for ABT: On its debut weekend in the ADAC GT Masters, Bentley Team ABT has received senior support from the British manufacturer. Bentley Motorsport Director Brian Gush and Bentley board member Rolf Frech were present in person at Oschersleben to watch the action. Frech explained his interest in the Super Sports Car League: “The ADAC GT Masters is an extremely competitive series which is held in high international regard. It is the perfect environment in which to test the capabilities of our Continental GT3 in collaboration with our new partners at ABT.”

Green light from Postcon: None of the supercars contesting the ADAC GT Masters can enter the track without the green light from Postcon. Starting this year, the logos of the mail service provider and partner of the ADAC GT Masters are displayed on the traffic light at the pit exit in the Super Sports Car League.

Certina raises its paddock profile: Since last year, Certina has been the official timekeeping partner of the ADAC GT Masters. The watch and clock maker has now consolidated its presence in the paddock. In the season opener at Oschersleben, the Swiss company set up a new and even more attractive stand in the paddock for displaying its range of timepieces and also getting the fans involved in various activities.

Schumacher plays pundit to SPORT1 commentator Simon: During the 2016 season, Patrick Simon will have the support of various motor racing legends as he provides live commentary on the ADAC GT Masters races for SPORT1 viewers. For the second race on Sunday, he was joined in the commentators’ booth by ex-F1 and DTM driver Ralf Schumacher. Schumacher has a personal stake in this year’s ADAC Formula 4 as co-principal with Gerhard Ungar of the US Racing team.

Big name boost for KÜS Team75 Bernhard: For this weekend’s races at Oschersleben, KÜS Team75 Bernard managed by World Sports Car Champion Timo Bernhard and his father Rüdiger were able to call on the services of a big name in the engineering world. Legendary Porsche engineer Roland Kussmaul personally checked over the new Porsche 911 GT3 R driven by David Jahn and Chris van der Drift. Kussmaul, who actually retired several years ago, mentored Timo Bernhard for many years after the younger man began his career at Porsche.