Haupt Racing Team announces first drivers for 2026

• Haupt Racing Team plans to run three Ford Mustang GT3 in the ADAC GT Masters
• Four drivers already confirmed for the 2026 season

Munich. Haupt Racing Team will line up in the ADAC GT Masters again in 2026. The team from Drees, near the Nürburgring, plans to run three Ford Mustang GT3 again in the coming season. Four of the six drivers who will be behind the wheel for the reigning team champions have already been confirmed. In Emil Gjerdrum (18/NOR), Alain Valente (29/CHE), Kiano Blum (18/AUT) and Max Cuccarese (19/ITA), HRT is putting its faith in a mix of two experienced ADAC GT Masters drivers and two newcomers. The pairings and occupants of the two remaining seats will be announced at a later date. The new ADAC GT Masters season kicks off from 24th to 26th April at the Red Bull Ring in Austria. Tickets start at € 49 and are available at dtm.com.

Emil Gjerdrum will start in the ADAC GT Masters for the second year in 2026. Last season, the Norwegian drove a Lamborghini Huracán GT3 Evo 2, in which he led races at times and claimed a podium finish. Prior to that, he had spent two years racing in ADAC GT4 Germany. In Alain Valente, an old acquaintance returns behind the wheel for HRT. The Swiss driver can already call on plenty of experience in the ADAC’s GT3 series, in which he finished runner-up in the Drivers’ Championship with HRT in 2023. Last season, he lined up in an Audi R8 LMS GT3 Evo.

Kiano Blum is a rising star in the squad of HRT drivers. The Austrian’s successes on the karting scene include the Rookie title in the 2021 German Kart Championship. He backed that up by finishing runner-up in the championship the following year. In 2024, Blum switched to the Porsche Carrera Cup Deutschland, where he again caught the eye with some impressive performances. 19-year-old Italian Max Cuccarese spent recent years racing in powerful single-seaters in the BOSS GP series, in which he ended the 2024 season as Rookie of the Year.

With these talented drivers on board, Haupt Racing Team has its sights set firmly on defending its titles in the ADAC GT Masters. Last season, the team won four titles: Driver, Team, the Silver Cup, and the “Road to DTM” competition, courtesy of Finn Wiebelhaus.

“Following an extremely successful 2025, we will be continuing our youth development programme in the ADAC GT Masters next season,” says HRT Managing Director Ulrich Fritz. “We have again acquired some promising and talented drivers for the coming season, who will be able to continue their development in the ADAC GT Masters. We are also looking to put equally impressive young drivers in our remaining Ford Mustang GT3, in order to make sure we are challenging at the top of the championship again.”