ADAC GT Masters back at full throttle: New season of supercar racing

• Opening fixture at etropolis Motorsport Arena Oschersleben
• Strong field of super sports cars bearing eight different grille badges
• Ex-DTM stars Rahel Frey and Markus Winkelhock to share an Audi

The ADAC GT Masters is gearing up for a spectacular start to the season over the weekend of 26th - 28th April at the etropolis Motorsport Arena Oschersleben. The Super Sports Car League enters the 2013 season with a field of 25 supercars, a roll call of celebrity names from Formula 1 and DTM, plus exciting new teams and driver partnerships. This array of immensely powerful vehicles - some in the 600bhp bracket - comprises no fewer than eight different marques, and occupying the cockpits will be a host of well-known names such as ex-Formula 1 driver and FIA GT1 World Champion Markus Winkelhock (32), former Audi DTM driver Rahel Frey ( 27, Switzerland), and sports car ace Jörg Müller (43).

Frey & Winkelhock strong contenders in an Audi R8

Prosperia C Abt Racing (run by former DTM driver and 2009 ADAC GT Masters champion Christian Abt) have pulled off a major coup. Rahel Frey and Markus Winkelhock form an intriguing mixed doubles team in one of the three Audi R8s entered by this newly established outfit. But the other two Prosperia R8s driven by three-time Porsche Supercup champion René Rast (26) with 2011 ADAC GT Masters runner-up Christopher Mies (23) and by Christian Mamerow (28) with Christer Jöns (25) will also be tough nuts for the opposition to crack. Competing in an Audi this time will be reigning champion Sebastian Asch (26, MS RACING). The son of touring car legend Roland Asch has switched constructor from Mercedes-Benz to Audi and will be sharing his R8 with Florian Stoll (31).

Maximilian Götz (27, Polarweiss Racing), who partnered Asch to last year's ADAC GT Masters title, continues with Mercedes-Benz and will be defend his crown in an SLS AMG together with new co-driver, FIA GT3 European Champion Maximilian Buhk (20). Also displaying brand loyalty are the Callaway Competition pairing of Diego Alessi (41) from Italy and Daniel Keilwitz (23) who will once again be challenging in a Corvette. The 2012 championship runners-up lead a strong line-up of four Corvettes and will be aiming to clinch the title in their third season as partners. But they are in for some tough competition from within the squad, in particular from the all-German duo of Andreas Wirth (28) and Christian Hohenadel (26).

Extra motivation: Home race for the PIXUM Team Schubert

PIXUM Team Schubert have doubled their involvement this year and will be hoping for home advantage on the first race weekend of the new season. The Oschersleben-based team has made a big-name signing and will be contesting all 16 races this year with two BMW Z4s. Sports car ace Jörg Muller partners youngster Max Sandritter (24) while Claudia Hürtgen (41) from Aachen shares the cockpit of the second Z4 with FIA GT3 European Champion Dominik Baumann (20) from Austria. This year's line-up includes yet another former FIA GT champion: Gabriele Gardel (35, Switzerland) who won the title in 2005 will be partnering compatriot Lorenz Frey (22) in the only car entered for the 2013 competition to have a twelve-cylinder engine - the Aston Martin V12 Vantage prepared by Fischer Racing.

Porsche always good for a win at Oschersleben

Also strongly placed are the Porsche teams, which are always good for a win at Oschersleben, as the records show: three victories out of six in the last three season openers at Oschersleben. Christian Engelhart (26) from Kosching, top-ranked Porsche driver in 2013, shares a Geyer & Weinig / Schütz Motorsport Porsche 911 with Frenchman Nicolas Armindo (31). Armindo's co driver from last year, Robert Renauer (28) from Jedenhofen, has now teamed up with Martin Ragginger (25, Tonino powered by Lipponen Motorsport) from Austria. Farnbacher Racing embark on the new campaign with three Porsche 911s, spearheaded by the duo of Mario Farnbacher (20, Ansbach) and Philipp Frommenwiler (23, Switzerland).

Fans at Oschersleben will be eagerly anticipating a remarkable world premiere when Lambda Performance take to the track with their completely revamped Ford GT - a truly iconic American sports car. Also pinning their hopes on a new model are rhino's Leipert Motorsport: the Lamborghini specialists are running the latest version of the Gallardo, and have recruited ADAC GT Masters veteran Frank Schmickler (47) from Rösrath as one of their drivers.

The 2013 ADAC GT Masters will once again be contested over 16 rounds on eight race weekends throughout the year. All 16 races of the ADAC GT Masters will be shown on free-to-air TV station kabel eins. The live broadcasts to audiences in Germany, Austria and Switzerland commence at 12 noon on both the Saturday and the Sunday. The Super Sports Car League is being hosted by two new venues this time: the Formula 1 circuit at Spa-Francorchamps and the Slovakia Ring in Slovakia. The curtain-raiser for the seventh season of the ADAC GT Masters will be staged on the weekend of 26th - 28th April at the etropolis Motorsport Arena Oschersleben.

Tickets for all ADAC GT Masters races start at EUR20 and can be purchased online at www.adac.de, from any ADAC branch office, online at www.eventim.de or from one of the more than 20,000 Eventim outlets throughout Europe.