Forza Ferrari: Emil Frey Racing ready for the 2024 DTM

• Swiss team lines up with two Ferrari 296 GT3
• Thierry Vermeulen and former Formula 1 driver Jack Aitken go in pursuit of points>/li>

Munich. Emil Frey Racing goes into its second DTM season with a tried and trusted driver line-up. Having made its debut last year, the team from Safenwil, to the west of Zürich, is looking to take the next step and has put its faith in the talent of Thierry Vermeulen (NL) and the experience of Jack Aitken (GB). The duo started for Emil Frey Racing last year, and the two Ferrari drivers are hungry to have a say at the front of the field this season. The team will have double duty at four of the eight DTM race weekends, as Emil Frey Racing is also making its comeback on the ADAC GT Masters.

“We were able to gain a lot of experience with the Ferrari all last year, and remain impressed with what a great race car Ferrari has developed. The expectations from outside are high, but we also have great expectations of ourselves. Our goal is to regularly finish in the top ten. And it goes without saying that we also want to challenge for race wins,” says team principal Lorenz Frey-Hilti, defining the goals for the season. Emil Frey Racing took on the challenge of the DTM for the first time in 2023. Running two Ferrari 296 GT3, the team improved consistently as the season progressed, and eventually finished seventh in the team competition. Emil Frey Racing really caught the eye in the second half of the year, when Aitken and Vermeulen finished in the points on a total of eleven occasions.

With Formula 1 and the FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) on his CV, Aitken has a wealth of experience on the international motorsport scene. In his rookie year in the DTM, the 28-year-old claimed his maiden victory at the DEKRA Lausitzring – and he is now hungry for more this year. “I loved the DTM last year, because it is so competitive and aggressive. We expect to challenge more consistently at the head of the field, and to claim more victories and pole positions. I think we understand the Ferrari better now than we did at the start of last year, and expect us to be even stronger,” said Aitken.

Vermeulen ended the 2023 DTM season as the third-best rookie. His talent particularly came to the fore in the second half of the season, when he scored points in six of eight races. The 21-year-old is the son of Raymond Vermeulen, who manages Formula 1 star Max Verstappen. Thierry is regularly in touch with the three-time world champion, and lines up in the DTM with a Verstappen logo on his Ferrari. “I think this is a great opportunity for me to line up in the DTM with the same team and the same car. The series is fiercely competitive and you have to pick up points in every single race if you want to be right at the top of the championship,” says Vermeulen.