Jimmy Eriksson joins Team Rosberg in ADAC GT Masters entry
Jimmy Eriksson will race a Lamborghini Huracán GT3 for Team Rosberg in the ADAC GT Masters this season.
26-year-old Eriksson makes the move into Germany’s leading GT championship after claiming third overall in the Blancpain GT Series Endurance Cup driving a Mercedes last year.
Ever-popular with the European racing fraternity, ADAC GT Masters is set to boast a field of nearly 40 GT3-spec cars in 2018, with premium manufacturers Porsche, Audi, Chevrolet, BMW, Mercedes, Honda and Ferrari joining Lamborghini on the grid.
“It’s nice to have the programme put together for the up-coming season, and I’m really looking forward to this,” says Jimmy Eriksson. “ADAC GT Masters is a significant championship and, while it holds many similarities to the Blancpain GT Series where I raced last year, it’ll keep me occupied with a new car, a new manufacturer, a new team and a new environment. It’s going to be exciting and I can’t wait to start.”
Eriksson’s ADAC GT Masters attack, as mentioned, is spearheaded by Team Rosberg; a squad well-versed in success. Founded by 1982 Formula 1 world champion Keke Rosberg, the team has been instrumental in the Audi DTM programme over the last decade, achieving its greatest success to date last season by sweeping both the teams’ and drivers’ (courtesy of René Rast) DTM titles in convincing style.
Among those to have raced for the Finland-rooted but German-registered team is Keke Rosberg’s son, Nico, who spent his early days in motorsport with the family outfit before following in his father’s footsteps by clinching the F1 world crown in 2016.
Having focussed exclusively on the DTM in recent years, Team Rosberg is now expanding its trade into GT racing, launching its all-new ADAC GT Masters programme ahead of the imminent season. The team will field two Lamborghini Huracán GT3s in the championship, which stipulates that each car must have a line-up of two drivers who are to share driving duties equally during the one-hour races.
Jimmy Eriksson will team up with 18-year-old German Jonathan Judek, while the second Team Rosberg machine will be driven by Michele Beretta (Italy) and Aaro Vainio (Finland).
A further three Lamborghinis are entered by rival team Grasser in the ADAC GT Masters for 2018.
”I’m pleased, particularly, to be doing this with Team Rosberg,” Eriksson concludes. ”Winning the DTM is no easy task and they deserve massive respect for that. The opportunity to drive for them was a key factor in my decision at large of what to do this season. My own personal goal is to be the fastest Lamborghini on track, but also to support Jonathan with my experience so that we can have good results and a lot of fun together.”
The ADAC GT Masters kicks off at Oschersleben on April 14-15, with seven double-header rounds making up the 2018 season. The finale is staged at Hockenheim in late September.
