The starting field of the ADAC GT Masters will also be top-class in 2021: ten title winners, plus one world champion and two world cup winners, will compete in the season opener of the German GT championship in Oschersleben this weekend (14-16 May). Both races will be broadcast live on Saturday and Sunday from 4 p.m. by the new TV partner NITRO on free TV. The races can be viewed free of charge on TVNOW and on adac.de/motorsport in the live stream

The line-up of the title winners is led by last year's champions Michael Ammermüller (35 / Rotthalmünster) and Christian Engelhart(34 / Starnberg). They were teammates last year, but this season they go their separate ways and try the difficult mission of defending the title with new partners - something that no driver has ever achieved in the 14 ADAC GT Masters seasons so far. Ammermüller remains loyal to last year's master team SSR Performance and is contesting its second year with the Munich team. The Bavarian is considered a Porsche specialist and has caused a sensation in recent years, especially in the one-make cups of the Swabian manufacturer. He has competed in the ADAC GT Masters with interruptions since 2010, and the former Red Bull Formula 1 test driver celebrated his breakthrough last year when he won the title. Ammermüller's new team-mate is ex-champion Mathieu Jaminet(26 / F). The Frenchman celebrated a sensational debut in the ADAC GT Masters in 2017 with pole position and victory in the opening race in Oschersleben, and won the title the following year. Porsche then hired him as a works driver and uses him in international races. In March he clinched a class win at the Sebring 12 Hours.

Christian Engelhart (34 / Starnberg), part two of the 2020 championship duo, changed racing team over the winter and is now competing in a Porsche 911 GT3 R owned by Küs Team Bernhard, the team of the two-time Le Mans winner and FIA WEC World Champion Timo Bernhard. Engelhart is one of the most successful drivers in the history of the ADAC GT Masters. Since his victorious debut at the Red Bull Ring in 2011, the Bavarian has made it onto the top of the podium a total of 15 times. Last year he finally managed to win the title he had longed for.

Robert Renauer (36 / Vierkirchen), together with Jaminet Meister 2018, is also part of the “Elfer” line-up . The 36-year-old has been one of Porsche's most successful customer drivers in recent years. Unusual at Renauer: Together with twin brother Alfred, he is also the team principal of Precote Herberth Motorsport. At the beginning of 2021, Renauer won the GT title in the Asian Le Mans Series, securing a starting position at the legendary 24 Hours of Le Mans for the first time.

Back in the ADAC GT Masters is Mercedes-AMG works driver Jules Gounon (26 / F). The Frenchman already started in the racing series in 2016 and 2017 and during this time won not only six races with Callaway Competition, but also the driver's title and the Pirelli Junior classification in his second season. In the past three seasons he started internationally as a Bentley works driver and won the Bathurst 12 Hours in 2020, among other things. This season, Gounon is driving in the Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo of the Zakspeed Mobil Krankenkasse Racing team.

Five former ADAC GT Masters title winners will be betting on the Audi R8 LMS in the German GT Championship in 2021. With the new signings Sebastian Asch (34 / Ammerbuch) and Daniel Keilwitz(31 / Villingen-Schwenningen) Aust Motorsport has two of the most influential drivers in series history in its ranks this year. Fierce title rivals several times, they are now sharing a car for the first time. Asch has been with the team since 2008 and is a record starter in the ADAC GT Masters with 177 races completed. The Swabian won the championship twice: in 2012 just ahead of runner-up Keilwitz and in 2015 - making the ten-time race winner one of only two double champions. Teammate Keilwitz signed up for the series annals, especially with his seasons with Callaway Competition. 22 race wins - more than any other driver - and the 2013 championship: that is his track record.

Audi Sport driver Christopher Haase (33 / Kulmbach) is also one of the most experienced drivers in the field . The Kulmbacher competed in the racing premiere of the ADAC GT Masters in 2007 and took the title straight away in the opening year. Last year he achieved his twelfth championship race win at the Lausitzring. Another driver from the Audi Sport squad will compete in the sister vehicle from Montaplast by Land-Motorsport: Christopher Mies (31 / Heiligenhaus) is contesting his sixth season with the racing team from the Westerwald, with which he became champion in 2016.

The champions quintet in the Audi R8 LMS is completed by Patric Niederhauser (29 / CH). The Swiss became champion in 2019 and has been part of the four ring driver team since last year. This year he competes for Phoenix Racing in the German GT Championship for the first time.

In addition to the ADAC GT Masters champions, there are other well-known drivers in the field who have also clinched important titles. Ex-Formula 1 driver Markus Winkelhock (40 / Berglen-Steinach, Car Collection Motorsport) won the FIA GT1 World Championship, Lamborghini works driver Mirko Bortolotti (31 / I, GRT Grasser Racing Team) won the championship in the Formula 2. The Mercedes-AMG drivers Maro Engel (35 / Monte Carlo, Mercedes-AMG Team Toksport WRT) and Raffaele Marciello (26 / I, Mann-Filter Team Landgraf - HTP / WWR) won the FIA GT World Cup. A total of 29 of the registered drivers - that's around half - have already won at least one race in the ADAC GT Masters