Arjun Maini to Compete in the Pro Cup with team HRT

Meuspath (Germany), 14 March 2024: Since HRT was founded in 2020, the team has competed in the Fanatec GT World Challenge Europe without interruption and has already celebrated a number of successes in the prestigious endurance championship organised by the SRO Motorsports Group.

With a total of ten overall and class victories - including at the legendary 24 Hours of Spa - and 19 other podium finishes, the team from Dress has impressive statistics to show for itself. HRT celebrated the provisional highlight in the previous season by winning the drivers' and team classification in the Silver Cup of the Fanatec GT World Challenge Europe Sprint Cup. The team also impressed in the Endurance Cup. With a class victory and two further podium finishes, the Haupt Racing Team secured the runner-up spot in the highly competitive Bronze Cup.

This year, the team is focussing its commitment on the Endurance Cup races, for which a high-calibre international field of over 50 GT3 cars from nine different manufacturers has been entered. In HRT's #77 Mercedes-AMG GT3, Arjun Maini , Jusuf Owega and Michele Beretta will compete for championship points in the Pro Cup on five race weekends, including once again at the legendary Crowdstrike 24 Hours of Spa.

Mercedes-AMG junior driver Jusuf Owega will contest his first season for the Haupt Racing Team. Owega has been active in GT racing since 2019.

Michele Beretta can already look back on many successes in GT3 racing.

The line-up is completed by Mercedes AMG Performance driver Arjun Maini. The Mercedes-AMG driver is now entering his third DTM year with HRT and was also successful last season on the Nürburgring-Nordschleife, in the ADAC GT Masters and in the Fanatec GT World Challenge Europe. Together with his team-mates, Maini finished runner-up in the Bronze Cup of the Fanatec GT World Challenge Europe and second in the SP9 Pro-Am at the 24-hour race at the Nürburgring.

The promising driver trio will now enter the top category of the Fanatec GT World Challenge Europe - the Pro Cup - and measure themselves against the strongest GT3 drivers. The Haupt Racing Team's Mercedes-AMG GT3 #77 will compete this season in a complete black and white livery from team partner Merbag. HRT and its exclusive mobility partner Merbag are intensifying their collaboration this season. This means that in the Fanatec GT World Challenge Europe and other prestigious racing series, HRT cars will be racing for victories and championship points in a complete Merbag design.

The Fanatec GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup kicks off its new season from 5 to 7 April at the Circuit Paul Ricard, followed by the season highlight - the Crowdstrike 24 Hours of Spa at the end of June. After further races at the Nürburgring and in Monza, the six-hour finale of the Endurance Cup will take place for the first time at the end of November in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, where the champion will be determined on the Jeddah Corniche Circuit, which is well-known from Formula 1.

Arjun Maini, Haupt Racing Team: "After our runner-up finish in the Bronze Cup, we are now competing in the Pro Cup. The competition here is incredibly tough, as the best drivers and teams take part in this category. But I'm optimistic that we'll be up to the task in this competition too. I'm very excited to be working for the Third year with HRT. We have built a Strong relationship with all the Engineers and Team members and I believe this will help us to Fight in the Front "

Ulrich Fritz, Chief Executive Officer Haupt Racing Team: "Last season in the Fanatec GT World Challenge Europe was our most successful to date. The championship in the Sprint Cup and the runner-up finish in the Endurance Cup give us additional motivation to be successful again this year. We are aware of the great challenge in the Pro Cup and are looking forward to the start of the season."