News

• Strong driver pairings with DTM race winner, BMW works drivers and extremely ambitious juniors in line up
• Big incentive to do well: Schubert Motors set to celebrate 30th anniversary
• >Team Principal, Torsten Schubert: “The ADAC GT Masters is the toughest GT series in Europe. You can only have any chance of success with strong driver pairings”

All good things come in threes – as amply demonstrated by Schubert Motorsport, BMW and the ADAC GT Masters. After taking a one-year break, these firm fan favourites from Oschersleben near Berlin will be back in the Super Sports Car League this season with two BMW M6 GT3s.

GT3 fans everywhere will immediately recognise the names of the drivers in their two racing cars. The Australian, Aidan Read, will share the first BMW M6 GT3 with former DTM race winner and BMW works driver, Joel Eriksson. Henric Skoog will have a regular drive in the second car while BMW works drivers Erik Johansson and Nick Yelloly will take turns to partner him.

Schubert Motorsport have been an integral part of the motor racing scene for many years and are the third-most successful outfit in ADAC GT Masters history. The team first joined the series in 2010. They have won ten races with BMW, taking six pole positions on the way, and fought for the championship in both drivers’ and team classifications until the last race of the season in 2015; they actually won the team competition. More success in 2020 would put the icing on the cake for Team Principal, Torsten Schubert, to mark this April’s 30th anniversary of Schubert Motors GmbH in the Motorsport Arena Oschersleben

The drivers in profile

21-year-old Swedish driver Eriksson can look back on a long history of racing under the banner of the ADAC GT Masters, having first started out in the Formel ADAC in 2014. He subsequently competed in the newly founded ADAC Formula 4 where he finished championship runner-up. A similar thing happened after his promotion to the Formula 3 European Championship. In 2017, he was beaten only by Lando Norris, who is now a Formula 1 driver. BMW soon became aware of his accomplishments and signed him to the DTM where he lined up in 2018 and 2019, achieving one win and two more podium finishes. In the ADAC GT Masters, BMW works driver Eriksson will go up against his brother Jimmy, who drives for an opposing team.

Joel’s team-mate, Read, debuted in the ADAC GT Masters last season and did very well by taking second place in the Junior standings. Over the winter, the young Aussie contested the Asian Le Mans Series and finished the season third overall in the LMP2 category, having secured three podiums. He first got started in Formula Masters China before switching to the Blancpain GT Series Asia and the aforementioned Asian Le Mans Series. He will have his eye firmly fixed on winning the Junior Championship in his second year in the Super Sports Car League.

23-year-old Swedish driver Skoog has motor racing in his veins. His father Patrik is also a racing driver and his son has obviously inherited his talent. Skoog became Junior champion in the Renault Clio Cup Central Europe in 2015 before joining the Porsche Carrera Cup Scandinavia the following year and then became a regular in the Porsche Carrera Cup Germany after having had a couple of guest outings in the series. He secured one podium and a pole position last year. He has also had several starts in the Porsche Supercup and Dubai 24-hour race that he can add to his CV.

Skoog will share the BMW M6 GT3 with Swedish counterpart Johansson at Oschersleben, Zandvoort and Sachsenring. He was promoted to BMW Motorsport’s Junior programme in 2019 and contested a full season in the Italian GT Championship, driving the BMW M6 GT3 for BMW Team Italia. After securing title wins in formula racing, he was invited to have his first outing in the BMW M235i Racing on the Nürburgring-Nordschleife in 2016. He showed impressive form there once again last season, turning in strong performances in the GT3 racing car. Johansson first became a member of BMW’s squad of works drivers this season.

29-year-old Nick Yelloly will take Johansson’s place at Autodrom Most, at the Red Bull Ring, Nürburgring and in Hockenheim. The British driver finished runner-up in the Porsche Supercup in 2018 and was made a member of the BMW works squad the following year. He is also a development driver for Racing Point in Formula 1. He too has produced quite a few decent results in the BMW M6 GT3. In 2019, for example, he finished out in front with Walkenhorst Motorsport in the qualifying race for the 24-hour race at the Nürburgring.

Team Principal, Torsten Schubert: “I’m really pleased to be back in the ADAC GT Masters. I just love this series after being a part of it for so many years now. The market for drivers is never easy, so I’m delighted to be able to field two BMW M6 GT3s. We’ve managed to put together a particularly strong crew of drivers. As the ADAC GT Masters is the toughest GT series in Europe, it was imperative that we did so in order to have any chance of success. Last year, it soon became apparent that placing well at every circuit was no easy task, but that has to be our goal, which is why we intend to get in plenty of practice. Also, Schubert Motors’ 30th anniversary is this year. Ever since the company was first set up just after the fall of the Berlin Wall, Schubert Motors have been closely connected with motor racing, and I myself have always been involved with the sport. I’m already looking forward to celebrating our 30th ‘birthday’ with all our customers in the Motorsport Arena Oschersleben, and hopefully, just one week later, we’ll top that off with a great result to mark the start of the season there.”