July 1, 2026 | News
Antoine Berberich-Martini and David Schumacher secured three GT Summer Series victories at the Nürburgring, at the wheel of Haupt Racing Team’s Ford Mustang GT3.
The Haupt team made its debut in the Summer Series as a GT3 Pro class entry, with a view to launching GT3 newcomer Antoine Berberich-Martini into immediate strong results, under the tutelage of David Schumacher. Additional GT3 entries came from Land Motorsport’s Stefan Wieninger in a Porsche 992 GT3 R Evo, and an elder 991.2 GT3 R model entered by Martin Hansen and Lars Engelbreckt Pedersen. GT4 saw an additional East-Racing Porsche Cayman for David Henn and Lirim Zendeli, while Cup X featured a Porsche 992 GT3 Cup piloted by Amari Kirsch.
In the hottest weekend of racing ever organised by GEDLICH Racing, with temperatures approaching 40°C, the event would be a very real physical challenge for the drivers and their crews.
Race one: Berberich-Martini claims maiden victory after late move on Westarp
The first race of the weekend began with championship leader Thomas Westarp on pole position in the CCS Racing Audi R8 LMS GT3 Evo2. Berberich-Martini started second aboard the Haupt Ford, while Stefan Wieninger and Leipert Motorsport’s returnee Gregor Drasal started on the second row of the grid.
As the 30-minute race began, Westarp held the lead, while Stefan Wieninger was able to follow him into second place on the run to the first corner. Berberich-Martini was in third. Meanwhile, Gregor Drasal fell behind the likes of Cup 2 leader Fabian Dybionka and GT3 AM driver Hermann Speck. The top three broke away in the early stages.
On the second lap at turn one, Martin Hansen and Gregor Drasal collided, sending Hansen into a spin. Both drivers would continue, but Hansen would ultimately withdraw his Porsche 991.2 GT3 R before the chequered flag. As the third lap started, Antoine Berberich-Martini out-dragged Stefan Wieninger for second place, finishing the move under braking at the first corner.
Soon, Berberich-Martini closed in on Thomas Westarp. However, the overall championship leader would not crack under the pressure of the imposing muscle car. As the pair negotiated lapped traffic, opportunities would arise; finally, Thomas Westarp lost the lead at the final corner with 20 minutes of the race complete.
Berberich-Martini would hold the lead for the remainder of the race, ultimately building an advantage of 4.641 seconds over Westarp. Westarp would still take the GT3 AM class win from second overall, while Stefan Wieninger rounded out the podium, and scored points for second in GT3 AM.
Hermann Speck finished fourth overall in the DB Motorsport Porsche 992 GT3 R, ahead of Drasal in his Leipert Lamborghini Huracan GT3 Evo. Fabian Dybionka won the Cup 2 class for PTT Racing. The young Polish talent started a sprint race in the GT Summer Series for the first time, owing to other commitments for Igor Klaja on Saturday. Tristan Gschwendtner won the GT4 AM class for East-Racing Motorsport aboard his Porsche Cayman GT4 RS CS, despite starting from the very back of the field. Tobias Erdmann of Seyffarth Motorsport led the class for much of the race, but would eventually fall to third owing to overheating issues for the Audi R8 LMS GT4.
Race two: David Schumacher dominates from pole in commanding fashion
The second race of the weekend would prove to be a Sunday morning showcase for Haupt Racing Team, and David Schumacher. The German star led the early stages of the race from pole position, ahead of Thomas Westarp’s CCS Audi, and the Porsches of Stefan Wieninger and Hermann Speck.
Further back, GT4 AM front-runners Tobias Erdmann and Tristan Gschwendtner collided. Erdmann’s car received significant rear damage, and attracted a black-and-orange flag from race control, which would become a black flag after several laps. Unfortunately, Erdmann was unable to start race three owing to the car’s damage.
Over the course of the race, Schumacher built a race lead of over 25 seconds. The GT3 Pro driver would dominate proceedings, while Thomas Westarp won the GT3 AM class from second overall. Stefan Wieninger spent much of the race challenging Westarp, and eventually rounded out the overall podium ahead of Hermann Speck.
Mike Janser secured his third Cup 2 victory of the season, while a thrilling battle took place between his SA Performance teammate Urs Frick, and XR Racing’s Paul Hochberger. Frick took advantage of opportunities created by the presence of Lars Engelbreckt Pedersen, who was just ahead in the GT3 AM Porshce 991.2 GT3 R. Hochberger couldn’t stretch his legs to get away from the less experienced Frick, who eventually made a stunning pass at the final corner, diving to the inside of both Hochberger and Pedersen. This overtake was described as “the move of the weekend, if not the season” by GT Summer Series commentator Andy McEwan.
However, Frick would ultimately fall back behind Hochberger. With the GT3 car of Pedersen withdrawing owing to brake issues, Hochberger was now clear to chase down Mike Janser. He succeeded in reaching the bumper of the Swiss racer, but failed to find a way by before the chequered flag.
After the early dramas in GT4 AM, Gökay Kutlu took his W&S Motorsport Porsche Cayman to an uncontested class win.
Race three: Pitstop race seals a flawless weekend for Haupt Racing Team
As the teams lined-up for the 50-minute pitstop race, significant cloud cover took over the skies above the Nürburgring. Aside from a light sprinkle at the final corner towards the end of the race, the rain never came; the humidity did, however. This further punctuated the intense heat that had been present all weekend.
Once racing began, it appeared that Antoine Berberich-Martini was struggling on cold tyres in the race lead. The Haupt Mustang looked unstable through the Mercedes Arena, and both Thomas Westarp and Thomas Wieninger were close at hand. However, on the exit of turn four, the pair collided. This sent both parties into a spin, and while each car continued, they fell down the order. Moreover, it gifted Berberich-Martini a comfortable race lead.
By the time the young German handed over his Mustang to countryman David Schumacher, he had built a comfortable advantage. Unsurprisingly, Schumacher carried this torch to its intended destination, winning the race overall in the GT3 Pro entry by a stunning 51.937 seconds.
Thomas Westarp was able to recover to second overall, after dropping out of the overall top ten following the incident with Stefan Wieninger. After the pitstops, he ran fourth, behind fellow GT3 AM protagonists Gregor Drasal (Leipert Lamborghini) and the DB Motorsport Porsche of Hermann Speck. However, a collision between Speck and Drasal at turn four – not dissimilar from the one between Westarp and Wieninger on the first lap – allowed Westarp the definitive class lead.
While Speck withdrew from the race after the incident, Drasal continued, and rounded out the overall podium ahead of the recovering Stefan Wieninger. Marco Reinbold and Paul Hochberger rounded out XR Racing’s weekend with a comfortable Cup 2 class win, while Tristan Gschwendtner performed another GT4 AM triumph for East Racing Motorsport.
Westarp strengthens title advantage ahead of Spa showdown
With a further three GT3 AM class victories at the Nürburgring, Thomas Westarp of CCS Racing has further solidified his lead in the overall championship, over Cup 2 front-runners such as Mike Janser and the Hochberger/Reinbold pairing. After the summer break, a pivotal weekend of racing awaits, as the GT Summer Series makes its first appearance at the famed Spa-Francorchamps from 28-30 August.
