Mettler: From the Nürburgring to Le Mans

GT3 PROGRAM It is now clear why Yannick Mettler will not be defending the GT4 title in the VLN Nürburgring. The Lucerne native is entering the GT3 class. With Zurich's Dexter Müller, he will contest the Le Mans Cup on Mercedes. By combining the Michelin Le Mans Cup (six races in Europe) and the Nordschleife GT4 program (24-hour race and individual VLN runs [...]

Editorial - April 10, 2019

The Mercedes-AMG GT3 with the Swiss cross at the rear is ready for its first race in the south of France.

With the combination of the Michelin Le Mans Cup (six races in Europe) and the Nordschleife GT4 program (24-hour race and individual VLN runs on Mercedes-AMG), Yannick Mettler is looking forward to a varied season with new challenges.

Yannick Mettler: "My goal for 2019 was to contest my first races in the GT3 class. I'm enormously pleased that I'm now getting the chance to do so and even contest a full season on some of Europe's best race tracks. Our highlight will certainly be the start at the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Almost everyone has the inner goal of competing there at some point."

The Mercedes-AMG GT3 will be fielded by Team SPS Automotive Performance, which won the Pro-AM class in the International GT Open in 2018.

Teacher and student as teammates
Mettler's partner is "Jeffrey" alias Dexter Müller, who is still a blank slate. The media entrepreneur from Zurich is coached by Mettler and, just in time for the start of the season, has obtained the international FIA license with the required starts in any circuit races.

In the Le Mans Cup, where LMP3 prototypes and GT3 sports cars make up the field, only pairings with silver/bronze ratings are allowed, so this now fits from that side.

Yannick Mettler: "Because of Dexter's inexperience, we naturally don't set expectations too high in the first season. But I wouldn't do this with him if I wasn't convinced of his talent. We prepared very well over the winter and want to fight for podium places during the season."

Kessel Racing as defending champion
The season starts next Saturday at the Circuit Paul Ricard in Le Castellet. Opponents include two Ferrari 488s from Kessel Racing, which won the title in 2018, and a Mercedes from Villorba Corse driven by Italo-Swiss drivers Mauro Calamia and Roberto Pampanini.

After that, Monza, Le Mans, Barcelona and Spa-Francorchamps are on the agenda before the finale in Portimão on the Algarve coast at the end of October. Apart from Le Mans, the 4-hour races of the European Le Mans Series form the main program of these race weekends.