#R-Motorsport present their programme for the DTM

The official presentation of R-Motorsport’s DTM programme and drivers at the Aston Martin St Gallen showroom in Niederwil, Switzerland, to which the media, partners and fellow competitors were invited, took place beneath the banner of the company slogan ‘Emotion, Passion, Vision’.

In Aston Martin St Gallen’s smart showroom, surrounded by sensational and beautiful sports cars made by the British luxury sports car manufacturer, R-Motorsport’s Team Principal and co-owner of AF Racing AG, Dr Florian Kamelger, and business partner, Dr Andreas Baenziger, unveiled a beautifully designed, extremely stylish model of the Aston Martin Vantage DTM car. However, the actual racing car won’t be on show until the first joint ITR tests for all brands take place at Jerez next week.

“The extremely short timeframe for development has put huge demands on the project team led by Vynamic in the joint venture between AF Racing and HWA,” said Florian Kamelger. “But we pulled out all the stops so that the new Aston Martin Vantage DTM car can make its racetrack debut in the first week of March. And so, it gives us great pleasure today to present this model to you which we hope you will also find impressive, showing the new racing car’s skillfully crafted shape.”

Taking centre stage at the launch event were the drivers, appearing together for the first time. They responded first to questions from ex F1™ driver, David Coulthard, and then from the media.

“I’ve been very impressed by the progress of development work at Vynamic in Affalterbach,” said Paul Di Resta. “It’s amazing what everyone in the team has already achieved with the DTM project in the short space of time available to them since the end of last DTM season. This is the first time ever that a DTM car has been developed in such a short time.”

Daniel Juncadella: “The cars will look great, really eye-catching. Hopefully, we’ll look good in them and be fast, too. I already know many of the guys in the DTM race team and am aware of all the really valuable expertise that they bring to this project.”

“I can’t wait to race the new Aston Martin Vantage DTM car for the first time,” said Jake Dennis. “I’ve never been this keen on a new car before. I already know R-Motorsport really well from GT racing. They are extremely professional in everything they do.”

“I’ve got a fair bit to learn, coming to this project as a young driver,” said Ferdinand Habsburg. “The DTM is a huge challenge, because I’ll be competing against the world’s best touring car drivers, so I’ll need to get to know the car and gain experience as quickly as possible.”

“Today is also really important for us as a company, because it gives us the opportunity to showcase our motor racing setup to the world,” continued Florian Kamelger. “We have Aston Martin’s backing for the DTM project operated by Vynamic. R-Motorsport will field four Aston Martin Vantage DTM cars during 2019 under an exclusive licence deal with the company. In order to make that possible, we’ve signed a very experienced, talented and ambitious squad of drivers, because after all, going up against big, successful manufacturers in the DTM will be an enormous challenge for us, but one that we are ready to face with all the means at our disposal.”

“We’ve also been able to show with today’s launch event at Niederwil that R-Motorsport is just one of our ‘R’ brands. The four ‘Rs’ are an integral part of our corporate strategy,” added Kamelger.

When asked about what he thought of the team’s entry and their prospects, David Coulthard told us: “R-Motorsport’s DTM project is a very professional setup and the Aston Martin Vantage DTM cars will be a tremendous addition to the series. I see no reason why the outfit shouldn’t be competitive from the word go.”