After years running Mercedes-AMG machinery, Haupt Racing Team (HRT) took up the reins of brand-new Ford Mustang GT3 entries for several European racing series, including the 2025 Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters and the Nürburgring Langstrecken-Serie (NLS). As with any first-year venture, some growing pains were expected, but as it turns out, HRT’s partnership with The Blue Oval has produced incredible results in its inaugural season – a welcome surprise for the team’s execs.
HRT managing director Ulrich Fritz spoke on the team’s latest win in a string of victories, this one coming in the eighth round of the NLS – also known as the Nürburgring Endurance Series. Vincent Kolb and Frank Stippler tag-teamed the No. 6 Ford Mustang GT3, rolling off the grid in 10th, rallying back to a class victory and overall NLS victory despite experiencing mechanical issues with the Dark Horse-based race car on the weekend of September 13th and 14th.
“Unfortunately, the automatic clutch system failed during Saturday’s race, which meant we couldn’t continue after the pit stop,” Fritz explained. “Nevertheless, we made perfect use of the driving time up to that point and were well prepared for the next day of racing. In the afternoon, we drove a very solid race. Frank Stippler laid the foundation with his outstanding start, and Vincent Kolb also impressed with fast lap times. In the end, it was a flawless team performance that made this victory possible.”
He added, “We are, of course, overjoyed about this historic success because it also shows that we are on the right track in our development program together with Yokohama.”
Fritz said he fully expected the 2025 season to be a “learning year” with the new Ford Mustang GT3 entries, but mentioned that he was pleasantly surprised with its performance thus far.
“You never stop learning and can never be completely satisfied,” Fritz said. “This is especially true in motorsport: there is always something to improve. If someone had told us before the season that we would win our class at the 24h Nürburgring right away and take overall victory in the NLS, I would have signed up for that, of course.”
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