The roooooooar

We meet up with Elisabeth Hake, an old friend of the magazine, owner and Motorsport Marketing & PR Consultant at EHMC, now working with HTP Motorsport GmbH, to get to know a certain racing team that caught our eye and to look into the other series a bit.

HTP – High Performance – Technology – Performance – these three letters stand for a motorsport success story since 2013. In the past two years, HTP Motorsport, founded by Dutchman Wim de Pundert and seasoned racing manager Norbert Brückner, established itself as one of the leading teams in international GT racing. During the past two seasons, HTP fought for victories and championship honours in the highly competitive ADAC GT Masters in Germany and in the European Blancpain GT Series as well as in prestigious international endurance races.

The impressive track record of HTP Motorsport is closely linked to the Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG GT3. In two years, HTP won four championship titles and took ten race wins, including a internationally highly recognised victory at the 2013 24 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps in Belgium. Subsequently, HTP Motorsport became the most successful international team with the Gullwing supercar in 2013 and 2014.

2015 marks the start of a new challenge for HTP Motorsport. As Bentley Team HTP the team makes the next step and starts with the Bentley Continental GT3 into a new era. HTP Motorsport is an official and exclusive partner team of Bentley Motors for the ADAC GT Masters, the Blancpain GT Series and endurance races like the 24 Hours at the Nürburgring. The Continental GT3 is the first race car developed by Bentley for the highly successful international GT3 racing formula and the Bentley Team HTP is a key part in the most extensive motorsport commitment of Bentley yet.

I think any kind of solid racing still needs the “rooooooooar” and the smell of gasoline mixed with burned rubber (when going for a good dinner you also expect a certain food presentation, don’t you?).

HTP Motorsport takes on the 2015 challenges out of its new headquarters near Limburg, northwest of Frankfurt. Out of its new shop, the team prepares the Bentley for international competition and also starts it’s second new exciting project. Under the banner of HTP Junior Team, HTP Motorsport expands its activities to Formula racing and enters the new-in-2015 ADAC Formula 4 championship, which will race at ADAC GT Masters events.

We decided to ask Elisabeth just a few questions about her work today.

How different is the world of GT3 from Formula 1 to you? 

It’s very different, maybe let’s just call it a COMPLETELY different world. First of all, of course, it’s different cars, close to production prototype vehicles that all look and sound different (and that really make a sound) and therefore attract a bit wider fan range. Also, in terms of staff, it’s much more challenging to find the right team members that are experienced with the big variety of car brands. All around the globe there are so many different GT3 racing series that provide a much bigger competition for drivers, teams and manufacturers than Formula 1 could ever do. It’s not just about the team with the most impressive budget, but much more about the experience of each team member, the creativity and motivation of every single individual on site at the races and the whole team spirit. If you, for instance, throw some light on the ADAC Zurich 24h race at the Nurburgring – the world’s biggest race (over 200 racing cars, the world’s longest race track with a length of almost 21 km and over 200.000 fans on site) – this is something you absolutely can’t compare with the world of Formula 1. Not yet, at least. It’s 24 hours that weld a team together like nothing else and it comes down to the most tiny details that decide between victory and losing – even if it’s about the girl that brings the Haribos and some energy drinks into the pits at 03:47 in the morning to make sure the squad doesn’t fall asleep.

What could Formula 1 learn from this environment?

First of all, I’d name “fan closeness”: Formula 1 doesn’t provide this to its fans at all, unfortunately. In the GT3 world you can walk in the paddock, talk to drivers, get their autographs and take close-up pictures of the cars and get a really good “behind the scenes” insight. And all that at affordable entry prices, I must add. As for the teams, they really feel supported and always have so many interested people coming along and fans cheering. If you go for F1 Paddock Club tickets you’re literally locked into the golden cage above the pits and your only chance to get close to the teams or cars is the big pit walk (being pushed through pit lane like a convict) together with hundreds of other guests and everything for just 3,500 EUR…

Secondly, I’d name “real racing”: of course, you also have good team strategies as the base of each race, but in the end it’s mostly about the drivers themselves, the teamwork and the actual car performance that decides the results of the race. Due to the big dollars in Formula 1, many decisions are driven by the budget. Not the intention of the inventor, in my opinion…

Well, Formula E was an absolutely new step in motorsport. Do you think other racing series should make changes as well?

Absolutely, stagnation is regression. From my personal point of view, I’m not 100% sure if Formula E will be a great success as I think any kind of solid racing still needs the “rooooooooar” and the smell of gasoline mixed with burned rubber (when going for a good dinner you also expect a certain food presentation, don’t you?). In the end it all comes down to emotions that racing provokes amongst people and those that create memories. Memories which make the fan, professional, businessman or investor fall for a certain manufacturer or driver.