DTM pilot suddenly drives for rivals: Curious deployment at the Nürburgring

– For DTM driver Nicolas Baert, a curious situation arises this weekend at the GT World Challenge (GTWC) Europe race at the Nürburgring. The Belgian will start the 3-hour race of the Endurance Cup in the Eifel – but not in the Aston Martin from Comtoyou.

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Instead, Baert will surprisingly drive for HRT and share the Ford Mustang GT3 with the starting number 65 with Eduardo Coseteng and Nikals Kalus. The Belgian is thus competing for a team that is one of his rivals in the DTM. And at the same time becomes a rival to his DTM team. Comtoyou is fielding three Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT3 cars at the Nürburgring.

“I am really looking forward to driving for HRT. It is an unusual environment, so I am excited about this opportunity to get to know some of the faces more closely that I have already seen in the paddock,” says Baert.

Together with the HRT regular drivers Coseteng and Kalus, Baert will start in the Silver Cup. “We will do our best to deliver a good performance and achieve a strong result at HRT’s home race. I am really looking forward to the weekend,” says Baert.

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The opportunity to drive the unfamiliar Ford Mustang arose due to the last-minute withdrawal of another driver. Max Reis, who had been driving for HRT in the ADAC GT Masters and was also scheduled for the GTWC race at the Nürburgring, had to cancel his participation shortly before the weekend.

The reason for this is missing payments from sponsors. “Unfortunately, we had to painfully realize that some supposed supporters do not adhere to firm agreements,” says Reis. “The resulting financial deficit cannot be compensated at short notice, which forces me to make the sad decision to end the season prematurely.”

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