In the 2023 season, SPS automotive performance will enter the International GT Open once again. In addition to the well-known driver pairing of Dexter Müller and Yannick Mettler (both SUI) in the #54 Mercedes-AMG GT3, Reece Barr (IRL) as well as Mikaeel Pitamber (RSA) will contest a full season for the first time in the #20 sister car.
SPS automotive performance has been a regular guest in the International GT Open for many years and has celebrated many successes in this popular racing series in the past – including the championship in the PROAM category in 2018. For the upcoming season, the team from Willsbach-Obersulm will be lining up two Mercedes-AMG GT3s for the entire season. As last year, Dexter Müller and Yannick Mettler will take their seats in the #54 Mercedes-AMG GT3, which will battle for championship points under the Car Barn CBRX x SPS entry. The likeable Swiss finished the past season of the International GT Open in third place in the PROAM category – equal on points with the runners-up. In their black and red Mercedes-AMG GT3, the duo scored a class win, a pole position and several class podiums. In 2023, Müller and Mettler, who has already been successful in Dubai and Kyalami this year, are aiming for a top position in the PROAM class again.
The second Mercedes-AMG GT3 entered, number 20, will be raced by Reece Barr and Mikaeel Pitamber and will compete in the PRO category. This young driver pairing will contest its first full season in the International GT Open. Reece Barr has already competed for SPS automotive performance this year in the Kyalami 9 Hour, where he finished an excellent third place in the Pro-Am class together with his teammates Miguel Ramos and Luca Stolz. New to the team is Mikaeel Pitamber. The South African already gained experience in European racing series last year in the DTM Trophy and was also victorious in the Kyalami Supercup as part of the Intercontinental GT Challenge with a Mercedes-AMG GT3. These two talents, together with their teammates, will now put their skills to the proof on some of Europe’s most famous racetracks.
On the last weekend in April – from 28 to 30 April – the International GT Open will open its season at Portugal’s Autódromo Internacional do Algarve. Each race weekend will feature two races, lasting 60 and 70 minutes respectively, with a mandatory driver change.
Yannick Mettler, #54 Mercedes-AMG GT3: “I’m now entering my third season together with Dexter after 2019 and 2022 and my fourth year with SPS overall. It’s great to have such continuity and to be able to continue this project as a well-established team. I think it could go a bit forward from an overall performance aspect. But I also expect a higher performance density in the PROAM class this season. It will be challenging in any case. We definitely want to repeat or even improve our overall result from last year.
Mikaeel Pitamber, #20 Mercedes-AMG GT3: “I’m really looking forward to racing with SPS in the International GT Open this year. It will be my first season competing in the International GT3 Series. I want to learn a lot here, gain experience and will try to apply it in the race. I will give everything on and off the track and hope to achieve a few podium finishes with the team.”
Stephan Sohn, team principal SPS automotive performance: “The team is very proud to bring another international line-up into the race. Dexter and Yannick showed a strong performance last season. I think they can also score good results this year. With Reece and Mikaeel, we gave two young talents a chance to prove themselves in an international racing series. I think we can cause a surprise or two here as well.”
