The Car Collection Motorsport team will be competing in the international GT Open racing series for the first time in the 2024 season. The team will field two Porsche 911 GT3 R (992) and will contest the entire season.
The Car Collection Motorsport team will also complete an extensive program in various racing series in the 2024 season. The Hessian team will also be breaking new ground. For the first time, Car Collection will compete in the International GT Open Championship, fielding two Porsche 911 GT3 Rs from the current 992 model series. For the driver pairings, Car Collection is relying on a mixture of experienced top drivers and up-and-coming young drivers.
Behind the wheel of the #12 Porsche will be the American “Hash” and the experienced Swiss driver Alex Fontana. After a successful career in formula racing, Fontana switched to GT racing in 2016 and has since established himself as an extremely fast professional driver. In 2023, he won the Pro-AM Cup of the GT World Challenge Endurance Cup with Car Collection and knows the team very well. He also runs a racing driver school and is committed to training the next generation of motorsport drivers. His driver partner “Hash”, who successfully completed his first GT3 races in 2023 – also for Car Collection Motorsport – also comes from this academy. For the American, racing in the GT Open Championship is the next step on his way to becoming a top driver. Together they will compete in the PRO-AM class.
The #15 car, on the other hand, will start in the PRO class. Here, Porsche driver Nico Menzel from Germany and the Swede Gustav Bergström will take turns. Nico Menzel has been an integral part of the Porsche driver squad for many years and, despite his youth, can already look back on countless successes. Last year, for example, he won a race in the ADAC GT Masters and finished on the podium at the 24 Hours of Spa with Car Collection in 2023. He is also one of the victorious drivers on the Nürburgring Nordschleife. At his side, 21-year-old Swede Gustav Bergström will drive the Porsche 911 GT3 R. The young up-and-comer has been active in various Porsche Carrera Cups in recent years and also has racing experience in GT4 and rallycross.
The International GT Open Championship is a booming racing series that is contested on top-class circuits throughout Europe. The 2024 calendar includes seven race weekends, each with two races. The races will be broadcast live in Germany by Servus TV and can also be followed live worldwide via the team’s own web TV or YouTube channel.
Peter Schmidt, Team Principal: “We are always on the lookout for new fields of activity. The GT Open has developed very well in recent years. The format and the tracks are great and the competition is very high-class. We are therefore delighted to be competing here for the first time in the 2024 season and obviously want to be as successful as possible.”
“Hash”, driver: “2024 will be my first complete season in Motorsport, and I couldn’t be more excited about it. With Alex we share the same passion and work attitude, and despite GT Open will as always produce a highly level grid, together with Car Collection we will do our best to progress race by race.”
Alex Fontana, driver: “I’m really looking forward to begin this new season: for me it will be the first time I’ll have the chance to drive the same car and with the same team two years in a row, and CC is a group of people I really like. Furthermore, driving the full series with Hash, coming out from my racing academy, makes me really proud and I’m eager to build up our competitiveness together race by race.”
Gustav Bergström, driver: “I am super excited for the 2024 season with Car Collection in GT Open! Very happy to share the car with Nico going to try and learn as much as I can from him and the team!”
Nico Menzel, driver: “I’m really looking forward to the GT Open season with Gustav in the Car Collection Porsche GT3R. Last year, the team and I worked together for the first time at the 24-hour race in Spa and were immediately very successful. With Gustav at my side and the entire squad behind us, we will be in a strong position to attack at the front.”
