{"id":4032,"date":"2016-02-26T09:34:59","date_gmt":"2016-02-26T08:34:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/b106543.web05.cust.bluerange.se\/?p=4032"},"modified":"2016-02-26T10:01:28","modified_gmt":"2016-02-26T09:01:28","slug":"felix-rosenqvist-adds-dtm-and-gt-programmes-to-2016-agenda","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/felixracing.se\/en\/felix-rosenqvist-adds-dtm-and-gt-programmes-to-2016-agenda\/","title":{"rendered":"Felix Rosenqvist adds DTM and GT programmes to 2016 agenda"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"AKKA-ASP<\/a><\/p>\n

Felix Rosenqvist will dovetail his recently-announced Indy Lights commitment in the USA with dual European programmes, taking up the position of test and reserve driver for the Mercedes-AMG DTM team and racing in the Blancpain GT Series Sprint Cup.<\/p>\n

In his new role as Mercedes-AMG DTM test and reserve driver, reigning Formula 3 European champion Rosenqvist takes over the baton from Frenchman Esteban Ocon, who held the position last year before graduating into a race seat with the Stuttgart team in the popular touring car series for the up-coming season.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve had an excellent relationship with Mercedes for quite a long time now, and I\u2019m thrilled to be taking that to the next level this season,\u201d says Felix Rosenqvist<\/strong>. \u201cAs for the DTM programme, working inside one of the world\u2019s best racing teams will be a huge privilege. The DTM is exceptionally competitive, and being involved with that will give me a lot of new insight.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

\"Felix<\/a>Rosenqvist has previous experience of testing the Mercedes-AMG C 63 DTM, and used Mercedes engines in each of his milestone achievements during a record-breaking Formula 3 career: winning the Masters of Formula 3 (twice), Grand Prix de Pau, Macau Grand Prix (twice) and the FIA F3 European Championship with power provided by the three-pointed star.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn Felix Rosenqvist, we have gained the services of a highly ambitious young talent to act as our test and reserve driver,\u201d says Ulrich Fritz, Head of Mercedes-AMG DTM<\/strong>. \u201cThe importance of this role was demonstrated last year at the Hockenheim season-finale, when Daniel Juncadella\u2019s bout of illness required Esteban to step in during Friday practice. Felix has clearly shown his huge potential by taking two wins on the tricky street circuit in Macau and also by comfortably winning the FIA F3 European Championship. He now has the chance this season to gain valuable experience in our DTM team.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

Rosenqvist is also set to enter the ranks of GT competition this season, becoming one of the very first drivers to race the all-new Mercedes-AMG GT3 as he joins French squad AKKA-ASP as part of a three-car assault on the Blancpain GT Series Sprint Cup. The 24-year-old Swede will share driving duties in the team\u2019s sole top-level Pro class entry with Tristan Vautier (France), incidentally a former Indy Lights champion.<\/p>\n

\"AKKA-ASP<\/a>\u201cMoving into the world of GT racing is something completely new to me, and I will have to learn quickly,\u201d Rosenqvist continues<\/strong>. \u201cI\u2019m sure the experience of AKKA-ASP gives me the right opportunity to do just that and I can\u2019t wait to put the new Mercedes-AMG GT3 through its paces. Coupled with my DTM role, and Indy Lights to top it off, it will be easily my busiest season yet \u2013 but I really couldn\u2019t be more pleased with how this has come together. It\u2019s the perfect set up.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

The Blancpain GT Series Sprint Cup boosts five events at selected European circuits, with AKKA-ASP preparing for their first season in the GT3-spec series having previously competed successfully in the sister Blancpain GT Series Endurance Cup featuring longer-distance races.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are entering three cars in Sprint with three fantastic crews this season, two in the Pro-Am category and one in Pro,\u201d explains J\u00e9r\u00f4me Policand, AKKA-ASP team manager<\/strong>. \u201cThe latter will bring together two genuine top drivers in Tristan Vautier and Felix Rosenqvist. Felix has achieved incredible success at just 24 years of age and is a highly exciting new addition to the team, while Tristan has already raced with us in Blancpain on a few occasions. These two drivers will face a heavy challenge up against the established GT specialists, but they have our full trust and we will be doing our best to fight at the front of the field.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

Rosenqvist\u2019s advisor, ex-Formula 1 and IndyCar driver Stefan Johansson, thinks the main benefit to be had from the intense schedule is that of versatility.<\/p>\n

“I\u2019m very pleased with the various programmes Felix has been able to put together for 2016,\u201d says Johansson<\/strong>. \u201dHe will get a huge amount of seat time, which is the best thing any driver could ask for. He will be working with championship-winning teams in DTM, Indy Lights and GT, which will allow him a unique all-round take on motorsport. Every time you drive a racing car you learn something new, and Felix is very good at processing new information. He couldn\u2019t have wished for a better outcome.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

The Blancpain GT Series Sprint Cup kicks off at the Italian circuit of Misano on 8-10 April. Felix Rosenqvist\u2019s first race of the season, however, is the Indy Lights curtain-raiser on the streets of St. Petersburg, Florida, on 11-13 March.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"AKKA-ASP<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Felix Rosenqvist will dovetail his recently-announced Indy Lights commitment in the USA with dual European programmes, taking up the position of test and reserve driver for the Mercedes-AMG DTM team and racing in the Blancpain GT Series Sprint Cup. In his new role as Mercedes-AMG DTM test and reserve driver, reigning Formula 3 European champion […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4026,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[18,19],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4032","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news3","category-press-releases","has-post-title","has-post-date","has-post-category","has-post-tag","has-post-comment","has-post-author",""],"aioseo_notices":[],"builder_content":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/felixracing.se\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4032","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/felixracing.se\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/felixracing.se\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/felixracing.se\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/felixracing.se\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4032"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/felixracing.se\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4032\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4033,"href":"https:\/\/felixracing.se\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4032\/revisions\/4033"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/felixracing.se\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4026"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/felixracing.se\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4032"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/felixracing.se\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4032"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/felixracing.se\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4032"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}