Former Porsche Junior Klaus Bachler and Adrien de Leener will also be at the wheel of a Porsche 911 GT3 R prepared by the German outfit alongside the current endurance racing world champion and overall winner of Le Mans Timo Bernhard and his partner, Porsche works driver Kévin Estre.
Austrian driver Bachler is returning to the ADAC GT Masters fold. He competed for KÜS Team75 Bernhard in two races of the 2014 Porsche Carrera Cup Germany and was back in action in 2016 when he again contested two races for the team in the ADAC GT Masters at the Sachsenring. Belgian competitor De Leener was a regular driver for Team75 last season and has extended his contract. The team hope to achieve a distinct improvement in performance with the introduction of a second car and the partnering of Bachler & de Leener.
Klaus Bachler: “I’m really looking forward to returning to the ADAC GT Masters for the 2018 season, racing with KÜS Team75 Bernhard. I’ve known the outfit since 2014 when I competed in two races in the Porsche Carrera Cup Germany and was back in action for them in the 2016 ADAC GT Masters at the Sachsenring. The team are very professional and well organised and I’m delighted to be a member of the squad. Adrien is a really nice chap, extremely intelligent and ambitious. I’m looking forward to working with him. I’m sure we’ll all get along just fine. The ADAC GT Masters is highly competitive. You’ve got to be really well prepared to achieve good results there. Little things can often make a huge difference in the championship. We aim to work as hard as we can possible to get where we want to be.”
Adrien de Leener: “I’m really thrilled to be back in the ADAC GT Masters. The series will be more challenging than ever, as this is the championship par excellence which every driver wants to contest. Although we had a tough year in 2017, we’re all really keen to turn things around in 2018. I think one of the things that would satisfy us the most is to achieve success in the ADAC GT Masters with Porsche and the entire Team75 crew. Both Porsche and KÜS Team75 Bernhard have invested a lot of time and effort in putting together a competitive package. I first came across Klaus Bachler in 2016 at the Le Mans Cup races. He’s not only fast but is also a really great person. I’m really looking forward to driving with him. We’ve got people in the team, Timo and Kévin in the second Porsche and Klaus Graf as Team Principal, who’ve had plenty of experience. This gives us the best possible basis, on which to learn and achieve success at the next level.”
Team Principal Klaus Graf: “I think it’s terrific that KÜS Team75 Bernhard will be fielding two cars in the 2018 ADAC GT Masters. This will be Adrien’s second year with us. He came on well towards the end of last season, and we are of the opinion that he’s ready to take another big step forwards in terms of performance. That continuity together with the support he’ll receive from Klaus as team-mate should give him plenty of self-confidence. We have with Klaus another top-class Porsche man in our squad of drivers. He’ll be a tremendous help to Adrien and a great asset to the team.”
