Dubai, 1st official meeting for the 3 Mercedes-AMG GT2020?

Debutant at the 24 Hours of Portimão in Portugal, the Mercedes-AMG GT3 in its new 2020 version had made an interesting start, the event being an integral part of the development of the new car from the brand with the star, intended for customer teams.

It is now towards the first official race that Mercedes should turn. The 24H Series should always constitute the field of expression of the car.

“We anticipate that the homologation of this car will be in competition from January 1, according to the boss of Mercedes-AMG Motorsport Customer Racing Stefan Wendl, cited by the 24H Series website.

So this means we will do our first official race at the 24 Hours of Dubai next year (mid-January). This is our hope and maybe the second race will be at the 24 Hours of Daytona. »

While waiting for a first official release, we should see the car continue its development, undoubtedly via other appearances in the experimental categories, in addition to the usual work in private tests.

“There is a second car, which is already undergoing FIA homologation, and the Portimão car has been dismantled to be analyzed in detail, continues Wendl. However, we still have tests for the latest adaptations of the ABS software, so there is still a lot to do.

The positive thing is that we already have a lot of interest from our existing customers and, potentially, new customers as well. It's a good feeling. »

Mercedes-AMG has notably worked on a specific element for the 2020 version of its car, the Drop Start, very useful for avoiding potential penalties during pit stops.

“It's been a system in development for a while now, but we had to change a few things that would have affected certification, explains Stefan Wendl. So we decided to wait and install it in the new version.

And I think it's very important because it's something that has been requested by pilots all over the world. The jacks (which are used to raise the car when pitting) are released and the engine starts automatically, meaning drivers must now focus on getting out of the pitbox as quickly and safely as possible. »