Since 2010, customer sports has been significantly contributing to Mercedes-AMG Motorsport’s on-track achievements all over the world. Under the banner of ‘Mercedes-AMG Motorsport Customer Racing’, we share our passion for motorsport with our Customer Racing Teams all over the world and we support them with technology and know-how.
2010 - 2015
The era started off with the introduction of the Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG GT3 that already made a statement upon its launch at the initiation of the customer sports involvement. The car with its legendary gullwing doors had been entirely developed in-house and brought the already high circuit abilities of the production model to an even higher level. In 2011, its first full debut season, the competition gullwing sparked excitement all over the world as it became the best newcomer in motorsport. The ‘Grand Slam’ in 2013 with victories in the major endurance races at Dubai, Bathurst, the Nürburgring and Spa remains unparalleled to the present day.
2016 - 2017
For Mercedes-AMG Customer Racing, the launch of the Mercedes-AMG GT3 in 2016 marked the start of a new chapter. Insights from the races with the SLS AMG GT3 were taken into account in the development process of the car. These served as the basis for the concept of the new competition vehicle. The drivability of the Mercedes-AMG GT3, combined with its high levels of agility, efficiency and safety, enabled the teams to enter new performance areas. The historic lock-out of the first four positions in the Nürburgring 24-hour race in the debut season marked the biggest single-race success in history of Mercedes-AMG Motorsport Customer Racing to date.
In 2017, the success story continued with championship titles in major international GT3 series and an impressive victory in the FIA GT World Cup in Macau. Moreover, the programme expanded in the USA: in its debut season in the North American IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, the Mercedes-AMG GT3 immediately had a clean sweep of all the three championship titles for drivers, teams and manufacturers in the demanding Tequila Patrón North American Endurance Cup (currently: Michelin Endurance Cup).
2018 - 2019
Since 2018, the Mercedes-AMG GT4 has been expanding the Customer Racing portfolio from Affalterbach. In its debut season, the new race car, alongside with the Mercedes-AMG GT3 and the still competitive SLS AMG GT3, contributed to make 2018 the most successful season since the beginning of the Customer Racing programme. The most prestigious successes of 2018 included the overall win in the Blancpain GT Series as well as the drivers’ titles in both categories of the Intercontinental GT Challenge. In the year 2019, the Customer Racing Teams seamlessly continued to build on the achievements from the previous season. In the process, numerous title wins in renowned race series like the Blancpain GT Series, the VLN Langstreckenmeisterschaft Nürburgring and not least the victory in the FIA GT World Cup at Macau again underlined the ambition of Mercedes-AMG Motorsport to play a leading role in the GT segment. Furthermore, the title in the Michelin Endurance Cup of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship was secured for the third consecutive time.
Next to the sporting highlights, Mercedes-AMG Motorsport also plotted the course for the future and unveiled the new Mercedes-AMG GT3 during the Nürburgring 24-hour race in June 2019. The car is a consequent further development of the preceding model and next to overhauled looks also comes with many technical optimisations. In the 2019 season, the new Mercedes-AMG GT3 completed an intense test and development process. Delivery of cars to customer teams started in December 2019.
The new Mercedes-AMG GT3 had its official debut at the start of Mercedes-AMG Customer Racing’s tenth anniversary season during the Dubai 24-hour race in January 2020. At the same time, the new Mercedes-AMG GT4 also had its premiere at the race track. Next to a further development of the exterior, the new edition of the globally successful GT4 model also features optimised vehicle technology that, among others, further enhances the endurance racing performance. Throughout the 2020 anniversary season, the two GT cars from Affalterbach demonstrated their potential in an impressive way: in total, the almost 100 Customer Racing Teams racked up 71 overall race wins and 178 class victories and scored over 25 championship titles in renowned race series across the globe with their Mercedes-AMG GT3s and Mercedes-AMG GT4s. In the process, the highlights included the GT World Challenge Europe drivers’ title and the successful defence of the manufacturers’ title in the GT World Challenge.
Behind the teams’ sporting success, a comprehensive programme has been put in place that, just like the cars, is subject to continuous development. The guiding principle is the quick and professional support for teams with the aim of contributing to the biggest possible joint success by means of technology, know-how and manpower.