Swiss outfit Maurer Motorsport is to return to the track after ten years away, entering a brace of Opel Astra TCR cars in ADAC TCR Germany for Vincent Radermecker and Michael Maurer.
The team has a long history in touring car racing, but has not been active in the sport for the past decade.
In 2005 and 2006 the team won the ADAC Procar series, firstly with Mathias Schläppi in an ex-BTCC MG ZS and then with Radermecker in a Chevrolet Lacetti.
In 2006, the team made a couple of entries in the World Touring Car Championship at Brno and Valencia with Radermecker and Rainer Bastuck, and then in 2007 made another one-off with the late María de Villota at Valencia.
As well as competing in ADAC Procar, the team were also active in the now-defunct FIA European Touring Car Cup until 2012 – all of its entries being with Chevrolet cars.
The team is planning to complete the full season of TCR Germany. The announcement keeps the Opel Astra competing in national TCR series – in 2021, the car was only seen in standalone TCR championships in Denmark, Germany and the UK.
“After Chevrolet’s withdrawal from the European market, we have been thinking long and very intensely about how, where and with what we want to continue,” said Beat Maurer.
“We then decided to pause our active motorsport projects at the end of the 2012 season. Now it’s definitely time to get started again.
“I am happy to have many familiar faces and partners back in the team and in our new challenge.
“We are also very happy about the newly earned partnership with the company Lubner Motorsport from Georgenthal, the support partner of the Astra TCR.
“We want to build on past successes and I am convinced that with our program we provide the right tools for that.”
54-year-old Radermecker last raced in touring cars in 2016, when he took part in The TCR Benelux series, picking up three victories. He also raced a Volkswagen Golf GTi TCR to a best result of seventh in TCR Germany in the same season at the Nürburgring.