Team presentation - Ottimale EM

Ottimale becomes Excelion Motorsport! After some changes at team boss level, Ottimale was looking for a replacement, otherwise they would have had to face closure. In this situation, Roy Seifert appeared on the scene and offered to take over the Italian team and merge it with his well-known GPVWC team. This offer was gratefully accepted and the team became Excelion Ottimale. ‘A joint venture gives me all the freedom I need and the opportunity to leave if it's not for me as team boss.

As things stand, we want to stay as a team for the long term!’ says team boss Roy Seifert. The German is therefore convinced of his concept and has set himself the goal of continuously collecting points.

To achieve this goal, Seifert has brought back an old acquaintance: Tim Hauck is returning to the VFC after a year's break and time in long-distance racing. Seifert is hoping that the young German will make a leap forward and has confidence in him to finish in the points and show consistency.

Hauck himself states that the contact came about through a DTM race and that an agreement was quickly reached. The German raves about his new team: ‘In contrast to 2023, everything feels more ambitious. The team is motivated and there is a good atmosphere, which immediately motivates me to give 100%.’

Hauck is probably referring to the difficult year at Infernal Void, where there was rarely any support and, above all, bickering. This seems to have changed completely this year.

Meanwhile, Roy Seifert has landed an emotional coup in the second cockpit. After Stefan Schubert was left without a cockpit following Manziel's resignation, the Swabian asked whether he would be available for a cockpit. Schubert did not hesitate for long and said yes; team boss Roy Seifert stated that the decision did not require much thought: ‘Stefan's biggest advantage compared to other drivers is his motivation to put 100+ laps on the track for every race. You rarely see that kind of willingness, and you can only benefit from it. I hope he can achieve his personal goals this year,’ he continued.

As Seifert had hoped, Schubert senior tested the car extensively and described it as a dream to drive. His goals could therefore be achievable: ‘Carry on as before, hopefully I can build on the “successes” of last season. My goal is to be ‘best of the rest’,’ Schubert said. Things got more emotional when Schubert was asked about his past at Manziel: ‘I would like to take this opportunity to thank Manziel GP for having Max as team boss and Sven as a colleague, that was a great thing. But now I'm looking forward to the new adventure and the new season as part of EM.’

With these words, the veteran racing driver bid a spirited farewell to the interview and immediately returned to the simulator. This should once again confirm to team boss Roy Seifert that he has chosen the right duo to start the season as a midfield team. We wish them every success!