Two-time Le Mans winner Stuck to make racing comeback aged 70
Two-time Le Mans 24 Hours winner and Hans-Joachim Stuck will make his comeback at the age of 70 in this weekend's first round of the new GT2 European Series.


The former March, Brabham, Shadow and ATS Formula 1 racer will make his first racing appearance since 2017 at the wheel of a KTM X-Bow GT2, specially developed for the am-focused series created for high powered machines not as reliant on downforce as GT3 cars by prolific GT racing promoter SRO.
PLUS: The high-power solution to counter a dying breed
Stuck, who won the 1986 and 1987 editions of the 24 Hours and the 1985 World Sportscar Championship for Porsche, will share one of four Reiter Engineering-entered machines with Austrian driver Kris Rosenberger.
The X-Bow GT2 is powered by a 660 bhp five-cylinder turbo-charged Audi engine and weighs 1048 kg.
It will be pitched against 11 cars in two 50-minute races for Silver and Bronze-graded drivers on the support bill for the season-opening GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup race for GT3 cars.
Among the other high-profile names on the GT2 entry list are 1995 Spa 24 Hours winner Peter Kox in another Reiter KTM, Formula Ford and ASCAR ace Michael Vergers in a Speed Factory Racing Porsche 911 GT2 RS and SRO founder Stephane Ratel in an LP Racing Audi R8 LMS GT2.
Lamborghini will also be represented with two Huracan Super Trofeo GTs, including one that will be driven by British GT race-winner Jordan Witt for the British Toro Verde GT squad.

“Even if it may look like a modest start with a grid limited to 12 cars, including an invitational Ferrari Challenge entry, I’m really pleased that we are finally able to launch the Fanatec GT2 European Series this weekend," said Ratel.
“It’s very encouraging to see all four homologated GT2 models already on the entry list at the first event, and I believe the high-speed Monza circuit will give the drivers an opportunity to show these fantastic cars at their best.
“I’m confident in the GT2 categories’ development from here, as it represents a very competitive cost to performance ratio in the world of GT Racing. I would like to thank the pioneer manufacturers, teams and drivers who are helping us launching it this weekend."
Stuck officially retired from racing after contesting the 2011 Nurburgring 24 Hours with sons Ferdinand and Johannes. He served as the president of Germany's motorsport federation the DMSB for two terms between 2012 and 2020 and has regularly served as a steward at Formula E race meetings.
PLUS: The greatest drives of the sportscar legends
But the 1990 DTM champion has made select one-off driving appearances in the intervening years - including in a VW Scirocco R-Cup race at the Red Bull Ring in 2013, and in the Audi TT 'Race of Legends' at Hockenheim in 2017.

Bentley to contest Pikes Peak with extreme Continental GT3
Williams F1 reserve Aitken making GT switch to broaden skillset

Latest news
How to get the best out of amateur racers
Pro-Am GT racing is booming. But how should drivers approach working with an amateur? Autosport sought out a panel of experts to explain the pitfalls amateur drivers should avoid and how professionals can help them to achieve their goals
The remarkable career of a 'classy' champion who rejected politics
Over two decades as a factory driver with Audi and BMW, Martin Tomczyk earned the respect of team-mates and rivals as a hard but fair racer. After calling time on his racing career, the 2011 DTM champion sat down with Autosport to look back
The ex-IndyCar racer in "uncharted territory" of British GT team ownership
This weekend’s British GT finale will be a tense title showdown for some but, for those not in the championship fight, it’s a chance to end a challenging year on a high. In the latter camp is Paddock Motorsport's team owner Martin Plowman, whose 2021 season has been a rollercoaster ride of non-stop learning
The unpopular BMW stalwart built for the big occasion
It has won most of the big prizes in endurance racing across its six years in service, but the BMW M6 GT3's key weaknesses meant only a devoted few teams persisted with running it. As it prepares to bow out at season's end, the teams and drivers involved in its story share the secrets of an unpopular winner
The unwanted GT car that changed sportscar racing forever
Had FIA GT boss Stephane Ratel had his way, the Maserati MC12 would never have been allowed to set foot in his series. It duly proved the class of the field that most had expected, but the Balance of Performance that its superiority spawned would keep GT1 battles tight and bring long-term benefits that sportscar racing enjoys today
Why Britain's greatest sportscar was eclipsed on the world stage
The E-Type may be the most famous of all road-going Jaguars, but that didn't always translate into success on the track. After winning on its competition debut in 1961, motorsport success seemed an inevitability, but things didn’t turn out to be quite that straightforward
Why the Jaguar E-type remains special at 60
It’s 60 years since the Jaguar E-type arrived and caused a sensation. As our resident racer Ben Anderson discovered when he got behind the wheel of two special racing versions at Brands Hatch, the thrill of driving them hasn't diminished over time
The rise of a GT squad responsible for a unique 24-hour racing feat
It's a significant achievement to win one 24-hour race in a year, let alone two, and with different manufacturers, but that's exactly what ROWE Racing did in 2020 at the Nurburgring and Spa. This weekend's German classic offers the DTM newcomer a chance of another unique double to add to its growing collection of accolades