The period of Hilmer Motorsport’s abstinence is over. The German GP2 team heads towards new tasks and goals with a new, streamlined structure in the organisation and management departments.
The objective of the only German team in the junior category racing in the framework of Formula 1 seamlessly ties in the early successes when the team first entered GP2 in 2013.
“We want to return to the podium as quickly as possible. Talks with drivers who are keen on winning and who want to succeed together with us have begun”, emphasises Team Principal and Managing Director Franz Hilmer.
The environment of GP2 is known to be one of the toughest and is extremely educational for drivers who target the promotion to the highest racing categories in the world.
“The GP2 is the benchmark for everyone who is fighting for a factory contract in the professional motorsport business. That is not only limited to Formula 1, but also the WEC or the uprising Formula E.”
Hilmer Motorsport with dual leadership
To perfectly prepare its drivers for the successful fight for positions on the race track, the organisation within Hilmer Motorsport was optimised.
“We created a clear hierarchy, we realigned the team structure and thus continuously improved ourselves. Everyone who joins us, regardless of whether driver, engineer or mechanic will feel that we are not only talking about a professional aspiration; we live it.”
With Franz Hilmer (Formtech) and Maik Schiede (Käse Maik), two experienced businessmen are on top of the team’s hierarchy. Both of them proved with their own respective companies how to translate acting economically combined with discipline and determination into success – and everything with ambitious objectives.
“Hilmer Motorsport is a team with Bavarian roots, which is now expanded by the rich motorsport tradition of the Sachsenring circuit. But in the end we are primarily a German team, who is taking up the challenge of GP2 and therefore lines up internationally, both in terms of team staff as well as for partners and investors. I am extremely delighted to now have Maik as shareholder on board, who is as a passionate motorsport supporter. After being a fan and sponsor, Maik is now an integral part of the team. I want to say a special thank you for this and emphasise that we as Hilmer Motorsport prove that everyone can live the passion motorsport and that everyone can contribute and become a part of it”, explains Franz Hilmer the realignment of the team.
“For me, motorsport is passion combined with absolute determination to perform perfectly – by everybody involved; week by week and between the race weekends. I think that we can put together a strong and young team under the aspect of diligence and meticulous work for success. The challenges in GP2 in 2017 and especially beyond require it. And we will gear ourselves up for it”, adds Maik Schiede to the philosophy of Hilmer Motorsport.
Successful history with big heritage
With the experience of 60 races in GP2, the highest and the worldwide most competitive junior single seater racing category as well as 18 races in the minor GP3 Series, the squad of the management duo Hilmer/Schiede can point to formidable successes in the history of the team. With seven podium positions and four victories the team succeeded already in the past with effective work on and off the race track. This is shown on the “Hall of Fame” of drivers who took a seat in the Hilmer Motorsport cockpits, such as current Formula E drivers Daniel Abt and Robin Frijns as well as established GP2 racers like Nicholas Latifi, Sergio Canamasas and Nick Yelloly, just to name some of them.
“It is an obligation for us to build on the successes of our still young team history. We race to win. That’s our aspiration and commitment. We will line up in the future accordingly”, Hilmer looks ahead.
Clear strategy for future success
The new team structure also marks the new orientation in terms of visual appearance and partner involvement. The team directors don’t want to set up solely a private team but to develop the team in the scope of GP2 to what it represents for drivers, young engineers and mechanics already today: a stepping stone into professional motorsport.
“We have a clear vision. Motorsport requires a steady professionalisation and it involves a close cooperation with a manufacturer. Hence we follow the strategic objective to become a junior team with factory support.”
In this constellation and combination with a close involvement of the drivers in an intensive education and development beside the race track, Hilmer Motorsport wants to evolve in GP2 in the medium term to become the essential link between Formula 3 and the highest racing categories. The same applies to the training and integration of the operational staff.
“For us it is important to live motorsport. That means we have to make motorsport tangible and comprehensible. For this reason a further element of our new DNA is the close dialogue with colleges and universities in order to create an entry opportunity for young talents. In our point of view this is also part of the responsibility in motorsport.”
With this realignment, Hilmer Motorsport steps towards a new future that has already begun and that strikes a new path in motorsport with an open and ambitious philosophy.
Hilmer Motorsport Press Release