GEBHARDT Motorsport will be competing in the new Asian Le Mans Cup during the winter months. The team will also be fielding a customer car for the GMS Team.
During the winter months, GEBHARDT Motorsport is breaking new ground. The Sinsheim-based racing team will be competing in the inaugural Asian Le Mans Cup. The team will field a Duqueine D09 under its own colours and will also field a Ligier JS P325 for the German Motor Sports Team.
The Asian Le Mans Cup is held as part of the Asian Le Mans Series support programme and is modelled on the Michelin Le Mans Cup. Each race weekend features two two-hour races, each with a mandatory pit stop. Due to the political situation in the Middle East, this year’s races will take place in southern Europe. All races can be watched via the series’ official livestream.
To mark the 75th anniversary of Gebhardt Fördertechnik GmbH, GEBHARDT Motorsport will compete at Duquesne with start number #75. The car will be driven by Valentino Catalano and Oscar Tunjo, who have both already enjoyed great success with the Sinsheim-based team. Catalano, for instance, won the Prototype Cup Germany with the team in 2024 and secured the title in the IMSA VP Racing SportsCar Challenge in 2025. The Colombian Tunjo also clinched the title in the American series in 2026.
As in the Prototype Cup Europe, GEBHARDT Motorsport is fielding the Ligier JS P325 for the German Motor Sports Team. The fast American Danny Soufi, who became the last champion of the Prototype Cup Germany in 2025, and the experienced German Sven Barth will share the Ligier. Barth returned to sports car racing after several years in the ADAC GT Masters and won the Interwetten Sports Car Challenge this year. Barth and GEBHARDT Motorsport share a long-standing friendship.
21-year-old Valentino Catalano is looking forward to the programme with GEBHARDT Motorsport in the Asian Le Mans Cup: “I’m absolutely delighted to be racing with GEBHARDT Motorsport again in a new series, the Asian Le Mans Cup! New challenges are always great, and together with my long-standing team-mate Oscar Tunjo, I’ve got a good feeling about tackling this new series with GEBHARDT Motorsport!”
“The deal with GEBHARDT Motorsport came about at relatively short notice, after I’d had a very in-depth conversation with Fritz Gebhardt. The collaboration has been exceptionally open, friendly and based on trust right from the start. Especially in this day and age, a partnership like this is by no means a given. With the driver pairing of Danny Soufi and myself, the motto ‘class meets experience’ could well sum up the season. Danny is an exceptionally talented driver; I set high standards for myself too, and I think that together we have the potential to compete at the front of the field. However, in such a strongly contested field, it will be the joint development and set-up work with the team that will ultimately determine success or failure,” explains Sven Barth. “Personally, I’m really looking forward to being able to compete actively during the winter months for the first time in my career. As we all know, the end of one season is the start of the next, and nothing can replace time spent behind the wheel. The Asian Le Mans Cup is therefore not only an exciting new challenge for me, but also vital preparation for our mission to defend the title in the Interwetten SCC with my own team, Barth Racing. Having won the SCC title, I feel ready for this step and am delighted by the trust that Fritz and the whole team have placed in me. My aim is to repay this trust with strong performances and to fight together for top results.”
We are very much looking forward to the Asian Le Mans Cup’s debut season. We will be lining up with strongly competitive cars and aim to be serious contenders for race wins and the title in the overall standings. We’re familiar with the Ligier we’re fielding for the GMS Team from last season’s Prototype Cup Europe, and we know just how competitive it is. We’ll also be fielding a well-staffed Duqueine. Furthermore, we’re well aware of the pace of Danny, Oscar, Sven and Valentino, who have already impressed us whilst racing for our team in the past. “We’re heading into the season well prepared and are now ready to go on the attack!” said team owner Fritz Gebhardt.
2026/2027 Asian Le Mans Cup race calendar:
13.11. – 15.11.26 – Le Castellet (FRA)
15.01. – 17.01.27 – Jérez (ESP)
19.02. – 21.02.27 – Portimão (PRT)
