SPS automotive performance is back on the International GT Open grid
SPS automotive performance will be competing in the International GT Open again in the 2025 season. Two Mercedes-AMG GT3s from the Willsbach-based team will be racing for victories and points in the PROAM class. Dexter Müller and Yannick Mettler (both SUI) will be at the wheel of the #54 car, while Valentin Pierburg (GER) and Dominik Baumann (AUT) will share driving duties in the #20 sister car.
For the third year in a row, SPS automotive performance will be represented with two cars in the International GT Open. As in recent seasons, the team will again be relying on the Mercedes-AMG GT3 as its race car in the popular GT3 series.
Starting number 20 will be competing in the new season in the colours of Swiss coffee machine manufacturer Cuisine Barista. The Zug-based company offers high-quality capsule machines made of stainless steel, which are characterised by many well-thought-out functions, durability and environmentally friendly materials. Valentin Pierburg, class winner of the 2022 Spa 24 Hours and PROAM champion of the 2018 International GT Open, returns to the cockpit of the #20 Mercedes-AMG GT3 to the delight of the team, sharing it with Dominik Baumann. The Austrian is one of the most experienced drivers in the cockpit of the Mercedes-AMG GT3 and has already celebrated numerous successes with the car in the past, including a class victory in the bronze category at the Spa 24 Hours last season. Pierburg and Baumann have already enjoyed joint success together in the GT World Challenge Europe. In the 2021 season, the duo won the vice-champion title in the Pro-Am category of this high-class racing series and played a major role in the team from Willsbach winning the team championship in the 2022 Endurance Cup.
The Swiss duo Dexter Müller and Yannick Mettler will also be fighting for positions in the PROAM class in the new season in the sister car #54 under the name CBRX Team by SPS. The bronze medallists of the FIA Motorsport Games 2024 are entering the new season with a lot of momentum. Dexter Müller has already competed in the GT Winter Series this year in order to prepare optimally for the challenge in the International GT Open. Here, Müller achieved a class victory and two further class podiums at his first attempt. His team-mate Mettler has already competed in the Asian Le Mans Series in 2025. This means that both Dexter Müller and Yannick Mettler are well prepared for the season. At the official test days from 25 to 26 March at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, both driver pairings will once again have the opportunity to familiarise themselves with their Mercedes-AMG GT3 before the start of the season.
The International GT Open will start its new season at the Autódromo Internacional do Algarve in Portimao on the last weekend in April (25–27 April). As last year, the two race weekends at Spa-Francorchamps (16–18 May) and the finale at Monza (17–19 October) will each feature two-hour endurance races, while the remaining events will include two sprint races lasting 70 or 60 minutes respectively.
Stephan Sohn, team principal SPS automotive performance: “We are looking forward to the new season with great anticipation. We expect the races to be just as exciting as last season, especially in the PROAM class. This category has become very popular in recent years. We will face this competition again this year and are highly motivated to achieve good results.”
Valentin Pierburg, SPS automotive performance #20: “I'm delighted to be competing in the SPS again this year – right where my racing career began. Together with my team mate Dominik Baumann, I'm highly motivated to fight for the championship in the Pro-Am class. We have a strong team and will give our best to be among the leaders.”
Yannick Mettler, CBRX by SPS #54: „ It‘s great to continue the journey with Dexter. We share quite a bit of history together by now, having gone through all the highs and lows of this fascinating sport in recent years. We’ll be joining the GT Open Series again, which has been our home since 2022. I hope that we can keep the uptrend from the end of last year and have some decent races! “
Schedule International GT Open 2025*
| Date | Racetrack |
| 25. – 27.04. | Autódromo Internacional do Algarve (P) |
| 16. – 18.05. | Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps (B) |
| 06. – 08.06. | Hockenheimring (D) |
| 04. – 06.07. | Hungaroring (H) |
| 18. – 20.07. | Circuit Paul Ricard (F) |
| 05. – 07.09. | Red Bull Ring (A) |
| 19. – 21.09. | Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya (E) |
| 17. – 19.10. | Autodromo Nazionale Monza (I) |
*) subject to change at short notice
