(Motorsport-Total.com) – The official national squad of German motorsport is being restructured: From June 15 to August 31, 2026, the online talent registration process for Motorsport Team Germany is open. The support program, backed by the ADAC Stiftung Sport and the German Motor Sport Federation (DMSB), is aimed at young motorsport athletes. Currently, 30 athletes from five car and motorcycle disciplines each are supported.
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The focus of the program is no longer just on pure financial support. The biggest leverage for the careers of young drivers is the direct network to the major automobile manufacturers. Audi, BMW, Mercedes-AMG, Porsche, and Toyota are five heavyweights of the industry as partners on board.
Direct ticket to Formula 1 and factory contracts
How permeable this system is to professional top-level sport is demonstrated by current personnel. An outstanding example is the twelve-year-old kart driver Devin Titz (North Rhine-Westphalia): Through a targeted initiative of the support program with Mercedes, he was recently appointed as the first German motorsport talent to the official junior program of the Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS Formula 1 team.
The concept also works in endurance racing: Laurin Heinrich and Max Hesse have completed the comprehensive training of Motorsport Team Germany and are established as factory drivers for Porsche and BMW respectively in international top motorsport in the current 2026 season. On two wheels, Simon Längenfelder, MX2 world champion of 2025, is currently the most successful flagship of the squad support.
Hermann Tomczyk, chairman of the foundation board, classifies the manufacturer cooperations as the core of the program: “It is important to us to draw the attention of companies active in motorsport to our talents early on. Together we enable our athletes unique opportunities such as sessions in racing simulators or exclusive invitations to factory teams.” The goal is concrete test drives or direct admission to the junior programs of the manufacturers.
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Holistic training and the selection process
In addition to sporting advancement, the support includes holistic training. “The athletes of our national squad receive comprehensive and individually tailored support,” explains Dieter Seibert, chairman of the ADAC Stiftung Sport. DMSB board member Jürgen Hieke adds that they make “an important contribution to securing the future of our sport” in these crucial career steps.
For the 2026 selection process, talents aged 10 to 24 are eligible (the exact age limit varies depending on the discipline). In the automobile sector, the areas of karting, formula racing, GT sport, and prototype endurance racing are supported. In the two-wheel sector, the program includes road racing, motocross, enduro, trial, and speedway.
Candidates who meet the formal requirements through the online process qualify for a multi-stage selection procedure in the next step. The final selection for the national squad then takes place through a physical and psychological performance test at the State Sports School Ostfildern-Ruit near Stuttgart.
The application portals (deadline: 31.08.2026) at a glance:
Automobile sport: adac1.guestcom.de/Foerderung4Rad26
Motorcycle sport: adac1.guestcom.de/Foerderung2Rad26
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